Canadas Route 666

If you love long road trips and remote drives this is the trip for you!

Make sure your ready.

Quebecs Lonely Trans Taiga Highway, it is North Americas longest uninhabited highway. It stretches from near the top of the James bay road in the west of Quebec, 666 kms deep into the remote reaches of interior quebec, almost to Labrador. There are absolutely no towns along the long stretch of highway, the closest town is Radisson Quebec. By the time you reach the end of the highway at Caniapiscau, Quebec you will find your self 745 km from Radisson. Not counting hydro quebec settlements (which are closed to the public) this is the longest road without habitation in all of North America.

courtesy of Flikr- Peupleloup

Even getting to the start of this road is remote. The first leg of the trip (from downtown Toronto, Canada) is aproximately 12 hours and 930 kms North to a small Quebec town called Matagami. Along the way to Matagami you will travel through the thick pine forests of Northern Ontario, passing through North Bay, Ontario and deep into Quebec.

The second leg of the trip will take you further North up the lonely James Bay Road and away from civilization. This long gravel road stretches 620 kms North through the desolate open expanses of middle Quebec. There are no towns along the way, only one service station at KM 381. If you actually decide to do this trip, make sure you are completely stocked up on gas after Matagami because its a bit of a haul to say the least. The terrain here is expansive there are a lot of big rivers, bogs, low hills and increasingly ragged looking spruce and pine trees. This road was built in the 1970s to support major Hydro projects in the remote parts of interior Quebec. Incredibly this 620 km long hi way was completed in only 420 days.

There is a well serviced town here called Radisson, Quebec. From here you can also access the James bay which is the opposite direction of route 666.

The final leg of the journey (before turning around and driving back to civilization) is route 666 “The Trans Taiga Hiway”. This is the 666 km long stretch of gravel road that will take you a total 745 kms from Radisson. There are only 2 gas stations along the way; one at KM 286 and another at Km 358. You would be advised to top your fuel up at Km 358 as it will be a round trip of over 600 km if you go all the way to the end of the road. There are also dormatory rooms availible at Km 358. From here you can easily drive all the way to KM 582, the Brisay dam and generating station. From here its a bit rougher road to KM 666 at the Caniapiscau resevoir, hydro quebec recommends using a 4×4 as there are dips and large stones littered in the road. In the last stretch the road you will experience an impressive increase in elevation before reaching your final destination. The trip along route 666 is serene, much of the same scenery as the James bay road except with more lakes and rivers.

All in all this trip is a once in a life time adventure and by the end you will no doubt be impressed by a new realization of how big Canada really is.