Gaspe 2024

[shanekingsley]

Gaspe is one of the places I've been wanting to ride out to, ever since I started riding and this year I have some time to do it - probably in July.

Heading out from the GTA, I was thinking about going through the northeastern states to get there and then follow the south shore of the St. Lawrence to come home. I plan to spend a day or two riding around the interior of Gaspe as well. The whole trip would be around 8 days - either camping or motels, or both. I've already been out to to Cabot Trail and have a feeling PEI is more of a place to drive to than ride, so I haven't included either of those areas.

Something like:

I'm not too concerned about getting out there or back as fast as possible, since I'm always looking for the most fun and scenic roads to travel on.

For those that have done it, is it very scenic to go through southern Quebec to get out there, or is it a more interesting ride going through the Northeastern states?
Thanks!

 

[MacDoc]

I'd stay on the N Shore for a bit and catch Parc Mauricie and the Saguenay Fjords the take the ferry to the S Shore. Mauricie is one of the best rides ever - hopefully go on a weekday.

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g1238508-d1529102-Reviews-Parc_national_du_Canada_de_la_Mauricie-Saint_Mathieu_du_Parc_Quebec.html

73 KM of super good pavement you will adore.

Then Saguenay was always a fav tho nothin like the Parc for riding- very scenic tho.

We enjoyed Gaspe...truly beautiful ride....mine the gendarmes.
Can't comment on returning via US but a lot less boring than Canada I'm sure.
Going up WhiteFace worthwhile

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g48899-d103392-Reviews-Whiteface_Mountain-Wilmington_New_York.html

and Mt Washington

Good memories

 

[shanekingsley]

I'd stay on the N Shore for a bit and catch Parc Mauricie and the Saguenay Fjords the take the ferry to the S Shore. Mauricie is one of the best rides ever - hopefully go on a weekday.

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g1238508-d1529102-Reviews-Parc_national_du_Canada_de_la_Mauricie-Saint_Mathieu_du_Parc_Quebec.html

73 KM of super good pavement you will adore.

Then Saguenay was always a fav tho nothin like the Parc for riding- very scenic tho.

We enjoyed Gaspe...truly beautiful ride....mine the gendarmes.
Can't comment on returning via US but a lot less boring than Canada I'm sure.
Going up WhiteFace worthwhile

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g48899-d103392-Reviews-Whiteface_Mountain-Wilmington_New_York.html

and Mt Washington
View attachment 66903
Good memories

Thanks and great that your got to share that trip with your son.

Parc de la Mauricie I rode on last year as well as the whole Saguenay region while on a trip out to the end of the North Shore.

2023 Ride Report - North Shore of St. Lawrence

This is a trip I've been wanting to do for around 15 years, ever since I heard that there was a road called the 138 that hugged the north shore of the St. Lawrence and ended in a small Innu fishing town called Natashquan. I later found out that there is another town that is past Natashquan...

www.gtamotorcycle.com

Thanks for the reminder about Whiteface. I spent a weekend out in Lake Placid, but didn't go up and when I last rode out towards Maine, I was there too early in the morning and it was closed. I didn't have time to come back, so never rode up to the top. I'll add it to the list, as well as the ride up Mount Washington in NH.

 

[robertv19]

When we went back in 2005-ish, we did the South shore of St Lawrence out of Montreal, staying at Kamouraska on the first night. There was an excellent motorcycle museum in Saint Jean Port Joli that I believe is now closed. At Matane we headed south down into NB and then did the Gaspé peninsula counter-clockwise. On the way home, took the ferry from Matane to Baie Comeau and ride north shore back into Montreal. Trip was 9 days total including a day to get from KW area to Montreal and the same on the return trip. Eat casse croute and tarte au sucre!


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com

 

[Wingboy]

Hwy 198 thru Murdochville is a wonderful ride.

 

[xrljoel]

I've ridden the route along the south shore (132?) from Montreal, out around the Gaspe then crossing at Bathurst and along the coast to Moncton. The road in QC is smooths, sweeping and scenic. The coastal roads in NB are very scenic, but pavement condition is variable. It's not very busy either, mostly local traffic.

 

[danp]

For those that have done it, is it very scenic to go through southern Quebec to get out there, or is it a more interesting ride going through the Northeastern states?

Last year on my way to nova scotia through quebec I rode through sherbrooke and I remember some of the roads south of sherbrooke being pretty twisty. Unfortunately I can't remember which exact roads I was on.

The part of New York near Canada is pretty flat and boring, it doesn't get interesting until you get to the lake placid area. I drove my car up Whiteface mountain (road 431) last year and I don't think it's anything special. There was a fee to drive up, the road has a very low speed limit, and i was stuck in a convoy of cars anyways. Once you get up there is a stairway trail over the rocks and you can take some great pictures. Might still be worth doing if you haven't been there yet, just don't expect to be blown away by that road. Mt Washington rd in new hampshire seems much more interesting from what I gather, I am planning to drive up there this summer.

 

[Mad Mike]

Take a look at Hwy 367 heading East out of Quebec City, then follow the northern provincial highways through to Ottawa. Fabulous small towns, inexpensive B&Bs along the way, and riding thru the Lareuntians is way more exciting than slabbing the Trans Canada. It adds 4 hours to the trip, but if you still have energy, it's 4 hours well spent.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I've been out there a bunch of times with our camper, but have yet to actually ride Gaspe proper. One of these years I'm just going to hop on the bike and iron butt my way out there and do it.

Regardless, Taking the 401/hwy40 route, it's pretty boring until you reach east of Trois Rivieres on 132 and you start getting into the little towns along the shore. It can be slow going at that point, take note, but there's lots of neat little towns to see along the river. You can also stay on the north shore a little longer and take one of the ferries across if you'd rather, Tadoussac has one for example. I hear the North Shore side is nice, haven't been - taking highway 138 all the way to the bitter end on the North Shore is another one on my list of rides, but that's another story.

Don't miss Highway 299 through the middle of the gaspe peninsula. If you're coming around from the bottom, at least ride it part way up - the southern section where it meanders along the shore of the Salmon River is amazing, and further up there's the mountain and such, Hogsback I think it was called. You'll have a backtrack one way or another with your intended route, but you won't feel bad about it - I'd go from the south end 1/2 or 3/4 of the way up and then turn around and come back down. If you're into camping there's lots of crown land camping locations along the road there, you'll see all the little numbered signs which are actualy reservable salmon fishing spots, but we spent 3 gloriesly disconnected nights there with our camper along the shore of the river.




The towns of Gaspe and Perce are worthy of some time to explore a little bit, and of course if you time it right you can walk out to Perce rock for photos. Good whale watching at Forillon NP.

Getting home through the USA, there's only so many options honestly, and not backtracking exactly would be far less boring, Your route looks interesting for sure, but tweak it to catch Mount Washington (it's absolutely epic, the only problem is hoping you get a clear sky as you're WAAY higher than Whiteface Mountain), ride the Kancamagus highway (epic), and then hit the green mountains and shoot across the ferry at Lake Champlain (something different and it's a nice little refreshing break) and then head through Adirondack park. Lake Placid if you haven't been, some intersting Olympics related stuff to see there if you're into that. Whiteface if you haven't been up. Then it's a quick shot once you exit the west side of the park up to the Thousand Islands bridge and home.

A buddy and I did kind of more or less a good portion of that route back from more or less the NB border catching all the above and it was one of my favourite rides in years. It was totally unplanned, but that was how it unfolded, and it was an amazing memory. We camped all week.

Mount washington autoroad.- an absolute epic ride up and down - above the tree line, and above the clouds:





Somewhere along the Kangamagus highway. Just epic.



If you take the expedited Highway 401/40/20 route to Trois Riviers and then slow down, your 8 day timeline would be pretty darked great I'd say honestly.

Enjoy!

 

[shanekingsley]

^ thanks for that. I'm good with camping and have all the gear. I've ridden through the Adirondacks, Green Mountains, Vermont, NH, the Kanc and a bit of Maine. But that was 10 years ago and would love to do it again.

Thanks for the ferry suggestion across Lake Champain - looks like the south crossing is closer to the nicer roads: Rates & Restrictions and would be a perfect break.

If you have any questions about riding the north shore to the end, just ask. We did it last year and it was a special trip which I highly recommend:

 

[PrivatePilot]

@shanekingsley I'd definitely be interested in hearing the north shore ride report if you'd be interested in sharing. A new thread perhaps? Like I said, it's been on my radar for a few years. Probably won't happen for a while as the JBR is my goal this summer (fingers crossed) but it's definitely on my radar.

 

[LBV]

A couple of riding buddies have talked about doing Cape Breton but I read somewhere someone saying that Gaspe is better so interested in that viewpoint from anyone that's done them both.

One thing that does put me off on Quebec is the language barrier. Without going through the USA you've got to go through QC either trip but with the Cape Breton one you're just passing through.

 

[Wingboy]

A couple of riding buddies have talked about doing Cape Breton but I read somewhere someone saying that Gaspe is better so interested in that viewpoint from anyone that's done them both.

One thing that does put me off on Quebec is the language barrier. Without going through the USA you've got to go through QC either trip but with the Cape Breton one you're just passing through.

I have said that about Gaspe. Cape Breton is beautiful, but the endlessf flow of motor homes is unbearable.
Anyone that you deal with in Quebec as a tourist wants one thing. Your money. It's never a problem.

 

[shanekingsley]

A couple of riding buddies have talked about doing Cape Breton but I read somewhere someone saying that Gaspe is better so interested in that viewpoint from anyone that's done them both.

One thing that does put me off on Quebec is the language barrier. Without going through the USA you've got to go through QC either trip but with the Cape Breton one you're just passing through.

I speak only a handful of words or phrases in French and do so quite poorly and have never had a problem, even in the slightly more remote areas.

One tip I was given which helped, was that young people in Quebec almost always speak English and this was my recent experience too.

Quebec is so nice to ride in, I wouldn’t let the language barrier stop you.

 

[shanekingsley]

@shanekingsley I'd definitely be interested in hearing the north shore ride report if you'd be interested in sharing. A new thread perhaps? Like I said, it's been on my radar for a few years. Probably won't happen for a while as the JBR is my goal this summer (fingers crossed) but it's definitely on my radar.

Here you go. Have a read and happy to answer any additional questions you have.

2023 Ride Report - North Shore of St. Lawrence

This is a trip I've been wanting to do for around 15 years, ever since I heard that there was a road called the 138 that hugged the north shore of the St. Lawrence and ended in a small Innu fishing town called Natashquan. I later found out that there is another town that is past Natashquan...

www.gtamotorcycle.com

 

[PrivatePilot]

A couple of riding buddies have talked about doing Cape Breton but I read somewhere someone saying that Gaspe is better so interested in that viewpoint from anyone that's done them both.

One thing that does put me off on Quebec is the language barrier. Without going through the USA you've got to go through QC either trip but with the Cape Breton one you're just passing through.

I'd heard the same thing about the Cabot Trail and honestly was pretty disappointed, I enjoyed gaspe far more.

That's for the language barrier, as was mentioned, it's not as bad as many envision. If you make an effort to speak a few words of French, most people will make an effort to reciprocate, and you can usually muddy your way through. And a lot of people do speak enough English as well to make it work. Many are fluent.

Here you go. Have a read and happy to answer any additional questions you have.

2023 Ride Report - North Shore of St. Lawrence

This is a trip I've been wanting to do for around 15 years, ever since I heard that there was a road called the 138 that hugged the north shore of the St. Lawrence and ended in a small Innu fishing town called Natashquan. I later found out that there is another town that is past Natashquan...

www.gtamotorcycle.com

Aha a ride report, awesome. I guess I missed this one, last year was not a good year for me.

 

[MacDoc]

if you time it right you can walk out to Perce rock for photos.

Had never heard of Perce Rock and it was getting late on a lovely long June day and we were looking for a place and this popped into view and most unlikely they had a room overlooking the Rock.

For those not camping ....July n August are brutal to find places to stay...had to ride 80k in Nova Scotia to find the closest room and that was the last one.
These days I suspect camping might even b challenging for spots at last minute.

 

[MacDoc]

I think Cape Breton lost a lot of the places that made it so interesting in the 90s, but it is unique.

geological details ( it's the broken off tip of Africa )....

geographical...the northern most Carolinian forest cheek by jowl with tundra level environs on the coast facing north and fabulous salmon streams.

historical/cultural ....the distinct existing French and Scots societies speaking their own language and enjoying their old culture plus the fishing and whaling histories still active.
Cape Breton is the largest Gaelic speaking community outside the UK

The island's residents can be grouped into five main cultures: Scottish, Mi'kmaq, Acadian, Irish, and English, with respective languages Scottish Gaelic, Mi'kmaq, French, and English alongside several sign languages including Maritime Sign Language.

Gaspe is superior in my view tho taking it slow around Cape Breton and stopping to take in the very varied cultures and history is unlike anywhere else.
Now if you are a salmon fisher ....you are in heaven.

 

[robertv19]

That's for the language barrier, as was mentioned, it's not as bad as many envision. If you make an effort to speak a few words of French, most people will make an effort to reciprocate, and you can usually muddy your way through. And a lot of people do speak enough English as well to make it work. Many are fluent.

The further east you get, around the Gaspe and NB area, some folks speak "Franglais" which is a hybrid between English and French. Which lines up perfectly with my level of high school French!

 

[PrivatePilot]

or those not camping ....July n August are brutal to find places to stay...had to ride 80k in Nova Scotia to find the closest room and that was the last one.
These days I suspect camping might even b challenging for spots at last minute.

All of our trips out there with the camper were unscripted, and without timelines or any real plans, and although I agree it would be impossible to find a traditional campsite or much in the way of accommodations in the major places like Gaspe and Percen without advanced plans, if you are a savvy Boondocker, well, we had no problems at all.

For that matter, in either in Gaspe or Perce (I forget exactly but it was one of the two) there was no campgrounds to be had and the city had actually opened up an overflow parking lot "campground" free boondocking spot at the ski hill parking lot which was right up our alley. Seems they are doing this (when the campgrounds were legitimately at capacity) to discourage people from staying in the parking lots of local businesses and such instead, and leaving garbage and messes behind etc I am guessing. Either way, it was exactly what we were looking for considering we are completely self-contained including our own bathroom etc, although they did leave restrooms open at the ski resort building for people without.

We ended up meeting another couple who were doing the same, had dinner together and sat out until After dark shooting the **** and socializing before heading to bed.

All the way around the loop we found spots, some just discrete parking lot situations, others, nice spots in rest areas on the ocean.

Ultimately we're not too picky where we spend our nights when we are Boondocking as we tend to very nomadic and travel and explore all day long, and then we find a spot to cook dinner (which may or may not be where we spend the night), and if we are unable to spend the night there we just putter on down the road and find somewhere to crash, and then repeat the next day. We seldom sit anywhere for more than 8-9 hours on trips like these.