Heading out on a 2 week trip to Nova Scotia in August. I am planning out my route up through Michigan and into Canada and over. I will be taking all back roads and avoiding highways as much as possible. Anyone have any input on things I should look for that are not on the normal tourist maps?
I assume that you will be going into Canada via Detroit? You will be hard pressed to do that trip in 2 weeks and not take any major highways. Once you get into Canada, I would head north toward Huntville Ontario and drive Hwy 60 through Algonquin Park.
Drive along the south shore of the St. Lawrence river on hwy 132 in Quebec. Make sure you have warm clothes.
If you go near Peterborough (about 60 miles northeast of Toronto), stop and check out the world's tallest lift lock. It is part of the Trent-Severn waterway.
Tell us the route your traveling.Maybe we can give some pointers.And 2 weeks you,ll be pushing it.We plan on going in Sept when not so busy.Ride safe.
Bill
I just came home from the same trip. 2.5 weeks....are you camping or staying in motels? I would take highways through Ontario and Quecbec and saving two lane roads for the scenic trails in Nova Scotia. They all have names like The Sunrise Trail, Lighthouse Trail and the most famous Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. All of these are two lane costal roads that snake in and out of small villages. The City of Halifax is great to see along with the south coast including Peggy's Cove, Luneburg, Chester and the like.
A lot to do and see in 2 weeks! And we didn't even mention PEI or New Brunswick.
Shoot a PM to " Murphy Brown " ( Karyl ) she did that a couple of years ago and loved it...................me too because She stopped at my place on the way back and stayed for a few days ........Awesome lady ...................Mike
Last edited by BLUEKNIGHT911; 07-21-2015 at 08:31 PM.
Heading up through Sault St. Marie, then looking at highway 17 to bridport area. then 124 to 14 to 4 to 104 to 25 to Portsmouth and take the ferry across.
Looking at a totally different rout on the way back.
We will be camping in a bunkhouse camper most nights.
We love to ride and put on about 4,500 to 5,000 miles in our normal two week trip. I am showing this trip to be about 4,490.
Last year was to Grand junction, on to Moab, back to Estes Park, and to many roads in-between to name.
Longest trip was through UP of Michigan on route 2 to Minot ND, on to glacier national park, down to grand Tetons, then Yellowstone, the great salt lake, Estes park and then back home. Little over 5,000 miles in two weeks on that one.
Found a lot of places we will be going back to and spending more time at.
This will be the first trip without the old Yamaha venture royale and on the new spyder. Cant wait!!!
+1 on Cape Breton Island and Cabot Trail New Brunswick is nice as well. Along the Cabot Trail.Confederation Bridge to P.E.I.Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick.
Last edited by Highwayman2013; 07-21-2015 at 09:02 PM.
We’ve done Nova Scotia several times on our Gold Wing. You asked for “different” things -- our specialty. Your ferry will put you in Yarmouth. Just pass thru there. If you take the northern shore – Route 101 – you’ll pass thru Digby. Really nice town and home of the famous Digby Scallops. Those scallops are the best there are. Try some. Then a little further up you come to Annapolis Royal. There are gardens there that are jaw dropping. http://www.historicgardens.com/ Considered one of the best five gardens in North America. Definitely worth a stop.
Stay along the coast past Kentville and Wolfville and head towards Truro. Then NW from Truro towards Amherst. SW of Amherst is Joggins, home of the Joggins Fossil UNESCO World Heritage Site. I’m not into fossils but this is truly remarkable. On the coast, subject to the 20-ft tides of Fundy so you have to be there when the tides are out. Then a guide will take you down on the beach and cliffs where you’ll see amazing fossils and a real piece of history. Come back when the tide is in and from up above, i.e. the park office, all that will have disappeared under at least 20 feet of water. The tides keep etching away the cliffs and uncovering new fossils. http://jogginsfossilcliffs.net/
If you manage to do that at the end of your trip, you could then head into NB from Amherst and either go down Rt 1 thru St John and into Maine at Calais or take the Trans Canada 2 thru Fredericton and up and around in Canada or cross into Maine at Houlton at the start of I-95 down towards Bangor. The northern part of I-95 is deserted and your own private interstate in perfect condition. We've taken all those routes.
On the southern coast of Nova Scotia, as mentioned, Halifax is a nice city with lots of interest. Halifax has one of the best Titanic museums anywhere. Many of the rescue operations were from Halifax. With the result that many of the recovered pieces and artifacts were taken to Halifax. Very well done museum.
SW of Halifax off Rt 103 is Luneberg. As mentioned by others, a very nice town to visit and stay. Closer to Halifax is Peggy’s Cove which probably has the most photographed lighthouse in the world. Plan to share it with a zillion tourists and tour buses. Personally I’ve seen much better lighthouses.
SW of Luneberg you can take Rt 8 NW across the center of Nova Scotia, past Kejimkujik National Park and get back to Digby. From Digby you can get a ferry across to St John, NB and work your way home from there.
Too many possibilities. Don’t get me started. Hmm.. I guess I am already started.
If you do end up going home thru St John, NB, as you get closer to the border at Calais, look for St Andrews by the Sea along the coast. A great coastal town to spend the night. Or have lunch. From there it’s only like 20 miles to the border crossing on the new four-lane around St Stephen and Calais which puts you on US 1 just south of Calais, avoiding a lot of traffic in those towns.
Far more than you wanted to know but I couldn’t resist just a “few” suggestions. Enjoy – you can’t go wrong.
[QUOTE=gypsy_100;1010094]We’ve done Nova Scotia several times on our Gold Wing. You asked for “different” things -- our specialty. Your ferry will put you in Yarmouth. Just pass thru there. If you take the northern shore – Route 101 – you’ll pass thru Digby. Really nice town and home of the famous Digby Scallops. Those scallops are the best there are. Try some. Then a little further up you come to Annapolis Royal. There are gardens there that are jaw dropping. http://www.historicgardens.com/ Considered one of the best five gardens in North America. Definitely worth a stop.
Stay along the coast past Kentville and Wolfville and head towards Truro. Then NW from Truro towards Amherst. SW of Amherst is Joggins, home of the Joggins Fossil UNESCO World Heritage Site. I’m not into fossils but this is truly remarkable. On the coast, subject to the 20-ft tides of Fundy so you have to be there when the tides are out. Then a guide will take you down on the beach and cliffs where you’ll see amazing fossils and a real piece of history. Come back when the tide is in and from up above, i.e. the park office, all that will have disappeared under at least 20 feet of water. The tides keep etching away the cliffs and uncovering new fossils. http://jogginsfossilcliffs.net/
If you manage to do that at the end of your trip, you could then head into NB from Amherst and either go down Rt 1 thru St John and into Maine at Calais or take the Trans Canada 2 thru Fredericton and up and around in Canada or cross into Maine at Houlton at the start of I-95 down towards Bangor. The northern part of I-95 is deserted and your own private interstate in perfect condition. We've taken all those routes.
On the southern coast of Nova Scotia, as mentioned, Halifax is a nice city with lots of interest. Halifax has one of the best Titanic museums anywhere. Many of the rescue operations were from Halifax. With the result that many of the recovered pieces and artifacts were taken to Halifax. Very well done museum.
SW of Halifax off Rt 103 is Luneberg. As mentioned by others, a very nice town to visit and stay. Closer to Halifax is Peggy’s Cove which probably has the most photographed lighthouse in the world. Plan to share it with a zillion tourists and tour buses. Personally I’ve seen much better lighthouses.
SW of Luneberg you can take Rt 8 NW across the center of Nova Scotia, past Kejimkujik National Park and get back to Digby. From Digby you can get a ferry across to St John, NB and work your way home from there.
Too many possibilities. Don’t get me started. Hmm.. I guess I am already started.
If you do end up going home thru St John, NB, as you get closer to the border at Calais, look for St Andrews by the Sea along the coast. A great coastal town to spend the night. Or have lunch. From there it’s only like 20 miles to the border crossing on the new four-lane around St Stephen and Calais which puts you on US 1 just south of Calais, avoiding a lot of traffic in those towns.
Far more than you wanted to know but I couldn’t resist just a “few” suggestions. Enjoy – you can’t go wrong.along the coast past Kentville and Wolfville ther are many winerys in this area, and Halls Harbor, and the Lookoff not to be missed
That is some GREAT info! I can see that I will get to love this site more and more when I can get that kind of info and reviews from people who have "been there and done that".
Thanks for taking the time to detail all of that out for us, you rock.
That is some GREAT info! I can see that I will get to love this site more and more when I can get that kind of info and reviews from people who have "been there and done that".
Thanks for taking the time to detail all of that out for us, you rock.
One final piece of unsolicited comment. I'm sure many have told you to be sure to do the Cabot Trail in eastern Nova Scotia, in the Cape Breton Highlands area. I would certainly agree. It takes a while to get there. As I recall, the roads get pretty jammed up in the center of the island and it takes a while to get past that. May be better now, it's been a couple years.
If that is on your itinerary, a few thoughts. Most important, ride the Cabot Trail counterclockwise so you are in the outside lane. Best views of the cliffs, beaches, and water that way. A great town to stay in is Baddeck. We always stay for two nights so we can spend a full day on the Cabot Trail. From Baddeck to the Cabot Trial and full way round the trail back to Baddeck is a little less than 200 miles. Many people wouldn't devote a full day to that but we like to look around and take detours and all. If you are pressed for time, and it sounds like you might be, you could do the trail in one day and continue on your journey. Depends on your like and dislike for how many miles you want to do in a sightseeing day. Baddeck has several motels and restaurants. We like the Telegraph House. Clean, not overpriced, and very motorcycle friendly.
If you do find yourself in Baddeck with time on your hands, another good site is the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Park on the east edge of Baddeck. Bell lived there a lot of his life and did a lot of his "inventing" there. We always thought of him in connection to telephones, obviously. But he was a wide-ranging inventor. Kites, airplanes, and he built a world-record-setting marine hydrofoil. The museum has all that in there and is fascinating. What a guy! Remember, you asked for the slightly off-the-beaten-path info! Enjoy.
Also had the pleasure of going to N. S. The travelogues are right on.
Is the "Bounty" still at Luneberg?
You would ask. I just looked it up. It sank in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy. Was enroute from New London, CT down to Florida. Most of the crew was rescued but the captain and one crew member died. That crew member Claudine Christian was, or claimed to be, a descendant of Fletcher Christian. She was alive when found but didn't survive. What a shame. Just built in 1960 as a full-scale replica of the Bounty for the Marlon Brando movie. Built right in Lunenburg because of their expertise in building wooden ships. Then later used as an educational and sailing ship after that. I found one reference that a group of investors and sailing enthusiasts were trying to get another one built and they would be making an announcement. That was over a year ago and I didn't see anything further so I don't know if it came to actually getting started or not. I'll let someone else research that one.
We did see the Bluenose II sail out of the harbor which is another nice sailing ship built in Lunenburg circa 1963. It has undergone some rebuilds and may be back in "tourist" duty. Not sure. Sorry to go so far off topic but it does give you the flavor of Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia trip
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Sypder Loco! 
Originally Posted by Fatcycledaddy
I just looked it up. It sank in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy. Was enroute from New London, CT down to Florida. Most of the crew was rescued but the captain and one crew member died. That crew member Claudine Christian was, or claimed to be, a descendant of Fletcher Christian. She was alive when found but didn't survive. What a shame. Just built in 1960 as a full-scale replica of the Bounty for the Marlon Brando movie. Built right in Lunenburg because of their expertise in building wooden ships. Then later used as an educational and sailing ship after that. I found one reference that a group of investors and sailing enthusiasts were trying to get another one built and they would be making an announcement. That was over a year ago and I didn't see anything further so I don't know if it came to actually getting started or not. I'll let someone else research that one. 
