Planning a trip to Eastern Canada at end of Summer...

**Scott'n'Wendy** · 12-01-2022, 07:28 AM

Originally Posted by traveldawg

Thanks. I think we'll start near Quebec, work our way up along the St Lawrence Seaway (south side), around the Gaspé Peninsula,

On the Gaspe, knowledge of french would be very useful.

**traveldawg** · 12-01-2022, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by Bruce M

Be sure to do the Cabot Trail loop in Cape Breton, NS.

yep - did it once before (both sides); want to see it again

Originally Posted by livinthelife

If you can work it in, I'd suggest seeing Newfoundland, also. It does take a bit of advance prep, though, as the ferry to/from there has to be booked months ahead.

Been there. Actually we conducted a caravan and we spent about 2 weeks there. The ferry system broke down and instead of leaving St John's and we had to reschedule 19 RVs for the trip back to Port aux Basques and then that ferry; it all worked out ok considering all the last minute arrangements we had to make.

Originally Posted by Scott'n'Wendy

On the Gaspe, knowledge of french would be very useful.

ugh... as it turns out we won't have enough time for the Gaspe so I suppose that solved itself.

Thanks for the input everyone!

**Wandering5thwheelers** · 12-03-2022, 09:28 PM

I would strongly urge you to sign up at Boondockers Welcome! It’s a great site/app, and what’s even better is there are a lot of people down east that have spots on their land for you to park on…especially since your like me and have a short trailer.
My late husband and I stayed and met some amazing people on our trip across Canada 3 years ago…you’ll love it!
As for timing, all I can say, is, as a Canadian, you really need to watch the long range weather reports. While August to mid October are “usually good” still for RVing etc., like anywhere, we get “surprised” by the weather all the time.
This year, down east was glorious right up to mid November, but they did get hit with at least one hurricane that came up the coast from Florida…watch for moose on the road, they’re everywhere!
Good luck, safe travels!

**mstapp** · 12-04-2022, 08:53 AM

I'm not sure about the reservations question, but we went to a number of places in Maine this summer around July 4, and at every campground there were still at least a few sites available. There are lots of leaf-peepers visiting in the fall, though, so space may be tighter then.

Our favorite places to see:

Acadia: if you only see 1 place in Maine, make it Acadia. It's spectacular. Lots of beautiful places to see, ranging from the stunning loop drive to a wide range of hikes with great views. Extensive carriage roads traverse the park & make for great hiking, biking, or horse-drawn carriage rides. Lots of good food around, but eat at Charlotte's Legendary lobster pound at least once -- lobster grilled cheese with a cup of lobster bisque to dip it in, and excellent blueberry pie for dessert. Acadia is too crowded in summer, but the crowds thin out nicely after Labor Day & it's glorious. (Acadia is the one place where you usually need reservations, but there are some other RV parks off the island that I imagine would have space in the fall.)

If you're coming from the Canadian Maritimes and are up in the far eastern corner of Maine anyway, we loved Lubec, ME. Camp at Sunset Point RV Park in Lubec, which sits on a bluff overlooking a beautiful bay. The sites are tight and don't have sewer, but you won't care because OMG the view! (Get a site backing up to the water.) The Lubec area has some of the best "downeast Maine" scenery around. It rivals Acadia for the scenery (with just slightly more effort to see it though -- it's hard to beat Acadia's loop drive), and there is no one around. We loved it because the area is isolated, quiet, and beautiful; if you like shopping & bustle, it might not be the right place. As a bonus, an excellent small chocolate shop is across the street from the campground. The bridge to Canada's Campobello Island is also in Lubec.

Baxter State Park is beautiful & wild, but not the most accessible place. The park itself is a drive from the nearest town, and most everything inside the park is a good half-hour or more drive along a gravel road from the gatehouse. It's beautiful though if you're up for some hiking. (Most visitors go to hike Mount Katahdin, but there are many other beautiful -- and far easier -- hikes.) By October, Baxter may be getting too cold, though.

In mid-coast Maine, Boothbay Harbor is gorgeous & worth a visit. We stayed at Shore Hills campground in Maine & loved it (we had a lovely wooded site, but the waterfront sites have beautiful views). We have friends who also swear by Chewonki Campground in nearby Wiscasset; a little pricey, but also a beautiful place. If you're in the Boothbay area, the botanical gardens there are outstanding & worth a visit. (And I'm not really a botanical gardens kind of guy!)

Portland, ME is a hip & bustling small city if you're looking for more of an urban setting after so much time up north.

The western lakes region of Maine around Flagstaff Lake & Rangely Lake is also supposed to be quite beautiful but we haven't been there yet. That's our destination for this coming summer.

**Dadeo6472** · 02-26-2023, 10:29 AM

Looking for recommendations in Canadian Maritime provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, NS, and NB. We are interested mostly in outdoor activities, hiking and kayaking for up to several miles at a time. We do boondock from time to time, but would not want to do so continuously. We are leaving from Syracuse, NY May 1 returnjing mid June, schedule flexible. We were thinking about going up the fastest way, which means around Boston, thru Maine, NS and PEI and back along the St Lawrence Seaway. We've done Maine, Acadia, Boston, Cape Code, etc so just driving thru New England. What are the can't miss places to see and best places to stay?

Right now the Canadian National Park reservation site is down, hopefully a complete replacement is coming because its just about the least user friendly thing I've ever seen. No reservations can be made until sometime in March, but worse, apparently no reservations can be made for May at all until the end of April. And I thought our own Recreation.gov was bad.

**Wandering5thwheelers** · 02-26-2023, 03:52 PM

Please check out the parks Canada website… https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/reserve
This will tell you exactly when you can book. Also remember that the Parks Canada site is for National Parks, each province has their own reservation site for provincial parks.
If you make it to PEI there are multiple RV parks around the island (it’s a small island), with access to just about everywhere in short order.
There is so much to day anywhere in the Maritimes, but we really loved PEI!
Enjoy!

Originally Posted by Dadeo6472

Looking for recommendations in Canadian Maritime provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, NS, and NB. We are interested mostly in outdoor activities, hiking and kayaking for up to several miles at a time. We do boondock from time to time, but would not want to do so continuously. We are leaving from Syracuse, NY May 1 returnjing mid June, schedule flexible. We were thinking about going up the fastest way, which means around Boston, thru Maine, NS and PEI and back along the St Lawrence Seaway. We've done Maine, Acadia, Boston, Cape Code, etc so just driving thru New England. What are the can't miss places to see and best places to stay?

Right now the Canadian National Park reservation site is down, hopefully a complete replacement is coming because its just about the least user friendly thing I've ever seen. No reservations can be made until sometime in March, but worse, apparently no reservations can be made for May at all until the end of April. And I thought our own Recreation.gov was bad.

**Dadeo6472** · 02-26-2023, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by Wandering5thwheelers

Please check out the parks Canada website… https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/reserve
This will tell you exactly when you can book. Also remember that the Parks Canada site is for National Parks, each province has their own reservation site for provincial parks.
If you make it to PEI there are multiple RV parks around the island (it’s a small island), with access to just about everywhere in short order.
There is so much to day anywhere in the Maritimes, but we really loved PEI!
Enjoy!

I've been looking at the national and provincial sites for information and reservations. None of the national park sites are taking reservations, and won't be for several weeks -- their site is down.

All that aside, which are the places you'd put on something like a top 10 list? I've already got the big National Parks on the list.... but which of the provincial parks should be on such a list... I ask because by my count there are 50+ provincial parks and reserves just in Newfoundland and Labrador alone! And they all sound interesting.....

So I guess I am looking for input from fellow RVers for what they really liked...... and what maybe we could avoid... remembering that we'd like to do some hiking, biking and some kayaking.

Thanks!!!!