Any body have information on Jame's Bay?

[upcruiser]

I've been thinking alot lately about trying to get up there to do some exploring. I've been told now, by several people that there is no road that gets there. The only way is by train or by plane. Looking on maps, I can't find roads that cover approximately the last 200 miles to the bay. I'm wondering if any one has any suggestions for resources that might list some unimproved roads/trails that would be navigable in the summer months. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[upcruiser]

I should probably mention that I'm refering to Jame's Bay in Northern Ontario, connected to the Hudson Bay.

 

[Greg_B]

I used to live in a hydro town at Abitibi Canyon, which when my family moved there was by plane or train only. A few years later a road was pushed though. Looks like that road still exists, though the town does not.

Closest I could get you was:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/map/images/pdf/northont/sheets/map15.pdf

I read somewhere that it was 112 miles from the Canyon to the bay, however can be recalling wrong.

The below link will give you some info on the town. I do not know if Ontario Hydro ever had exploratory roads that followed the river up to the bay itself, however find and check out their archives.

http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/theatres/theatres/canyon_abitibi.htm

Archives for mining, etc might be an option.

Twas years ago when I was there...

hth's

gb

 

[zebrabeefj40]

I drove up in my '77 V8J40 about 4 years ago with a friend and his FZJ80. Nice paved road all the way to the shore of the Bay. I don't have the maps in front of me right now to give the route though.

We took a week to drive from Boston in a big loop through Canada to the Bay then back again. Just make sure you take plenty of extra jerry cans of fuel as there are not too many places to get it that far north. If you see a place to buy fuel, buy it!

Take someone who can speak French (if you can't yourself) as most of the folks in this province speak French. Also remember that it is a LONG way to civilization and the long arm of the law or an ambulance isn't just a phone call away.

HTH,
Nick Jennings

 

[upcruiser]

Thanks guys. I found road maps that show that route up on the Quebec side. I was hoping to find a route up to Moose Factory or even better yet Churchill. I'll have to keep searching and maybe try to find and order some topo maps of that region.

Zebra, what was the scenery like up there, and how were the bugs when you went? Was French spoken up in the settlements along the bay there?

 

[zebrabeefj40]

Scenery was pretty amazing. Went from your typical hardwood forest to pine forest to stunted pine and alpine plants. Saw several bears but no moose (wanted to see a moose or two). We went up in the middle of July so the bugs were pretty bad. Make sure you take extra washer fluid too! The horse flys were HUGE near the Bay and agressive too. People spoke French for the southern 2/3's of the trip; the natives spoke English. English was spoken in the southern parts too but French was the prefered language.

Nick Jennings

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

Up:

Sorry I didn't see this earlier - no road access to Moose Factory in Ontario, and none to Churchill either. As others have mentioned, the only road access in in Quebec and (IIRC) some of the roads are private, so not fully sure of the access. The roads are in the region to service the HUGE hydroelectric dams (that have been the source of land claim disputes in the region).

If you're really interested, I can put you in touch with someone that has driven the PQ route within the last few years.

Cheers, Hugh