I began to write this piece as I sat in a hotel room in Montreal on the edge of Old Montreal not long ago. We were just wrapping up an almost 3-week getaway to Nova Scotia with friends.
The Love-goddess and I have made many trips to Nova Scotia over the years and came very close to buying property down there several years ago. Yes, it is one of the few things in my life on which I failed to pull the trigger and am now regretting it. Fortunately, we have found a lovely rental property that we have now visited twice and are likely to visit again down the road.
I am not going to be doing a lot of writing about this year’s trip because it very closely retraced a trip I wrote about three years ago. I do have some things to say about this trip, but that will come later. If you want to read about our first visit to the wonderful cottage where we recently stayed in Nova Scotia, click here. If you want to read about our previous visits to local sites close by the cottage, like Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, and Peggy’s Cove, click on this link to the second article in that series… the first is about preparation and packing so perhaps not essential reading.
Our Usual Route to the Maritimes
When we started going to Nova Scotia, our first stop was typically Quebec City. We would drive directly there on the first day and hang out for two or three days to enjoy all that the city has to offer. It is definitely a long drive from where we live, but we love visiting Quebec, so well worth it.
The next step usually found us following the Trans-Canada highway up to Rivière-du-Loup, where we would turn and head east and roll past Edmunston, New Brunswick, until we arrived in Saint John, where we would spend the night. You may well be thinking “that’s how I do it too”.
Typically, the next morning we would catch the car ferry across the Bay of Fundy to Digby. Taking the ferry eliminates a long drive up around the Bay of Fundy and down to our final destination, which is usually somewhere south of Halifax. There is a full-service cafeteria onboard, so we get to enjoy a casual breakfast while we appreciate the view out the window. The trip typically takes about two hours and 15 minutes. Once we are in Nova Scotia, we begin to slowly work our way towards our final destination. Often, we stay overnight in Digby after we get there.
That basically explains why we kind of think of Saint John, New Brunswick, as our official “we have arrived in the Maritimes” destination. We consider that the long, arduous two-day drive from home to the Maritimes ends there. After that, travel happens at a very leisurely and measured pace.
A Better Way?
BUT, we have discovered that there is a shorter…. call it better???… more direct route to Saint John. And that’s what this piece is all about, “the shortcut” that saves 181 km of driving. Basically, this involves abandoning most of the drive through the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick.
The shorter route takes you through the state of Maine. You can see the two routes in the image below. It does not save a lot of driving time, only about an hour, but it is a very interesting and scenic drive through a state you may never have been to before. The other benefit of going through Maine is you get to fill up with much cheaper American gas. The major caveat, of course, is that you need a passport to get into the US and then back into Canada. 🙂
This article details our recent travel along “the shortcut”.
Not For Everyone?
“Hold on there, buddy. Please understand that there are many of us who don’t live within an hour’s drive of Toronto, so this has got to be a bit of a no-go for about 95% of the population of the country, so why are you writing about it?”
I suspect that there are many people thinking the same thing, but when you drill down into the data, that is simply not the case. In fact, this option is probably very suitable for close to 50% of the nation’s population. Let me explain.
Below is a population distribution map for the whole country. As you can see, the majority of Canadians are grouped into three very small and distinct areas and a fourth enormous area all containing between 8 and 9 million people. The information is about 10 years old now, so the numbers have increased substantially… the current total population of Canada is around 40 million people, but the distribution would have remained about the same.
So, the 8,000,000+ people in the very small southern Ontario “red” region would be amongst the people who could avail themselves of this driving route. To throw out some more recent numbers, in 2024 the population of Southern Ontario alone is between 13 and 14 million people.
This would also be a viable option for many of the other folks in the yellow area who live in southwestern Quebec as well; and it would work for most of the people living in the “green” area in Eastern Ontario and Quebec. To put things into perspective, about half of the people living in the green region live in the greater Montreal area.
All in all, we are probably talking about close to 50% of the nation’s population for whom driving to the Maritimes through the state of Maine would make a lot of sense. So, I think that is a large enough group of us to justify writing about this. Everybody else, – you’re probably flying there anyway, and not even contemplating driving.
I’m not certain of the original source of this map, but it appears in multiple places on the web
The First Leg – Day 1
I’m going to start this little trek down east from Toronto… well, because… that was our starting point. 🙂 If you wish to see how this is doable for you, you will have Google Maps plot your route and driving times from wherever you are located.
The first leg of the journey involved driving to North Hatley, Quebec, where we had our first overnight stay. The nice thing about this run is that it is a fairly short one. The total driving time from Toronto is just over 6 ½ hours. Pretty easy-peasy for four people who all are happy to drive.
One important aspect of what I will have to say about the “first leg” of our trip applies to anyone who is driving from Ontario. That is, you should fill your car up with gas just before you cross the border into Quebec. Gas is more expensive in La Belle Province than in Ontario. Booze is cheaper there though… priorities! 🙂 So, if you are leaving from somewhere in the province of Quebec, you should probably think about picking up some adult beverages before you leave home. 🙂 FYI… booze in the Maritimes is noticeably more expensive than in either Ontario or Quebec.
Let’s get this trip rolling. Here we are, moving our gear into our friends’ vehicle. They offered that we drive their car because they have a Thule on top of their car, providing extra storage room. And that extra room was very helpful.
When we left our friends’ home, we headed straight up to Highway 407 to avoid all the traffic crossing through Toronto. The toll on the 407 was pricey, but it certainly got the trip off to a very benign start, so worth it.
The trip began on a Friday morning, but even at that, the amount of traffic on Highway 401 was moderately light as we headed East. There were no major slowdowns. Just a couple of “reduce your speed” ones related to roadwork. The net result was that we got to the Ontario-Quebec border quickly, and then to where we were staying for the night by the middle of the afternoon.
The Gas Stop
The place at which we usually stop for gas before crossing the border is the village of Lancaster. As you will see on the little map I have included in the photo carousel, there are three different options for filling up. Typically, we stop at the Esso station because it is right there as you come off the highway, and the on-ramp is right beside it. There is a McDonald’s as well if you need a fast-food stop when you gas up.
All of the photos in the carousels used in this article have captions.
The Road Through Quebec to North Hatley
After our gas stop, we had just over a 2-hour drive left to North Hatley. If you have not driven past Montreal to other areas like Quebec City or further east in a while, you will be happy to know that there is now a major alternate route that puts an end to having to fight your way through Montreal traffic. A new bridge (2012), the Madeleine-Parent Bridge, crosses the St. Lawrence River long before you get to the city. Using it allows you to cross the St. Lawrence and drive east on the south shore of the St. Lawrence on Hwy 30, bypassing most of Montreal.
Overnighting in North Hatley
Part of the fun of taking the alternate route to Maine is that it allows you to overnight in the Eastern Townships, which lie directly on the route to our border crossing point. The Townships sit between Montreal and the US border and are a favoured recreational and vacationing area close to Montreal.
The Eastern Townships include many wonderful destinations. And the wonderful destination that drew us back for a second time is the small village of North Hatley. That said, there are lots of other interesting places to stay in the area as well. I consider this another one of the intangible benefits of taking this alternate route. I suspect many of you have never visited the Eastern Townships before, so this would provide you with a chance to explore the area a bit, and perhaps even cause you to add a follow up visit to your future travel plans.
According to the village’s website – North Hatley…
“Situated on the northern shores of beautiful Lake Massawippi, our charming village features elegant heritage residences, cozy B & B’s, quaint boutiques, bistros and coffee shops, historic churches and waterfront parks with sweeping views of the surrounding hills.”
North Hatley is a charming little place, for sure. I grabbed the photo above from a YouTube video, linked here, entitled “North Hatley Lac Massawippi in summer”. North Hatley sits at the conjunction of Lac Massawippi and La Rivière Massawippi.
The whole area became even more famous than it was already when Bill and Hillary Clinton decided to vacation there. I believe the first time was when Hillary was working on a book with the famous Canadian author Louise Penny. Louise Penny lives in nearby Knowlton. They enjoyed their stay so much that they came back a second time. While in the area, they stayed at the Manoir Hovey in North Hatley… not at the cute little, way less expensive Inn where we stayed. 🙂
We stayed at the “Auberge la Chocolatière,” which is situated right in the heart of the village. Our rooms were actually in the small blue house adjoining the Inn, which we had completely to ourselves. There is one bedroom on the top floor and one on the main floor. Several other places to stay can be found in town, including the world-famous “Manoir Hovey.”
After checking in at the Auberge, we headed across the river to the Pilsen Restaurant and Pub for drinks and dinner. The historic building in which it operates housed, at one time, the first microbrewery established in the province of Quebec. In 1896, it switched up and became the full-service restaurant and pub that it is today. And it is a damn fine place to hang out for drinks or have a meal. We will definitely try out their fancy new rooftop dining room and terrace the next time we are in town.
Check out our “hanging out”. 🙂
After that, we strolled around town, checking out the various shops, and finished up with a post-sunset photo-op out on the Municipal Pier. We started our stroll with a visit to Épicier J. L. LeBaron, because no trip to North Hatley is complete without a visit to one of Canada’s great general stores.
Touring the town.
And that ends the first leg of the shortcut. Coming shortly is the second leg, which slashes across the state of Maine in the United States to the New Brunswick border. We spent our second night on the road in the beautiful little town of Saint Andrews by-the-Sea, just across the border in New Brunswick, rather than driving the additional hour and a bit to Saint John.
