In June 2024, we took advantage of a work trip to Boston to explore iconic spots in New England: Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Acadia National Park. The whole trip took us 12 days, including two days in Boston. We had great weather, only getting wet twice!
To get there from Nova Scotia, we drove through New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. We stopped at Oak Bay Campground near the Canada / US border on the way there. On the way back, we took the CAT ferry from Bar Harbour to Yarmouth. We carried our bikes on the back of the car except in Martha’s Vineyard where we toured by bike only.
Biking Segments
We biked about 250 km over the course of 9 days — mostly on trails! We’ve written about each of the main segments in the following posts:
- Cape Cod: Explored 5 different bike trails in 4 days, staying at two different state parks.
- Martha’s Vineyard: A three-day bike touring trip to/from the ferry in Woods Hole.
- Acadia National Park: Spent 48 hours riding most of the carriage roads throughout the park.
Other Road Trip Highlights
Oak Bay Campground
To break up the drive we stayed at Oak Bay Campground near St. Stephen, New Brunswick. It is a small private campground with mostly seasonal sites, but it was very quiet in early June. We booked by email and were given site 84, which definitely had the best view! At only $30 CAD / night, it was also the cheapest night of the trip.
Granite City Park near Augusta, Maine
We wanted some fresh air while we ate lunch, so we looked for the closest park near Augusta Maine. Granite City Park turned out to be a gem with plenty of adarondak chairs overlooking the river. We were highly entertained by the jumping sturgeon and set up the tripod to capture a video.
CAT ferry
For the last leg back to Nova Scotia, we treated ourselves with a ride on the CAT ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth. It did not save us time but allowed us to relax for 4 hours while on board. In June, we were able to save $150 in a spring sale. We also only paid half price for our passenger fares because we are Nova Scotia residents. The total cost was about $100 USD, which is much cheaper than the full rate ($350 USD).
The crossing was fast, but there was a lot of waiting. The boat’s departure time was 3 pm, but we opted for an early check in before 11 am since we were near the ferry terminal.
We then returned around 1:30 pm and were able to board quickly. We found comfortable seats with a small table and a great view in the front lounge of the boat.
During the crossing, we passed time by playing cards, listening to live music, and reading. Adrien went for a guided tour of the boat and we both checked out the impressive wake from the stern.
We arrived in Yarmouth about 3.5 hours after departure, at 7.30 pm local time. However, we had to wait another 45 minutes to get off the ferry and pass the border.
We were surprised to notice that, while it was a Saturday evening in June, most of restaurants in Yarmouth were closed. We wanted a meal to go that was not from a fast food chain so we drove on and stopped in Shelburne to grab pizzas from A1 Pizza.
