|
|
Posts: 86
| I'm going to the Kawarthas, north of Toronto, from Louisville Ky. I went via Detroit/Ambassador Bridge last year and it went fine(some construction)and(40 minute bridge delay going, 20 minute delay coming home). I see they're having a major construction project and detours this year and next. Would I be better off avoiding Detroit and going up through Buffalo/Peace Bridge.
Stats:
Through Detroit: 11hours 53 minutes 681 miles
Through Buffalo: 12hours 24 minutes 718 miles
Thanks in advance for any advice. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2865
Location: Brookfield, WI | It's a little early in the year to set spreads, but I say Buffalo by 3. As long as Millen is running the show in Detroit, they're always going to stink.
Kevin
Blue Algae in Pewaukee. EEEWWW! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 147
Location: Milwaukee, WI | What you write makes sense.
But....from my experiences with crossings at several places, the delays are very dependent on the day of the week and time of day when you arrive at the border.
The Peace Bridge also gets long lines & delays without any construction. For example; going north on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings after 9AM. And, returning south, on Sunday evenings before about 9PM.
Try calling both places and asking: "When are your typically busy times ?". Then, arrange your trip to avoid arriving at those times.
During the middle of the night, you can almost breeze across the Peace Bridge. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 212
| we just crossed last Sat night at about 2:30am in about 5 minutes, we were the only two cars...returned the this past Saturday at 3:45am and it took about 20 mins, over the Peace Bridge . |
|
| |
|
Posts: 86
| Agreed, the middle of the night was how we did it in the old days. These days it's nicer to get half a nights sleep first. We get there in time to put the boats in, put our gear in the cabins and sit down to dinner before the first evenings fishing.
Ahhhh, no bed comes close to being as comfortable as a sleeping bag laid open over a two case high stack of Stroh's pounders in the back of a 1978 International Scout towing a 14' mirrocraft with a 9.9 evinrude. To be a kid again, surrounded by all these guys that were larger than life and man enough to cast all day, drink all night and grab those great toothy beast by the gill plate bare handed. Luckily I still get to hang out with all my heros; as my 82 year old father, all four of my big brothers and I will be sharing the week togther on waters the family has been chasing musky on since the 1960's. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 341
Location: Passaic, NJ - Upper French River, ON | Peace Bridge - middle of the day, middle of the week. No commuters, shoppers, truck traffic or vacationers. At CA customs, do not get behind Minivans or a carload of college kids. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 203
Location: Germantown, WI | I crossed at Detroit on 6/21 en route the Kawarthas from Milwaukee. The construction was no problem and I breezed through Canadian Customs. It took me about 10 minutes to register the boat. Coming back on 6/28 there was a bit of a tie up because the US Customs are being a lot more strict and checking in people's trunks. My brother and Dad crossed at Buffalo on the same days coming to and from Pittsburgh. They had a big tie-up on the Peace Bridge coming back into the US. I don't know that one is really that much better than the other, but the construction in Detroit was not a big deal.
By the way we boated 16 muskies, but size was off this year. We only had 1 musky over 40" between my Dad, my brother and myself. My Dad lost a low to mid 40" class musky on a Wiley. I lost a low 40" class musky that ate a Zara Spook with no leader and bit me off after a nice fight. My buddy who was also there with his family caught his personal best 45". We caught 7 Bass over 4 lbs for the week including 2 Smallmouths that were 20".
Tom
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 43
Location: Roch NY | i'm not sure exactly where that is that you're headed and whether is conducive, but every time we head up towards toronto from upstate ny we go north of buffalo and niagara falls to the queenston-lewsiton bridge. I've never had more than a couple minute wait whereas I've waited for over a 1/2 hour or more on the peace bridge and seen the lines wrapped around the streets in buffalo before the bridge too. returning is totally dependent on the time of day regardless of the crossing.
I'm pretty sure there is some website (us customs maybe) that gives up to the minute delay status for the different border crossings. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 86
| Thanks for all the input guys. I think I'm going to go up through Detroit/Ambassador and come back through Buffalo/Peace or one of the other Niagra area bridges. I'll be pretty early on the Saturday coming home and should beat the traffic. |
|
| |
Driving to Canada: Detroit vs. Buffalo