Western New Brunswick and Quebec Route

[CyclingScientists]

Greetings!

My boyfriend and I are planning a three month tour next summer--it will be our first tour!  The first leg of our trip will begin in Bangor, ME.  We are hoping to go down to Acadia NP and then jog into Canada through New Brunswick.  I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the NB/Sentier Trail heading from Calais to Edmunston and what the services were like along that route? It seemed that camping opportunities were relatively sparse but perhaps there are places to (legally) wild camp? Another reason that we might be interested in wild camping is that we were hoping to start our trip at the beginning of May, but from my research so far it seems that nearly all the campgrounds in this region don't open until mid-May.  Perhaps there's a reason for that though and we should push our start date back a bit!

Once we reach Edmunston, we plan on catching the Petit-Temis trail and heading over to Tadoussac for a couple of days before going down the coast to Montreal, although I recently read a thread on the forums discussing the potential for bad headwinds heading south to Montreal...unfortunately, based on the direction we're coming from, I don't see much of an option to avoid it (unless one side of the river is better than the other?).

I have just learned of the Waterfront Trail on yet another thread on the forum which would take us from Montreal to Niagara.  From there we're going to drive all the way over to Calgary and bike the Great Parks North and Pacific Coast routes all the way down south!

Because the PC route is so well-documented, i don't have many concerns about the latter portion of the trip, it's more the beginning when we're just getting started and there isn't a whole lot written.  Sorry to be so longwinded! In summary, if anybody could help with any of the following points, I would be so grateful!

1) Condition of route from Calais to Edmunton (if you don't have experience with this particular route, perhaps one going through Frederickton?)
2) Recommended camping opportunities along that route (and even between Bar Harbor and Calais)
3) Recommendation of Route Verte 3 or 5 when heading from Quebec to Montreal

Thanks again in advance, and thank you already for the wealth of information on the forums, the website, maps and publications!

[geegee]

Aside from the Petit-Temis, much of the rural rail trails in New Brunswick are pretty rough. The one one along the St John river is really slow going with loose gravel, but the highways on either side of the river (102 -105) are pretty quiet, as most of the traffic goes on the main Trans-Canada highway. I've only cycled from the Quebec border/Edmundston to Fredericton and Moncton along this corridor, but highway 3 from Calais to Longs Creek look pretty good as an option to get up to the valley.

The road between Tadoussac and Quebec City is REALLY hilly, with some ridiculously long and steep climbs (10 to 18% grades) in the Charlevoix region which is why the Route verte does not go there. You'll have to backtrack to the south shore to avoid that road if you plan on taking a jaunt out to the Saguenay Fjord.

Route verte 5 between Quebec and Montreal on the north shore of the St Lawrence would be my choice, it has a lot more interesting towns.

To pump up my area, from Montreal consider heading out to Ottawa and then on to Kingston instead of the seaway portion of the Waterfront Trail. Lots to see in the federal capital, and it is real cycling haven ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WwmHnHrKdE )

[CyclingScientists]

geegee, thank you so much for your response! I suppose another option would be to cut up through Maine instead along Highway 2/2A which would lead straight into Edmunston.  From what I can see on Google Maps, Highway 2 seems to be fairly decent from the few spots I checked.  The camping situation seems to be even more sparse along this route, but it's an option that I can keep in mind.  I will scour the forums and see if I can find any info on it. 

As for the route between Tadoussac and Quebec City--Route verte 1 is the way to go, correct? That's what we were planning on even if it is a bit of backtracking (figured there must be a good reason why the route verte dead ends on that north shore of the river!)

I think you may have sold me on Ottawa! Is there a reason that you recommended going down to Kingston rather than going straight from Ottawa to Toronto via the Trans-Canada Trail? When going through Kingston, the preferred route to Toronto seems to be through upstate NY via the Erie Canalway Heritage Trail which actually looks quite nice as well. 

As you can see, this portion of the trip is still greatly in draft mode and I am very susceptible to suggestions at this point! So thanks again for the insight you have already provided and thanks in advance to any further comments anyone might have, I really do appreciate it!

[geegee]

A few things depend on the kind of riding you like and the type of road or path you prefer. Are you partial to unpaved trails, or do you favour riding on paved roads?

One option you could consider if you go out to Tadoussac is to head up Route verte 8 into the Saguenay and go counter-clockwise around Lac St-Jean. When you get to Chambord, hop on a train (~C$40+$25 for the bike) to Rivière-à-Pierre where you connect to route 6 to Quebec City. The train ride is pretty interesting as it passes through hunting lodges and rustic camps only accessible by rail.

The Trans Canada Trail is an often misunderstood concept — while it is a contiguous facility, not all of it is cyclable. Some segments are hiking only, some are even canoe routes. It's not really designed to be an end-to-end route unless you switch your mode of travel.

There are many roads between Ottawa and Kingston, and if you go parallel to the historic Rideau Canal system, the lock stations allow camping (~$6 per person), most of them have flush toilets but no showers (you can always jump in the river )

The New York State side of Lake Ontario has way better roads for cycling than the Province of Ontario. Getting through the urban mass of Toronto and Hamilton can also be pretty hectic and circuitous. Depends on what you want to see and experience, I guess. If you've never been on the Erie Canal trail, it is such an important piece of American history, and an interesting contrast to the Rideau Canal. There are ferries between Kingston/Wolfe Island, ON and Cape Vincent, NY that are way more convenient than the bridges.

[CyclingScientists]

While your suggestion of taking the train from Chambord to Riviere-a-Pierre sounded very appealing, I forgot to mention that we will be traveling with our dog.  Although the train does appear to accept dogs, I think the inconvenience of tracking down a carrier to put him in would outweigh the benefits. 

I think we shall do the Montreal--Kingston--Cape Vincent--Niagara route that you suggested though as those all seem to be nice rides! I will play around a bit more with juggling the northern section as well as the Maine and/or NB section!