Boondocking in Canada - Maritimes

wdw0528 · 03-22-2018, 09:44 AM

We are in the early planning stages of a trip to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, & PEI (maybe more). We like to go without reservations or rigid schedules and wonder if boondocking in pull outs is allowed?

Any thoughts on traveling without reservations based on your experience is appreciated.

Once our itinerary is roughly defined I will post for comments.

wbmgolfer · 03-23-2018, 06:52 AM

I am interested if you get any comments. I posted similar question a couple weeks back on the Boondocking section of this forum and have had no responses, but lots of views.
We are heading the same way in September, but dropped NL due to too many things to do and not enough days until weather changes. Thought we would head back next year.

Wandering · 03-31-2018, 09:04 PM

We traveled the Maritimes last July/Aug. Really beautiful up there. No need for reservations except maybe PEI National Park. We also boondocked many nights. Along the sea, lighthouse parking lots and end of dirts roads. We asked permission in a few places and that was appreciated.

wdw0528 · 04-02-2018, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wandering

We traveled the Maritimes last July/Aug. Really beautiful up there. No need for reservations except maybe PEI National Park. We also boondocked many nights. Along the sea, lighthouse parking lots and end of dirts roads. We asked permission in a few places and that was appreciated.

Thanks Wandering!

Gordalder · 04-02-2018, 06:34 AM

We are doing a trip this summer to Newfoundland, we are going in June, before the kids are out of school and have only booked the ferry across and an RV park the night before and after the ferry.

wdw0528 · 04-04-2018, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordalder

We are doing a trip this summer to Newfoundland, we are going in June, before the kids are out of school and have only booked the ferry across and an RV park the night before and after the ferry.

Please post about your experience and lessons learned. We will most likely not get to go until summer of 2019 but really looking forward to that trip.

JandS · 04-05-2018, 08:41 AM

Following for potential 2019 trip - Portland, ME->CAT ferry to NS.

RvFunTimes · 04-05-2018, 09:25 AM

Boondocking is at best hit or miss. We use a lot of Walmarts as they usually have a few other trailers there and I think there may be safety in numbers type of thing. However, some Walmarts will not allow overnight, some do. AND, sometimes you get panhandlers and such wanting money, food so they come knocking. We've stayed in truck plazas and almost all of them allow overnight but they can be real noisy with traffic, but there are lots of them and easy to find. We also use out of the way gas stations and other places when we are in the middle of nowhere. Just ask. Have never been refused and found a couple of times really interesting people when we did that. Never found any place that hassled us about the slide outs. Use common sense and make sure you don't take up too much space if the area is really crowded. We have a generator and only run it before 9 at night and after 8 in the morning. However, if you are in a truck plaza almost at every one of them trucks were idling and had cooling units running all night so it might not be an issue there although we never run all night. Watch your tanks carefully, it really surprised us how fast water goes down and waste tanks go up. Finding a dump station can be challenging sometimes.

Happy Camper CA · 04-11-2018, 03:02 PM

My wife and I did the east coast trip last September 2017 and were away for 29 nights. Fortunately we were not on a schedule. Some of the must sees on our way to Newfoundland we're Old Quebec City,Cape Breton(Cabot Trail) Peggy's Cove, St Andrews,Viking village in Newfoundland just to name a few. I would be happy to provide you with some campsites I would recommend.
For boondocking we did a couple of Walmarts on our way there and back. Only used them when we hade a destination for next day and found most of them close to highways and traffic noise annoying.
This was our first trip to the east coast and were in aw with this part of Canada from the people to the scenery. Bucket list item for sure...

derek6669 · 04-12-2018, 01:23 PM

We are going to Newfoundland for our 8th time this year. We are taking the North Sydney to Port Aux Basque ferry both ways. We always stay at JT Cheeseman Prov Park the first and last night as it's within 20km of the ferry dock. The Smokey Cape Trail is an enjoyable hike and end at the beach where you can find Piping Plovers Here's a few tips 1) the Tablelands is a must, Trout Pond CG is a National Park but no services. 2) Barker Brook National Park has great walking trails and now has electric sites. 3) Shallow Bay National Park has a great beach if you like beach combing. Jonathan Pond north of Ganger was a Prov Park but now private and has good fishing and an interesting trail. 4) If you're headed to St John's then you need to stay at Pippy Park right in the city. you can park and use public transportation to get around. Also has a good trail system if you're into hiking or jogging.5) Ellison is the place to go if you want to see Puffins up close, there is a camp ground with 5 minutes of the Puffin viewing are. 6) Bird Rock at St maries is another fascinating place to visit, unfortunately the closes CG is in Argentia on the old US Air base . Twillengate is another place not to pass up. If you want to see icebergs, that's the best spot.
St Anthony is also a good place to visit.
We will be traveling in NFLD mid June to Mid July this year

Littlehouse · 04-13-2018, 08:58 PM

I'll be following this also. Planning an East Coast trip next year, and down into Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Gordalder · 09-11-2018, 05:44 PM

Sorry, Newfoundland trip this spring was cancelled after I flat towed our fiat 500 in gear and had a complete right off ☹️. So no updates available!

derek6669 · 09-11-2018, 06:46 PM

We had a great time on our trip to Newfoundland. Gros Morne has 2 great parks with service. Green Point has sites along the coast and a walking trail. They have also built an off leash dog park with apparatuses, our Border Collie loved it. Baker Brooke has also been upgraded and has 3 nice walking trails within the park. WIFI at both parks wasn't bad The road to La Scie was paved this summer making a trip to Island Cove Camp Ground much more enjoyable

Nibbs108 · 05-10-2019, 07:14 PM

Going to the Maritimes in late May to mid-July. Has anyone crossed over to Labrador and then travels the route through Battle Harbour, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Churchhill Falls. Labrador City, ending in Sept-Iles? Wondering if it is worth the time and what the scenery is like. Thanks for your thoughts.

derek6669 · 05-10-2019, 07:19 PM

We crossed over to Labador about 4 years ago Went to Red Bay and were going to head on to Battle Harbour but only went 40 KM and turned around as the road was extremely rough. From what I understand from people I talked to last year who came to Newfoundland via Labrador there were improvements in the roads but still rough areas

Canadian Eh · 12-19-2022, 11:57 PM

We are planning to head to Newfoundland in May and want to head to Change Island to boondock and hopefully get some great Iceberg shots. I wasn't going to make a any reservations. I'd be very interested in hearing others experiences. I've read the replies but they are a few years old.

yukongold · 12-20-2022, 12:16 AM

Another watcher.

Planning 2024 trip north from Portland, OR > Vancouver, BC > trans-Canada Hwy all the way to the East Coast (Newfoundland and Labrador) (taking side trips along the way) > New Brunswick > New England for fall colors.

Planning on a 6-8 month trip, then working down the East Coast (trying) to beat winter to the South.

Any info gleaned will be extremely useful.

Edit: Just realized this is an old, old thread. But now that it's resurrected maybe we can get new info and insights. Hopeful.

Canadian Eh · 12-20-2022, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukongold

Another watcher.

Planning 2024 trip north from Portland, OR > Vancouver, BC > trans-Canada Hwy all the way to the East Coast (Newfoundland and Labrador) (taking side trips along the way) > New Brunswick > New England for fall colors.

Planning on a 6-8 month trip, then working down the East Coast (trying) to beat winter to the South.

Any info gleaned will be extremely useful.

Edit: Just realized this is an old, old thread. But now that it's resurrected maybe we can get new info and insights. Hopeful.

If you have the time and like to get off the beaten path we found great spots on Vancouver Island.

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