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#1
Newfoundland Trip
Posted by Elvira
on
Tue. Nov. 08, 12:37 EST 2011 Hi Andrew & Jennifer, I really enjoyed this one. Being from the Maritimes, the images are close to my heart (love the ocean pics). Another superb story.
Thanks.
#2
Newfoundland_2
Posted by Elvira
on
Tue. Nov. 08, 12:43 EST 2011 Hi again. I neglected to mention that I did notice a restaurant in Quebec City, Andrew. Very familiar??
#3
Great Trip
Posted by Fellow Traveller
on
Wed. Jan. 04, 11:42 EST 2012 I stumbled upon your site when searching for more info on The Birchy Nuddick Trail. Great collection of photos and very informative for visitors and resident stay-cationers alike. Thanks very much for sharing and all the best on your adventures.
#4
Planning a trip in August
Posted by Lynette
on
Tue. Jan. 17, 20:44 EST 2012 Thanks so much for
a great description of the highway to Goose Bay. We are thinking of taking
this segment of your trip in August. You have given me hope that we probably can
make it.
#5
Posted by Peter Oberhaensli
on
Sat. Jun. 30, 14:16 EDT 2012 Thank you very much for the
detailed description of 389, 500 and 510. We intend to make the trip, event.
510, 500, 389, in August/Sept. 2012. We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, 5.7 Hemi and
a travel trailer. Previous experiences NWT, Yukon, Alaska, all the Rocky
Mountain Passes, etc. Remarks, warnings, considerations from anybody are most
welcome. Thanks
#6
re:
(in reply-to message #5)
Posted by Andrew
on
Sat. Jun. 30, 17:09 EDT 2012 Hi there. Sounds like your equipment is more than sufficient to make the journey. Sounds like fun. Will you be camping 'at-large' along the way? There are certainly places to do it!
#7
Posted by Peter Oberhaensli
on
Wed. Jul. 04, 11:34 EDT 2012 Thanks Andrew for your reply. We intend to camp wherever it is possible and permitted. I haven't read about any campgrounds. Are there any dump-stations on the way in the few villages/service centers? We are driving only with empty fresh water tank and need to fill up before camping or we carry gallons of drinking water. How did you do? We will advance slower with the trailer an need more days. Looking forward to an adventures trip.
Peter + Judith from Switzerland
#8
re:
(in reply-to message #7)
Posted by Andrew
on
Wed. Jul. 04, 17:34 EDT 2012 There are not many campgrounds along the way. There is one on highway 389 not too far north of Baie Comeau (only about 30 or 40km), and it probably has a dump station. North of that, I don't recall any 'complete' campgrounds, for 1000 km all the way to Happy Valley / Goose Bay. I am pretty sure that all of the above places will have fresh water that you may acquire. There might still be dump stations, though, at the gas station near the Manic 5 dam, or at the Relais Gabriel, or perhaps in Labrador City or Fermont. You probably need to do some internet research to verify this. From Happy Valley / Goose Bay, when you head south on route 510, There is 400+ km of travel before the first town with gas and a small store. Water can be acquired here. Still another few hundred kilometres before the first campground that might have a dump station (Pinware River Provincial Park is the first place I can think of). ...Andrew
#9
overland to the rock
Posted by Bruno Doucet
on
Thu. Jul. 26, 23:22 EDT 2012 Hello, i would like to say that this protion of your site inspired me so much that we made about the same trip, my daughter and me. Superb scenics, Labrador is really "The big land" as the frontier sign says. Best trip ever. Newfoundland changed me forever. Regards Bruno,
#10
re: overland to the rock
(in reply-to message #9)
Posted by Andrew
on
Fri. Jul. 27, 07:22 EDT 2012 Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed the trip report, and your own trip. ...Andrew
#11
Amazing:)
Posted by Fraenz
on
Sat. Aug. 18, 03:45 EDT 2012 Hey, great blog. I m doing exactly the same thing in about 3 weeks time. Was it ok to sleep in the car? What "tools" should i absolutely not forget (apart from the mosquito net:))? How did you that whole gps registration thing? With your camera? Is in baie cameau a wallmart or a shop where i may buy the whole camping stuff low budget? The problem is that i m flying in from europe and this stuff will stay mostly in canada:) Thankx in advance Fraenz
#12
re: Amazing:)
(in reply-to message #11)
Posted by Andrew
on
Sat. Aug. 18, 14:01 EDT 2012
#13
Posted by Fraenz
on
Sun. Aug. 19, 06:36 EDT 2012 Yep i arrive in quebec city where i will stay 3 days and take over the rental car...so i will buy all this stuff in quebec city in wallmart i think:)
#14
Maps of Gravel/Paved Portions of the roads
Posted by Nick Pisca
on
Tue. Sep. 04, 17:36 EDT 2012 Great post! this is probably the most informative thread i've read about
the trans labrador highway. Would you happen to know of or have a map of
the trans labrador highway that shows sections that are paved and sections that
are gravel/unpaved? I've deduced from images of the road that some
sections are asphalt, but I'm sure someone has drawn a map showing precisely
where sections are gravel and which are not. And I assume there is road
construction that is always increasing the paved sections, or are they planning
on leaving most of it gravel long-term? Do they grate the gravel sections
often, or are the gravel sections very pitted and potholed?
#15
re: Maps of Gravel/Paved Portions of the roads
(in reply-to message #14)
Posted by Andrew
on
Tue. Sep. 04, 23:13 EDT 2012 Hi, Nick Glad you like the writeup. Regarding your question, I believe the answer is contained within my pages: I don't know if you noticed, but each of my pictures is tagged along a plottable GPS track. There is a 'map' icon displayed with each image. If you click on that icon, you'll get a side panel that has a map (with configurable map type) that plots the track of my route, AND an icon that shows precisely where the picture was taken. So, all you need to do is locate the pictures that I have that show the transitions from pavement to gravel (I was fairly careful to take a picture every time this happened), and you'll see exactly where the pavement ends and begins. Also, on the last page of each subsection in my writeup, you'll see a trackmap displayed right in the page. If you click on that, you'll also get a large, interactive-with-photo-points map - very convienient for browsing around and seeing where the pavement changes are. You are right about more and more sections being paved. I'm pretty sure my info on this is already out of date, but it does provide a starting point. I describe all of the paved and unpaved sections on my "Trans-Labrador highway guide" page (which I assume you've already read, but in case you haven't....). Anyway, if you haven't already, go have a look at my interactive trackmap capability, and look around at the picture points to see where the pavement-gravel transitions are. The current road conditions vary quite a bit. The highway 500 section is pretty nice, except for the parts that they are actively preparing for paving, where there is a lot of loose surface and more potholes and such. Highway 510 is very smooth and nice in it's upper half, but pretty pot-holed in its lower half (to Red Bay, that is, where it turns back to pavement). ...Andrew
#16
current conditions
Posted by bmar
on
Sat. May 11, 07:47 EDT 2013 Hello, great info. Wondering if anyone has any more current info? Looking to go
first of June. Wondering about fishing and camping spots.
#17
re: current conditions
(in reply-to message #16)
Posted by Andrew
on
Mon. May 13, 22:38 EDT 2013 Hi there. I'm guessing you could fish at the put-in point on the Manicouagan dam near Relais Gabriel, and at any one of the many places where the highway crosses the rivers (e.g. at the crossing of the highway and the Hart Jaune River). But, I also know there are several off-shoot gravel roads that cross the landscape - many of them probably lead to good spots, too (but I don't know about them). As far as camping goes, there are periodically spots along 389 in QC and 500 in Labrador where you can tuck yourself away and camp. Old quarries, dead end side roads, etc.
#18
re: current conditions
(in reply-to message #17)
Posted by rmar
on
Fri. May 17, 08:10 EDT 2013 Thank you..looking forward to giving it a try.
#19
re: Maps of Gravel/Paved Portions of the roads
(in reply-to message #15)
Posted by John Timmermans
on
Tue. Jan. 28, 23:14 EST 2014 It's nice to travel in the North of Canada. We visited Goose Bay Happy Valley in
1999 and again in 2012. We took the circle all the way to st. Anthony. We went
down in that elevator to see the turbines working. Nice people out there. We
could park our motorhome at a Wal-Mart in Labrador City and plug-in free. If my
wife was as good as I am (health wise) I would go again at 86 no problem. But if
you take this trip stop at the hydro plant at Manic 5. A good spot to stay
overnite with restaurant and +/-35 motel units. You need to tank gas if you
drive the new Trans Labrador 510 highway in Goose Bay. There is a good campsite
in Port Hope Simpson and the best restaurant. I wish you save driving.
#20
trip report
Posted by jackoamerica
on
Sun. Jul. 06, 07:41 EDT 2014 Thanks for posting this very informative report. I am trying to plan a loop trip from Maine through Labrador, over to Newfoundland and back. Hard to find such detailed information about the Trans Labrador highway as you have posted. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Much appreciated!! (And very helpful) Jack..
#21
average speed
Posted by Megan
on
Wed. Sep. 03, 11:26 EDT 2014 Great write-up. Thanks for sharing! I just have a question about speed. You're showing average speed of 13 km/hr or 8 mph. I'm planning a trip from Ontario to St. Barbe, NF, which will take me all along 138, 389, 500, and 510. I'll be travelling in a large RV. How much time shall I expect to spend on driving the 1,800 km distance from Baie-Comeau to Blanc Sablon?
#22
re: average speed
(in reply-to message #21)
Posted by Andrew
on
Wed. Sep. 03, 17:29 EDT 2014 Hi there. There's a mistake in those numbers. I incorrectly included all of the time we were not driving / stopped / hiking, so that greatly reduced the average time. I've correct that mistake. If you go back now and look at the pages again, you'll see the actual average driving speed. (which for the QC/389 stretch was 67.5 km/hr, and for the Labrador stretch was 61 km/hr). In a motor home, you'll probably go a bit slower, so let's guess that your average speed will likely be closer to something in the 55 to 60 km/hr range. Sorry about that, ...Andrew
#23
living the dreAM
Posted by Doug and Christine
on
Sun. Sep. 07, 18:54 EDT 2014 Thanks very much for the write-up. I am writing this from the only campground in Happy Valley, Goose Bay.We checked into the campground mainly for a shower. We have been dry camping in a camper van. We are doing the trip from Hamilton Ontario. There are more paved sections now but I never thought to keep track of where the pavement starts and stops. We have rock hounded a few of the quarries along the way. We have boon docked at a few as well. In Lab city we stayed behind the tourism office. Free wifi there. We have found wifi signals were good (On our Telus hub) in Baie Comeau, Lab city. and Happy Valley. We are grandparents and use the wifi to keep in touch with the kids. We head south east tomorrow. We hope to do Newfoundland and Nova Scotia as well before we have to head home. This trip is not for the timid but we are loving it.
#24
re: living the dreAM
(in reply-to message #23)
Posted by Andrew
on
Sun. Sep. 07, 21:00 EDT 2014 Hello. Thanks for the updates on the road conditions and on the presence of wi-fi. I'm sure someone will find that useful. Hope your trip continues to go well. ...Andrew Post a new message by selecting the 'Post New Message' button below. |
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