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Heading north out of Gagnon, the road is paved again. Nicely paved, actually, with a fairly decent surface. This section of paved highway goes on for a long way (about 90 kilometres), until about kilometer 480, near the old mine site of Fire Lake.
After Gagnon, Pavement!
Northern Taiga
52 degrees north
Through trackless wilderness
Fire Lake
At fire lake (km 480-ish), the highway turns back to gravel. The highway then heads north in a more twisty fashion, and is always near a railway that services the Mont Wright minesite. The quality of the gravel is poorer - more coarse and looser. As a result, you will be going slower along this section and being more vigilant about flying rocks from other vehicles. This next section of gravel road -- from here to Mont Wright -- is about 60 kilometres in total length.
Railroad companion
Recent Grading
Mont Wright
At about the 520km mark, you will see a strangely-colored flat-topped mountain in the distance. This is your first sight of the huge iron ore mining operation at Mont Wright. The highway makes a few twists and turns as it heads in the direction of the mine, and soon you will drive right by the mine's tailing hills and drive fairly close by the center of the mining operations (at about kilometer 540).
Tailings Plain
Mont Wright Mine
Nfld and Labrador Border
At Mont Wright, the highway turns back to pavement, then continues east a few kilometres to the turnoff with the mining town of Fermont (km 560). Gas and other services are available at the town of Fermont. A few kilometers after Fermont, you reach the Labrador Border (at km 565), and the start of the Trans-Labrador Highway.

(if you'd like to read my in-depth highway description of the Trans-Labrador Highway, click here).
Interactive Trackmap, Quebec Highway 389 - click map to view
Quebec Highway 389 from Baie Comeau to Labrador Border - Drive Data
Distance: 564.69 km (350.88 mi)
Average Speed: 67.5 km/hr (41.9 mph)
Time: 8h22m
Start Elevation: 229ft (70m) *
Max Elevation: 2314ft (705m) *
Min Elevation: 151ft (46m) *
End Elevation: 2087ft (636m) *
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 5139ft (1566m) *
Total Elevation Loss: 3319ft (1012m) *
* : +/- 75 feet
 
 
Elevation Graph
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[ Return to "Overland to the Rock" Home page | Introduction | French Connection | Transition to the North | Manicouagan & Monts Groulx | Mt Provencher & 389 North | Entering Labrador | Churchill Falls | The Trans-Labrador | Southern Labrador Coast | Northern Peninsula & St. Anthony | L'Anse aux Meadows | Norstead | Limestone Barrens and Wreck | Arches Provincial Park | Green Gardens Backpack Day 1 | Green Gardens Backpack Day 2 | Green Point | Western Brook Pond Backpack Day 1 | Western Brook Pond Backpack Day 2 | Twillingate/Crow Head Hike | Awk Island Winery | Heart's Content Cable Station | City of St. John's | Cape Spear | Ferry to Nova Scotia | Cape Breton to Bathurst | Bathurst, NB | In-depth: Provencher Climb | In-depth: Churchill Falls Hike | In-depth: Birchy Nuddick Hike | In-depth: Green Gardens Backpack | In-depth: Western Brook Pond Backpack | In-depth: Crow Head Hike, Twillingate | Where we drove | In-depth: Quebec Highway 389 | In-depth: The Trans-Labrador Highway | Video Clip Index | GPS Data ]

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