NW_Vermont

Neat to hear of someone riding south of the St. Lawrence. It looks like 5 crosses up by Sorel. and some others between Sorel and Chambly, but nothing south of that...per the on-line map. Way down in Lacolle, it doesn't look like any snowmobile trails cross. But, do believe that the VTT/ATV trail crosses the Highway 202 bridge. I'm about 30 miles east of Lacolle. We are getting hammered hard. NW_Vermont.

I'm pretty sure Interstate 89 is the only Interstate in our area of New England that doesn't have a corresponding Quebec Autoroute north of the border. I assume that some of you travel up '89 and struggle with the two lane highways between Vermont and Autoroute 35, which links into A-10 a bit south of Montreal. Or, you avoid this route because of the lack of an Autoroute. I travel the northern reaches of I-89 daily and often see rigs heading to & from Quebec. I hadn't seen it mentioned on here, but Quebec is completing the once-abandoned link betweeen A-35 and Vermont. Part of it is scheduled to open in 2014. This is supposed to cut down on the Vermont-to-Montreal time by about 20 minutes. So, I hope this opens up another opportunity for you northbound travelers. Maybe for Boston area people that aren't going through Trois Rivieres or Quebec? FWIW, I-89 Exit 21-Swanton is the last stop for gas before hitting the border. Cheers. NW_Vermont

Yesterday, February 18th at about 3:20pm, on the top of Interstate 89 in Vermont, I saw a truck and enclosed snowmobile trailer rig get on the interstate at Swanton, heading north. Nice looking rig, clean, Vermont plates. When first seen, I said to myself " Oh! I know where they were heading...jealous!". When they slowly passed me on the interstate doing about 80 mph I saw at least two guys in the truck. My jaw dropped when I saw that they had forgotten to close their tailgate! Bags and other goodies were right on the inside edge of the tailgate, in the actual bed of the truck. I thought about catching up to them and doing...something, but how do you motion to somebody that their back door is open! Plus, doing 90+ to catch up with a teenage boy in the car wasn't really in my cards. My only other thought was that Canadian customs about 5 miles away may let them know. Maybe... I was bored and had a moment so decided to post this. I hope these snowmobilers didn't have a surprise when they stopped or a fist fight among each other! NW_Vermont

Also, if you are already not on top of this, make sure the dealer knows you are taking it (them) out of the country. For "export". This should get you out of paying the GST/PST taxes. And, because of NAFTA, if the sled is made in North America there is no duty or other taxes to bring 'er home. This is dated info, so please check with the dealer, the dealer close to the border suggested by somebody else and that Import Specialist I mentioned earlier. NW. PS. When I bought my two Sea Doos, the exchage was $1.62CN for each US dollar! Those were the days!

I've purchased sea-doos, going the other way, though. I suggest you contact an "Import Specialist". I believe one can be located at the Champlain, NY facility. I'd call there in advance. Sometimes, the inspectors are not used to such questions because they are worried about money, citizenship and terrorists day in and day out. I think this is the best way to get proper information and document your conversation and who with...because you may need to show the regular inspectors at the border what's what. NW_Vermont.

Fantastic! I look forward to the video. Parked 4 hours from home?

Thanks. This may be old news to you, all, but it appears that the on-line FCMQ map has the trail south of 73 in this area noted as trail 355. The 2010/2011 printed map, which is admittedly last-years has this section of trail that is south of 73 as trail 347. Oh well... Thanks again.

I haven't seen this part of Quebec, yet. I found 355 trail south of LaTuque, right? Is the pipeline part of the northern section of 355 or southern section of 355? Thanks. Great vid!

Fantastic video. Unlike the other posts of flying down the trails, this video captured the trip, the surroundings without being boring! Nice!

Je me souviens: Hello from across the lake. Best wishes for your girlfriend. That is real scary and you are doing a service to others by posting your story. And, you say she's ready to head back up. It's time to buy that girl an engagement ring!!! And, And, I grew up about 7 miles from Quebec. I was skiing in the Eastern Townships a week ago. Dear Quebec: Thank you for hockey, the best beer and women that don't age. NW_Vermont.

I'll keep this as brief as possible. Topic: A way of saying Merci! Me: Former snowmobiler from 1998-2000, Rode Vermont mostly, but ventured to Quebec a few times a year. Though I regret not making it north of St. Michel des Saints or the Mont Tremblant Park. I lurk on these forums because I still have snowmobiling "in my blood". I enjoy your stories and photos. August 2-6, 2010: I was on a trip via boat-33' cruiser- from Vermont's Lake Champlain to Quebec City and then Montreal. This was via the Richelieu River, Chambly Canal, back to the Richelieu and then onto the St. Lawrence. Fantastic trip, my first time. Everybody we saw on our trip was friendly and understanding when we only know a few words of French. When in the Quebec City area we ran into some mechanical problems with one of the engines/drive of our boat. The Marina in Quebec City did not have mechanic services, but recommended a mechanic. I only got a phone number. A gentleman named Harold from a company called Mechanautic, based partly out of Parc Nautique de Levy (the Marina at the city of Levis) visited me in Quebec City at 5:30pm, which, for me, is after hours. He was very busy with other customers but arranged for us to be pulled out of the water the following day in Levis. Normand Lapage the owner of Mecanautic, Harold, and a couple others repaired the boat in three hours, ending at 6pm. They didn't have the parts, but knowing that we needed to continue with our trip, took a bit of a risk for their company and fixed the boat the best they could. It worked and they did not charge anything more than their normal rate. In fact, only one person's time was charged when sometimes two people worked on it. Also, they didn't charge for Harold's trip to Quebec City the night before. I did not expect to be taken advantage of, but Normand and his company were wonderful and understanding. The bill was not very much and we eagerly paid it. Their repair allowed us to get 250+ miles to home. They saved our family's vacation. So, I plan to write a letter to Mecanautic and the marina in Quebec City that referred them to thank them. This forum is visited by Groomer and others familiar with the Quebec City/Levis area so this is one way for me to say thank you to the mechanics for excellent, honest, competent service. Also, I can relate to a snowmobiler breaking down far from the truck and needing the snowmobile fixed by locals in order to keep going. Perhaps Levis is small enough that some of you know these people, maybe not. Again, it is one of my limited ways of expressing thanks to somebody 3.5 hours by car from home. NW_Vermont.