Travel from Chicago, IL to Montreal or Quebec. Some questions.

[ADOR]

Background: We have been to Niagara Falls (Canada side) in 2018. We also did a day trip to Toronto, before heading back to the US.

We are now on the planning stage for our next trip to Canada around June 2025. We want to visit (and camp) either Montreal or Quebec. We DEFINITELY would like to see both places. I have some questions to those who are familiar with our potential route. We will be entering from Chicago, IL area.

1. What or Where is the US/Canada border crossing from Chicago side area? (Name of Border Crossing).

2. Are there any Rest Areas (like in the US) where we can spend the night after crossing the border? It seems like I cannot make it to either Montreal KOA or Quebec KOA in one day of driving from Chicago. I think it is around 890 miles. We may need to spend one night on the road.

3. If there are NO rest areas, are there plenty of campgrounds along the Highway between the border crossing and either Montreal or Quebec City? What will be your suggestion as far as spending one night between border crossing and Montreal or Quebec?

4. Campground suggestions in Montreal and Quebec? If you are to chose one basecamp, which city would you recommend? (We want to see lakes, mountains and historical places).

He have been to Alberta (Banff and Jasper) 2x. Been to Vancouver, BC 2x. Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada 1x. We would like to explore new places in Canada.

Thanks for your suggestions and responses.

 

[Jim34RL]

I haven't been to Canada with an RV since the late 80's. But I doubt that the border crossing has changed since then. I live outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, and I know of only three ways to take an RV into Canada from this area, using the interstate roadway system.

The first is to go through the Detroit, MI and enter Windsor Canada from I 94 the shorter route. A little longer route would be to cross at Port Huron in MI to Canada. There is a great KOA called Port Huron we stayed at a couple of years back there. One day driving distance from the Chicago area.

Another way is to drive up to the UP in MI and cross at Sault Ste Marie international bridge. After that you are on your own, good luck.

 

[ADOR]

Thank you for your response. I came across Port Huron crossing yesterday when I was searching the internet. The KOA suggestion is great. We would like to rest for a night before crossing the border.

Looks like this maybe a route to consider. We will be travelling from Las Vegas. Wife want to stop couple of days around Chicago, IL area and look around before we cross to Canada. Thanks again.

A little longer route would be to cross at Port Huron in MI to Canada. There is a great KOA called Port Huron we stayed at a couple of years back there. One day driving distance from the Chicago area.

 

[NoviBill]

Background: We have been to Niagara Falls (Canada side) in 2018. We also did a day trip to Toronto, before heading back to the US.

We are now on the planning stage for our next trip to Canada around June 2025. We want to visit (and camp) either Montreal or Quebec. We DEFINITELY would like to see both places. I have some questions to those who are familiar with our potential route. We will be entering from Chicago, IL area.

1. What or Where is the US/Canada border crossing from Chicago side area? (Name of Border Crossing).

2. Are there any Rest Areas (like in the US) where we can spend the night after crossing the border? It seems like I cannot make it to either Montreal KOA or Quebec KOA in one day of driving from Chicago. I think it is around 890 miles. We may need to spend one night on the road.

3. If there are NO rest areas, are there plenty of campgrounds along the Highway between the border crossing and either Montreal or Quebec City? What will be your suggestion as far as spending one night between border crossing and Montreal or Quebec?

4. Campground suggestions in Montreal and Quebec? If you are to chose one basecamp, which city would you recommend? (We want to see lakes, mountains and historical places).

He have been to Alberta (Banff and Jasper) 2x. Been to Vancouver, BC 2x. Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada 1x. We would like to explore new places in Canada.

Thanks for your suggestions and responses.

#1 Take I-94 through Port Huron/Sarnia across the Blue Water bridge.
***Whatever you do don't get on the ETR in Toronto *** toll highway
#2 Lots of KOAs and small campgrounds along the route. I have never tried to stay at a rest area so I cannot comment.
#4 In 2019 we stated at Montreal South KOA Journey and it was nice.

Montreal is a spectacular modern large city that has a European feel. Modern subway, an underground "city" and an old downtown with good restaurants.

Quebec has more of an Old City feel.

If you have extra time I highly recommend Ottawa, it's the Canadian Capitol with interesting history and architecture.

 

[Retiredanglers]

Come North !

Good Day Eh!
Greetings from the Great White North. I will try to answer some of your questions and ask a few.
First thing to consider is what are you driving (size)? Are your towing? The reason I ask is both Montreal and Quebec City are “Old”. Not much room for big motorhome. We just completed a cross Canada trip this fall and took a route from Montreal to Quebec City (and parts beyond). If you are towing a vehicle and want to set up base camp then plan on finding a RV campground on the “South Shore” of Montreal. The city is a construction nightmare. We left the south shore at 05:30 Hrs. to be in the city early. Quebec City is also not big vehicle friendly. You can cross in to Canada at one of many smaller crossings less than an hour from Montreal. I 87 from the U.S. is a major route into Canada. There are many smaller crossings easy to get to from 87. The upper portion of New York State is a great sightseeing area. If you get within 100 mile or so of the Canadian border pull over and check the nav. System. You will find the crossings that are not as busy as the infamous “Champlain” border.

If you have a unit that is good on big hills (Not like Banff or Jasper) I would strongly suggest you look at crossing into Canada in Sault Ste. Marie Mi. It is a border town with Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. Then head east. If you stay on all the Northern highways towards Montreal you will find your way to the Ski region north of Montreal. They are known as the “Laurentians”. As far as rest areas most do not allow “Overnight” camping but if you pulled in for a few hours you should be ok. There are a ton of RV campgrounds all along the way. Reservations are not 100% needed but a nice comfort after a day of driving. We went from Calgary Alberta to Sussex New Brunswick and back to Calgary and only made two reservations. It was Canadian Thanksgiving and we wanted to be sure the RV campground was open with services.

Let me know if I can give you any more intel.
Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving

 

[ADOR]

Thanks again for the feedbacks and suggestions. I want to be honest. We no longer have our 2015 Forest River 2861DS. When I signed up top this forum, we still have that Class C (we had it for 5 years). We traded it back in 2021.

We now have a 2021 THOR ACE 33.1 (33 ft), pulling a Jeep Rubicon. I still like to visit this forum once in a while. Please don't ignore my questions now .

Like I originally said, we love going to Canada. Next year, my wife suggested Montreal, Quebec and other provinces/cities nearby.

Retiredanglers, thank you for the information about the situation in Montreal and Quebec. Now that you know our rig combination, would you suggest reserving campground in Montrreal or Quebec? Really would like to explore both cities. On the way back to the US, we would like to visit Niagara Falls in Ontario (again). We have been there and stayed at KOA near Niagara Falls in 2018.

Our current Class A is OK on hills. But I prefer not to drive on long and windy uphill roads. I avoid them if possible. If not, we can manage even when pulling our Jeep. We may have to pull out and let cars behind us pass once in a while.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Retiredanglers]

Good Day Ador,

I would recommend reservations fairly soon. Here is why, if you have a timeline you may not want to pull in then out of a place that is full. If you can schedule your trip early June would be best. The 24th of June is a major provincial holiday in the province of Quebec. It’s called St Jean Baptist and is as big as the fourth of July in the USA. It happens to fall on a Tuesday next year which means a lot of Quebecers will hand on to their weekend spots to celebrate. It is a huge festival type party. Montreal and Quebec City (The capitol of the province) do it up huge. If you and your wife are into the true French Canadian culture, history, and 400+ years of historic sites try and set up a base camp near the city.

I would make this the first major stop. You could easily spend a couple of days in that area. You WANT to stay for the party. When you are done you can head into the Montreal area. I do not know how much you pay at the US RV campgrounds but you can expect $50+ (Canadian funds). Most all the RV site have the 3 services (Power, water, septic dump). Be sure to load up your built in propane supply. (On board tank) They can be hard to find in that area. One more thing…Bug Spray, it can get nasty in north central Que.

https://koa.com/campgrounds/quebec-city/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp

https://www.google.com/search?q=que...12j0i512l4.7621j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Let me know if you have any more questions. We may plan on a trip to eastern Canada again this coming year and drive the US route to Sault Ste. Marie Mi. from Calgary. I may ask for tips when we decide.

Cheers and Stay Safe.

 

[HYDROG]

You have lots of helpful information above so I will just add a few minor suggestions. First and most importantly, I would not even think about driving (even a small toad) into either Montreal or Quebec City. Traffic and parking are horrible. Walking or bus tours are the best way to see either city. I visited Quebec again recently and stayed at Camping Transit, a nice campground in Levis, on the south shore opposite Quebec City. From there, you can either drive yourself to the ferry parking lot or take the campground shuttle bus. The ferry runs very frequently and takes you across the river to the lower part of the old City. From there you can either walk around most parts of the City or take one of the frequent tour buses. I found this to be the most stress-free way to visit the city. You could easily spend two or three days to see and explore either city. Both have excellent restaurants available. Enjoy.