Community Forums

Spudwrench · 09-03-2006, 02:14 AM

I need some info from folks who have been there and done that,,,,I will be traveling from Saute ste marie to sudbury to niagra falls,which is the most scenic rte without going too far out of my way?also any favorite campgrounds will be appreciated. thanks

Spudwrench · 09-03-2006, 02:14 AM

I need some info from folks who have been there and done that,,,,I will be traveling from Saute ste marie to sudbury to niagra falls,which is the most scenic rte without going too far out of my way?also any favorite campgrounds will be appreciated. thanks

Skip298 · 09-03-2006, 02:44 AM

I havent done that trip in many years...As far as I know the highways are good and easy to follow. You didnt give a date/tiem frame....so its not going to be hard to do...your biggest obstacle will be the City of Toronto and passing through that area...be very selective about what times you travel due to traffic congestion......ie: s/b from Barrie to Toronto, stay off from 0600-0900..w/b from Toronto to Niagara Falls not after 1500 to 1900.. Do not use the toll route of Highway 407... your route of choice will probably be( major hwys) s/b 400 from Barrie...w/b 401 toward London..to s/b(w/b) 403 to the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Hwy) and w/b QEW toward Hamilton, St Catherines and Niagara Falls...I dont know much about the CG's avaiable....one alternate that I would suggest is the ferry available from Manitoulin Island (west of Sudbury) to the Bruce Peninsula..it may be expensive but it opens a whole new travel Itinerary and avoids a lot of the Major cities... www.brucepeninsula.org
and www.chicheemaun.com for the ferry info.. and then you just follow higway #6 s/b to 403 and on to Niagara Falls... with this route you will fina many more CG's along the route if you wish to stay over..

Spudwrench · 09-03-2006, 02:58 AM

thanks Skip, we will be traveling on or about the 1st week of october to see some fall colors

Skip298 · 09-03-2006, 04:36 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SPUDWRENCH:
thanks Skip, we will be traveling on or about the 1st week of october to see some fall colors </div></BLOCKQUOTE>....travelling through Manitoulin Island and the Bruce will be a real treat...we live about 45 miles south of Tobermory...and the ferry schedule runs to Oct 16...

Dona and Elvin · 09-03-2006, 10:49 AM

Hwy 400 from barrie south to hwy 89 is in full blown construction(north and southbound) what a mess over there.You do not have to go near Toronto unless you really want to..look at you map and from Barrie try to get over to Hwy 89west, thru Cookstown and Alliston then hook up to Hwy 10 south thru Orangeville and Brampton to the 403. (I usually take the 407 west-I don't mind paying and its nice)Even trace Hwy 89 thru Shelburne and head west on the map even further-nice country scenary until you can pick up Hwy 6 south to Guelph then the 403 and Qew to Niagara..
The 400 is always such a mess going south towards Toronto..usually bumper to bumper..We live off Hwy 89 west of Alliston and north of Orangeville, I know!
Dona

Little Kopit · 09-03-2006, 11:59 AM

Two years ago in 2004, I left Newfoundland on October 4, drove to Iowa and returned to Newdoundland October 25. That was right in the middle of some of the most gorgeous foliage. I took route 17 and cross the border at Sault Ste. Marie. Since that used to be a part of the territory I had with a travel job, it was a natural choice.

If you have time for a wee side trip, St. Joseph Island, just east of Sault Ste. Marie, should be a nice scenic thing to do. I don't know anymore what historic sites would be open when.

I was busy making miles so that the cgs I used were east of Sudbury. I too would opt to go to Manitoulin Island and take the ferry to the Bruce Peninsula. There is a well known hiking trail on the Bruce Peninsula, the Bruce trail. I leave that one to Skip.

Although many campgrounds will be closed after October 9 (Canadian Thanksgiving), there should be churches and other places where it should be fine to overnight. Truck stops usually have showers!!!! & some municipal recreation centres, too.

Enjoy!!!

Spudwrench · 09-04-2006, 02:21 AM

Thanks for the replys,I will take into consideration the different rt around toronto,but the dw and I would like to see lake ontario also ,are there any nice provincial cgs near hamiton ??

Skip298 · 09-04-2006, 02:48 AM

As LK said..most CG close up in October...I recall some CG down along the lake area on the south side of Hamilton(google city of Hamilton) but I can tell you quite frankly..if you are near the lake and it gets cool with an easterly wind you may be very very cold.. I would find a CG on North side of the city and drive to Burlington/Hamilton.. there are a few parks that stay open...as far as seeing lakes...If you do the Manitoulin ferry route...you will see Lake Huron..Georgian Bay.. to Lake Ontario and within a few miles Lake Erie..and with a little creative driving on the US side on your way up you can actually see Lake Michigan and Lake Superior...the only one you will miss will be Lake St Clair, but its mostly surrounded by city anyway.....

Spudwrench · 09-05-2006, 01:44 AM

I was planning on taking rt69?from sudbury to barrie,is that a scenic rt??it looks like there are plenty of pro. parks going that way. Tom

Little Kopit · 09-05-2006, 01:59 AM

I travelled that way down to Toronto to many times when I was working in Sudbury in the 70s. So, to me the scenery is on the Bruce Peninsula.

Skip298 · 09-05-2006, 02:11 AM

Both routes are scenic...but as you can tell I am biased (as is LK) Better check the opening/closing dates on those parks..as a lot of them close after the Thanksgiving weekend up here.(which is Oct 7-8-9 this year..) Once you get below Barrie Ontario the 400 hwy apparently has lots of construction, but there are secondary routes around it..Check your gas mileage costs around the Bay vs the cost of the ferry..

Novi · 09-05-2006, 08:23 AM

Just outside Toronto, to the west, at Milton. There is a cg that is open all year. Milton Heights. Don't know how central that would be to your plans. That's the only one I can think of.

JD & Beastlet · 09-05-2006, 10:39 AM

Spud,

We have friends in St Catharines who have camped at Rock Point Provincial Park (http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/rock.html) with positive results. In fact, we will be camping there Friday the 15th until Sunday the 17th.

Hope this helps.