Rough Itinerary
| Day | Notes | Driving Hours |
| Thursday | From NYC area, leave afternoon, overnight in Drummondville, QC | 8 (NYC) |
| Friday | Spend the morning enjoying Quebec City. Attractions include 500-year-old streets, old city fortress, the funicular, and Canyon Ste. Anne. Drive afternoon to Baie-Comeau. |
7 |
| Saturday | Baie-Comeau to Churchill Falls | 9 |
| Sunday | Activty Day. Options include a dam tour (9am, 1pm or 7pm), snowmobiling, and return drive out to the end of the Trans-Labrador Highway at Happy Valley-Goose Bay. |
- |
| Monday | Churchill Falls to Baie-Comeau, then 2-hr evening ferry to Matane, on south shore. Overnight in Matane. | 9 |
| Tuesday | Return home via south shore highways or cut through New Brunswick and Maine. |
15 (NYC) 11 (NH/MA) |
Itinerary Notes
Minimum Length: 6 days / 5 nights, including 1.5 activity days (Quebec City, Churchil Falls).
Description
From Baie-Comeau, QC to Goose Bay, Labrador, the route is 1000km (600 miles), three-quarters of which will be grooved ice, just like JBR. The last half is known as the Trans-Labrador Highway. Entirely reconstructed in 1998-2000, this former bad-boy is now very high quality for such a northerly highway. Some sections just west of the Labrador border remain quite twisting and slow.
The Trans-Labrador Highway is truly the greatest North American road project of the era - to open up the most remote part of the continent, just as far north as JBR. Until the last gap in Central Labrador is completed in 2009, an overnight ferry ride is necessary between Western Labrador and the South Coast, a reminder of what used to be the only way to get around coastal Labrador until just a couple years ago. However, the ferry doesn't operate in winter, so in February the route ends at Happy Valley - Goose Bay.
Starting from Baie-Comeau, QC-138 will be bare asphalt for 200 kms to the Manic V dam, where it then becomes a snow and/or grooved ice road similar to JBR for most of the next 385 kms to Labrador City, just inside the Labrador border. After Labrador City, the 500km TLH will be grooved ice. Terrain is mostly boreal spruce forest, similar to JBR, but also some low mountains in western Labrador. Rivers and rapids are crossed often, although in February they will be frozen over. Like the Trans-Taiga, this route is as remote as any in Alaska, maybe more so.
Our destination is Churchill Falls, home to the 2nd largest hydro generating station in the world (after Radisson). A 3-hour tour of the dam is offered 3 times a day year-round, but considering that it takes place 1,000 feet below ground, it may be best to take the evening tour to make the best use of daylight. During our activity day in Churchill Falls, cross-country skiing or snowmobiling may be on the schedule. For those who must go to the end of the Trans-Labrador Highway, a return trip to Happy Valley - Goose Bay is in order. The side-trip offers a chance to walk on frozen ocean, and see a NATO base.
Getting There
The great thing about getting there is that it's also an adventure. Baie-Comeau can be reached via Quebec City and the first third of the North Shore Route, which is worth a read for a more detailed description. The route home involves a ferry ride to Matane on the South Shore, and then a cut throught the beautiful Matapedia Valley, where the road hugs the river, on the edge of the hillsides. Then the route crosses the heart of hilly New Brunswick, and then on through Maine.
Sights / Attractions
Quebec City, Canyon Ste. Anne, Saguenay River crossing (world's largest fjord), Manic V dam on QC-389, dam at Churchill Falls, TLH, frozen ocean.
Charter planes are likely available in Goose Bay.
Claims to Fame
One of the most remote roads in North America, it is also one of the newest, with the more easterly Phase II opening in late 2003 / early 2004 (not part of this proposed trip). Similar to JBR, it nearly reaches the 54th parallel. The road to the town of NorthWest River, just past Goose Bay, is the easternmost road point on the North American mainland reachable without a ferry.
Links
Honeymoon Travelogue (South Coast only)
Wikipedia entry for Trans-Labrador Highway
Detailed Road Description
to Churchill Falls