Skidoorider Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 Hello Our group is planning a gaspe trip mid February for a week leaving from Fort Kent Maine and I’m looking for some suggestions on routes. 3 of us have never been and one has been in 2020. We got it basically planned out up until around rivière-au-renard-quest area. I was thinking of doing a loop inland on regional 597 by St. Charles cut over to 595 and back down to provincial 5 and onto crossing into New Brunswick but have since seen that a connecting trail is closed this year and that’s not possible. Are there other loop possibilities inland or is this the only option for a bigger loop. Would it be worth going all the way up 597 and come down 595? I’m sure that’s a lot of miles but if scenery and trails are good maybe??? The other thing I was curious on is if anyone has gone down New Brunswick on the east side say provincial 42 and crossed over at Houlton Maine. Good riding and rough mileage Campbellton to Houlton crossing? I understand Campbellton to St. Leonard is about 120miles or 4-5hrs so I was looking to maybe extend that route by going east and coming up from Houlton back to Fort Kent. Thanks in advance for any info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuse6 Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 Not sure if this is the route you’re wondering about in NB. It’s approx 306 miles. What route do you have planned to get to Riviere du Renard? Across the north shore or across the south shore . The trail between LaCache and Murdochville being closed this winter complicates things and means doing the whole perimeter loop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted January 14 Author Report Share Posted January 14 22 minutes ago, Fuse6 said: Not sure if this is the route you’re wondering about in NB. It’s approx 306 miles. What route do you have planned to get to Riviere du Renard? Across the north shore or across the south shore . The trail between LaCache and Murdochville being closed this winter complicates things and means doing the whole perimeter loop. http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2024_01/IMG_0974.thumb.png.bf27fbdbf882564f4edea8912f7d2625.png Yup, that was the route I was considering coming down from Campbellton. 300miles would work out good was thinking staying in Campbellton as I understand there is a hotel right after the bridge then stay a night in Houlton. Have you rode that route? We’ll be coming up the north shore our first stop from Fort Kent is Rimouski. My one bud that has done it before did the perimeter loop last time but never went down into New Brunswick or inland so that’s a first for him and the rest of us if we end up going that route. I think we’ll have a day to kill between Rivière du renard to Campbellton so that’s how the loop inland idea came about. I was little bummed when I read that trails closed this year maybe we could do a smaller loop inland I did see a few on the map or just keep on the perimeter trail. Open to suggestions for routes and hotels after rivière du renard basically. Would it be worth doing a smaller loop inland? That New Brunswick route worth it or just do the quicker option straight over to St. Leonard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuse6 Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 1. How many days do you plan to ride 2. Is seeing Perce Rock a priority or doesn’t matter. 3. Do you want to ride from Campelton to Houton in one day? Past two winter we have done a 6 day Gaspe/NB ride spending 3 days in each starting from Edmunston. The LaCache to Murdochville was an important part of the 3 days we spend in Gaspe. This winter spending 5-6 days in the Gaspe then the following week 5 or 6 days riding NB. To shuttle from QC to NB the Interprovincial Hotel is on QC side, Quality Inn on the Campelton side. $50 per sled, Muddles Towing yard is right beside the Quality Inn. lf know the total number of days you have to ride can give some route suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted January 15 Author Report Share Posted January 15 2 hours ago, Fuse6 said: 1. How many days do you plan to ride 2. Is seeing Perce Rock a priority or doesn’t matter. 3. Do you want to ride from Campelton to Houton in one day? Past two winter we have done a 6 day Gaspe/NB ride spending 3 days in each starting from Edmunston. The LaCache to Murdochville was an important part of the 3 days we spend in Gaspe. This winter spending 5-6 days in the Gaspe then the following week 5 or 6 days riding NB. To shuttle from QC to NB the Interprovincial Hotel is on QC side, Quality Inn on the Campelton side. $50 per sled, Muddles Towing yard is right beside the Quality Inn. lf know the total number of days you have to ride can give some route suggestions. 1. 6 to 7 days of riding. I put together a crude map off a map my bud sent of the route he took in 20 (I’ll add below). I used most of the same route and stops for rooms he used then but It can be adjusted nothing is set in stone yet other than a Fort Kent start instead of Jackman. The group wants to go down through New Brunswick also so just trying to put something together off that. 2. none of us were aware of pierce rock looks like a neat place to stop or even stay a night there. 3. The thinking as of now would be if we have no issues and make it to Campbellton if we want to extend the trip do the Houlton ride for an extra day otherwise cut straight over from Campbellton to Fort Kent. Yes, we’d likely do the estimated 300ish miles of Campbellton to Houlton in a day. We have no problem putting on miles as you can see from my buds 20 map and his f to g hotel stays. I got muddles towing info from a member on another forum that also sent me here but good info to know what they charge per sled. Do you know if they have specific hours they’ll tow sleds across?http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2024_01/IMG_4905.thumb.jpeg.74b7f380534d906546d7586dbcc40dff.jpeg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper2 Posted January 15 Report Share Posted January 15 Are you planning on checking out the Christmas mountains in NB? Might be worth it, We rode the trail one year from Grand Falls to Houlton. We were staying in Maine and did a day loop crossing into New Brunswick at Hamlin into Grand Falls NB. We took 12 and 44 down to Houlton. The trail was good not real twisty but a lot of road and driveway crossings. If you take the trip make sure to check out the world's longest covered bridge in Hartland NB. I feel your trip is manageable on the Cambellton to Houlton. We went from Stockholm through Grand Falls to Houlton then back up to Stockholm in one day but it was a long one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuse6 Posted January 15 Report Share Posted January 15 This isn’t how we would normally do the Gaspe but with the Chic Choc trail closed it’s hard to include the interior trails. Suggestion: 1. Fort Kent to Edmunston then north up to Moose Valley, NB. West of Moose Valley trail connects with QC trail up to Rimouski. 2. When depart Rimouski and head east when get to trail 595 want to go south for 12-15 miles, takes you into the Chic Choc mountains, one of the most scenic parts of the Gaspe. Then turn around and ride back north to trail 5 continue east. Guessing friend stayed at Grande Nature Chic Choc lodge, near Cap Chat. 3. Cap Chat east to Rivière du Renard, Motel Caribou. At Mont Saint Pierre because to go to the look out east of the village. 4. Rivière Du Renard south to Perce Rock. Or can skip the Rock, cut across the orange trail to the 597. The 597 from there south is a Piston Alley type run, relatively flat and straight for several miles. So whatever type of trail you prefer. If weather is good could likely make it across the south shore to New Richmond, hotel Francis. Also like the Auberge Marchand at Maria, just west of New Richmond. 5. From Campelton head south down trail 22 to Island Lake lodge for gas. Then south through the Christmas Mountains like Viper suggested. Stop in to Serpentine Lodge for gas and food. Then south working your way to Houton. The Hartland bridge Viper mentioned isn’t very far north from Houton. Worth seeing if you have time. Most of NB is faster riding compared to the Gaspe. Most fuel stops in NB are at the lodges, most only take cash and gas won’t be cheap. The combination of rid g the Gaspe and NB makes a great trip. quebec bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PISTON LAKE CRUISER Posted January 15 Report Share Posted January 15 Thats a great itinerary Fuse 6. Big day mileages but sounds like thats what the guys are into. Personally I'd take more time the day up on the top side crossing the mountains as it is the most scenic. I would agree with bypassing Perce Rock. If you've never seen it I guess its OK but in my opinion its a long way in and out to see a rock with a hole in it and depending on the weather you may not see it anyway. I'd rather see it in the summer. Fuse6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted January 15 Author Report Share Posted January 15 Great info guys really appreciate it. If we got a room in pierce for a night does anyone know the rough mileage to the bridge at Campbellton. I’d like to get the tow over the bridge done at the end of a day and stay just over the bridge for the night. When you say long trail into pierce is the trail rough/narrow and not worth the ride in? I like the sounds of the Christmas mountain route sounds like a better option than 28 which I understand is basically old rail grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PISTON LAKE CRUISER Posted January 15 Report Share Posted January 15 6 hours ago, Skidoorider said: Great info guys really appreciate it. If we got a room in pierce for a night does anyone know the rough mileage to the bridge at Campbellton. I’d like to get the tow over the bridge done at the end of a day and stay just over the bridge for the night. When you say long trail into pierce is the trail rough/narrow and not worth the ride in? I like the sounds of the Christmas mountain route sounds like a better option than 28 which I understand is basically old rail grade. it's about 235 miles from Perce to the Inter-Provincial Motel/fuel/restaurant on the Quebec side of the bridge in Point a la Croix. If you go to the Quebec on line trail map at https://fcmq.fcmqapi.ca/fr/carte-cond.html#map there is a blue box called itinerary on the upper left side of the screen. Its for planning trips and calculating distances in kilometers. Multiply km's by .6324 to get miles. Its about 12 miles into Perce off trail 5. Both times I rode in there the trip in and out wasn't pleasant but that was back about 1996-2000. maybe it was my bad luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted January 15 Report Share Posted January 15 1 hour ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said: If you go to the Quebec on line trail map at https://fcmq.fcmqapi.ca/fr/carte-cond.html#map there is a blue box called itinerary on the upper left side of the screen. Its for planning trips and calculating distances in kilometers. Multiply km's by .6324 to get miles. Touch the Menu button top left, then Itinerary, 3 dots will let you toggle between Miles or Kilometers. dooright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted January 15 Author Report Share Posted January 15 1 hour ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said: it's about 235 miles from Perce to the Inter-Provincial Motel/fuel/restaurant on the Quebec side of the bridge in Point a la Croix. If you go to the Quebec on line trail map at https://fcmq.fcmqapi.ca/fr/carte-cond.html#map there is a blue box called itinerary on the upper left side of the screen. Its for planning trips and calculating distances in kilometers. Multiply km's by .6324 to get miles. Its about 12 miles into Perce off trail 5. Both times I rode in there the trip in and out wasn't pleasant but that was back about 1996-2000. maybe it was my bad luck. Thank you that’s a big help. My computer illiterate ass didn’t realize you could do that on the map. Mileages don’t seem bad at all between hotel stays most are half what we usually do in Maine in a day but I’m sure we’ll be doing much more sightseeing along the way than we normally do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuse6 Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 4 hours ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said: It’s about 12 miles into Perce off trail 5. Both times I rode in there the trip in and out wasn't pleasant but that was back about 1996-2000. maybe it was my bad luck. l’m a farmer PLC so rocks don’t impress me much. Our first trip to the Gaspe was 2016. We went to the Rock. The trail going in was brutual. Some of the roughest trail ever rode, hadn’t been groomed in weeks. The next five trips we bypassed it. Will likely stop by this year as we have 3 guys that haven’t been there before. Hopefully better Trail in this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuse6 Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 2 hours ago, Skidoorider said: Thank you that’s a big help. My computer illiterate ass didn’t realize you could do that on the map. I’m curious how you make out booking reservations. Know another fellow that was booking a Gaspe/NB trip a week ago and some spots were booked for the nights he was trying for. Hopefully you have good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PISTON LAKE CRUISER Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, Skidoorider said: Mileages don’t seem bad at all between hotel stays most are half what we usually do in Maine in a day but I’m sure we’ll be doing much more sightseeing along the way than we normally do. In my opinion if you stay on 5 from Perce to Pointe a la Croix they isn't scenery like the north side or the interior. You shouldn't have any issue catching the last tilt and load to Campbellton. We wouldn't have gone to Gaspe as often as we have if it was all like the south side. JMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted January 16 Author Report Share Posted January 16 8 hours ago, Fuse6 said: l’m a farmer PLC so rocks don’t impress me much. Our first trip to the Gaspe was 2016. We went to the Rock. The trail going in was brutual. Some of the roughest trail ever rode, hadn’t been groomed in weeks. The next five trips we bypassed it. Will likely stop by this year as we have 3 guys that haven’t been there before. Hopefully better Trail in this time. We pretty got all stops planned now besides this one. Thinking we might just bypass the rock and come down 597 to chandler instead like you suggested above. The piston alley comment is too much to ignore lol. 8 hours ago, Fuse6 said: I’m curious how you make out booking reservations. Know another fellow that was booking a Gaspe/NB trip a week ago and some spots were booked for the nights he was trying for. Hopefully you have good luck. I’m a little nervous about getting rooms myself. Last time my two buds went in 20 they just winged it and call at lunchtime to book a room. This was pre rona though actually right during rona they shut the border down right after they crossed. I’m guessing staff shortages and potentially places went under are going to make rooms harder to find and book quicker now. We do plan to book this week though if we have to adjust stays a little is what it is I guess. 7 hours ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said: In my opinion if you stay on 5 from Perce to Pointe a la Croix they isn't scenery like the north side or the interior. You shouldn't have any issue catching the last tilt and load to Campbellton. We wouldn't have gone to Gaspe as often as we have if it was all like the south side. JMHO That’s exactly what we were thinking not much scenery and should just be able to rip across that section pretty quick. Do you know when the last tow over the bridge is? This a 5pm last call deal? I’m going to call them this week when I go over to my buds to get rooms booked but I’m just curious what last call is if anyone knows. Getting that over with at the end of them day seems better to me than waking up next morning and dealing with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuse6 Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 58 minutes ago, Skidoorider said: That’s exactly what we were thinking not much scenery and should just be able to rip across that section pretty quick. Do you know when the last tow over the bridge is? This a 5pm last call deal? I’m going to call them this week when I go over to my buds to get rooms booked but I’m just curious what last call is if anyone knows. Getting that over with at the end of them day seems better to me than waking up next morning and dealing with it. Not sure if they have official hours, they are a fair size towing company so imagine they are use to 24/7. The 4 times we have used them was always 8:00 in the morning. Depending on how many in your group if they have 4 sleds either on the tilt bed or the big trailer they are making $200 in 45 minutes so l imagine they are fairly accommodating. Drivers and dispatch we dealt with spoke good English. There is a time zone difference between NB and QC. NB is Atlantic time, QC is Eastern Standard time. NB 8:00 AM would be 7:00 AM Quebec. The Interprovincial Hotel has a good restaurant that’s open 7 days a week. The past two years the restaurant at the Quality Inn in Campelton wasn’t open on Sunday nights. That’s another thing to check when booking rooms, website may say has a restaurant but with the staff shortage some aren’t open 7 days a week, especially early in the week. zeusand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PISTON LAKE CRUISER Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 58 minutes ago, Fuse6 said: he past two years the restaurant at the Quality Inn in Campelton wasn’t open on Sunday nights. That’s another thing to check when booking rooms, website may say has a restaurant but with the staff shortage some aren’t open 7 days a week, especially early in the week. Some that are open may close very early in the evening especially in the early part of the week. When you ask if the restaurant is open also ask the hours. Fuse6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblood Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 Perce Rock is always a crap shoot. It is not groomed like the main trail. And it is about ten miles in one way. The south shore is very easy to make good time on. Fuse6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 My thoughts on Perce Travel the TQ5 past the Perce trail, if it is groomed go in for sure, it is just a step. If it is not groomed it will take longer for sure. What are you missing if you do not go in......a picture sitting on your sled in front of one of the most iconic viewscapes in all of Quebec. If pictures are not important, no loss, otherwise unless you plan on another trip you will never be any closer. Fuse6, MrsGTRider, quebec bob and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 We had to do a little reevaluation as some places were booked for the amount of rooms we needed. Another bud decided to come so 5 of us now too. We did get all the rooms booked though. My buddy also decided to leave from Houlton instead of Fort Kent. Day 1 will be Houlton to Rimouski Day 2 Rimouski to Sainte Anne Day 3 Sainte Anne to Rivière au Renard Day 4 Rivière au Renard to Carleton Day 5 undecided but maybe casino in Edmondston Day 6 will be casino? Back to the truck We will be doing basically what fuse6 suggested for a route above…run up to la cache on 595 and skipping the rock for 597 piston alley type trail. We will be coming down through the Christmas mountain in New Brunswick that was suggested to likely the casino but who knows basically winging the last stop before the run back to the trucks in Houlton. February can’t come soon enough 👍 iceman and MrGutz 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted February 11 Author Report Share Posted February 11 I’m not liking the looks of the red and yellows up there and some pics I’ve seen. Anybody have first hand reports? Looks like Rimouski is all red no way to get to the hotel we booked….all yellow past new Richmond and red and yellow in New Brunswick no way to get back to Maine as far as I can see. I don’t see any snow coming should we cancel this trip or just plan for different stops if it’s even possible this late. We are supposed to be leaving in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 Canceled the trip to gaspe today a map of mostly yellow and red up there and pictures we seen on Facebook just didn’t seem worth bothering trying to reroute and make it work with conditions what they are. We booked a room for the week near Saguenay so hopefully it’s good up there find out in a couple days but at least it seems all green for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSHM Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 (edited) Be carefull, On Imotoneige with the trail conditions on, I clicked on some of the green trails up there to see when it was updated and some of them are from the 7th thru the 9th. Before the melt last weekend. I would call a couple of the hotels around the lake and ask how they are. Edited February 12 by NSHM Skidoorider 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidoorider Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 I did notice some updates were older but seen quite a few from the 11/12th also. It’s our best option at this point nothing worth while in Maine, gaspe looks toast if this doesn’t work out oh we’ll sit in the pool and make the best of it beats going into work NSHM and P Hardy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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