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Detailed Travel Guide Driving
the Trans-Taiga Road Overview Map Virtual Tour
The Trans-Taiga Road is a gravel road that runs 666 km east from
near the top end of the James Bay Road. It was built to access the various dams and generating stations that extend
upriver along the La Grande River.
This is an extremely remote road,
leading 666 km east - almost to Labrador - with no settlements or towns aside from
Hydro Quebec's settlements for workers (not open to the public). At the far end
you will be 745 km from
the nearest town! This is the farthest you can get from a town on a road in
North America! (Not counting the private Hydro Quebec towns that are not open to
the public). Along this road is also the
farthest north point you can
travel on a road in eastern Canada.
The road from Brisay (km 582)
to Caniapiscau is rougher and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is recommended
by Hydro Quebec.
The main reason for this is the very coarse gravel used for this road -
there's large rocks littering the road surface. However, I have heard
from people who have driven this road in ordinary passenger cars and they say it
is fine. You do have to keep your eyes open for the larger rocks though.
You should definitely travel this road only in
a reliable vehicle with good tires. It is not an overly rough road; passenger vehicles
can drive it, but it is gravel. Vehicle breakdowns here can be very costly. Flat
tires can be a serious (and expensive) incident if your tires are damaged. You
could be looking at having tires flown in on a non-scheduled flight - there are
no convenient "tire stores" up here! Please read
Driving the Trans-Taiga Road first.
Although there are no towns, there are a couple of
outfitters along the way that sell fuel and offer meals and lodging. Cell phones do not work
here.
Generally the scenery is fairly level, but this road
is definitely more interesting than the James Bay
Road. For most of the length it runs through taiga:
spruce and jack pine forest, bogs, rocks, and low hills. This is about all
you'll see apart from birds and some wildlife, the occasional cabin a short
distance off the road, and Hydro Quebec installations. I once saw a couple of wolves playing in the middle of
this road.
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