Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Need Labrador road info

Hi neighbors: We are planning a summer trip to Labrador/Newfoundland and have a few road condition questions.
We want to take our roomier Dodge Caravan as opposed to our Jeep.
Will our front-wheel drive van be up to negotiating the road between Labrador City and Happy Valley-Goose Bay and then on to L'Anse-au-Loup?
Also, what is the condition of road thru Quebec up to Labrador City? Paved? Unpaved?
All tips on travel thru this area would be appreciated. (Could there be as many grouse/ptarmigan [25/50], and coyotes as the
regulations seem to indicate?)

contender;
Please understand this is the other side of the world for me so I've absolutely no first hand experience.

That out of the way then, I've discovered these wonderful websites in our province and did a Google search for some in Labrador too.

http://www.roads.gov.nl.ca/cameras/default.stm

http://www.quebec511.info/en/cameras/

If you travel with a laptop or smart phone and have reception, you've got road conditions.

Hopefully someone else who's actually been on the roads in question is able to give you specific travel tips.

Good luck on your trip and all the best to you and yours in 2014.

Regards,
Dwayne

I have driven thru Quebec to Churchill falls Labrador. Churchill falls is between Labrador City and Goose Bay, The road is probably 80% dirt. This is the best dirt road i have ever been on, it is extremely wide, straight, and smooth.
This was 10 years ago and im sure the road has changed since then as nothing stays the same.

I lived in Lab City for 4 years. The road from Baie Comeau to Lab City is paved as far as Manic Five--about 200 km. This section is hilly and winding . Be aware of reckless idiots driving Hydro Quebec trucks. Manic Five is, by the way, one of the largest arch-and-buttress dams in the world, and Hydro Quebec offers an interesting tour. After Manic Five, the road is Grade A gravel--not too bad but often dusty in summer. Watch out for flying stones from the rare vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. There is a gas station and small restaurant at Relais Gabriel at about Km 275 (maybe more or less). Be prepared to speak French or point. This is the ONLY gas stop before Fermont, which is only 30km short of Lab City. After Relais Gabriel, the road crosses a railroad several times. There are stops at the crossings. Obey them. The line is used by 100-car ore trains hauling iron from Lab City to Sept Iles. The 75 km section of road just before Fermont is rough and winding. I do not know if it has been improved. It's about 500 km from Baie Comeau to Lab City-- about an 8-hour drive.

The road from Lab City to Churchill Falls is more Grade A gravel. However, the road between Churchill Falls and Happy Valley-Goosebay is a highway in name only. When we left Labrador, it was very rough--almost single track in some places, with one-lane bridges, monster pot-holes, and course gravel. I never drove that section, but knew a couple of fellows who badly beat up their trucks on it. People did, however, drive their cars over it. have no knowledge of the new road extending from Goosebay to southeast Labrador.

Given the condition of the road between Churchill Falls and Goosebay, most people needed about 8 hours to cover the approximately 250 km. I would not recommend driving in the dark.

There are couple of hotels in Lab City, and IIRC there's a small one in Churchill Falls. In Lab City, you might be able to arrange a tour of the IOC open pit iron mine. I hear that there is now a Tim Horton's coffee shop. Folks used to bring boxes of doughnuts from Baie Comeau for their friends. Also in Churchill Falls, you can tour the hydro facility, which, unlike Manic Five, is deep underground. Very interesting so long as you don't mind being in the depths of the earth.

If you like wilderness, Labrador is a beautiful place--one of the last wild places. The scenery is spectacular.In summer, however, be ready for the blackflies, which are the reason most residents prefer winter. Newfoundland is equally spectacular. Don't forget that you'll need to book a car ferry ride to cross from the mainland to the island.

I hope this helps.

Oh, most of the road from Baie Comeau to Lab City is in the province of Quebec. Lab City and the rest is in Newfoundland/Labrador. That's two different provincial tourism departments.

Thanks for all your information!! This is exactly the kind of
info I was hoping to get to make my plans (and decisions).