Already familiar with the Pacific Marine Circle Route, between Victoria and Port Renfrew, my daughter and I were ready to travel farther afield this summer and do another road trip around a major waterway.
Road trips, especially in the time of COVID, are becoming increasingly popular. And what better place for driving enthusiasts to explore than the 3,000- kilometre coastline of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec.
While we would only drive part of this major river’s shores, we made sure to begin and end our holiday in one of Canada’s most vibrant cities — Quebec City. Our six-day road trip would take us through scenic coastal villages on Quebec’s south shore to the less-populated north shore, travelling through four different maritime regions in la belle province.
First on the itinerary was the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, with a slight dip into the Gaspesie then crossing the St. Lawrence River by ferry into the Cote-Nord region and continuing onto the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region.
Along the way we would drive past panoramic sea views, watch minke whales feeding near the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, explore a submarine, climb a lighthouse, cruise Quebec’s only fjord and experience what it was like to live in a pulp mill town from the 1920s. In short, creating memories while learning about Canada’s early history and experiencing a province renowned for its culture and fine food.
Quebec City
There’s always a festival or special event happening in Quebec and we timed our visit to take in an incredible garden show (on until Oct. 10). If you love gardening then go see Mosaicultures. More than six million plants were used to create 200 amazing animal sculptures for an exhibit called a Once Upon a Time at Parc Bois-de-Coulonge (the former residence of lieutenant-governors from 1870 to 1966). Gigantic elephants, giraffes and a depiction of Mother Earth are just a few of the sculptures in this unique art show, highlighting the importance of protecting nature.
You can’t visit Quebec City without strolling through Old Quebec, the city’s historic district begun in 1608, where a ride on the funicular brings you from the cobblestone streets below to the historic Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac above.
In the evening, we drove just outside the city to take in a new attraction, called Onhwa’ Lumina, a light show honouring the ancestors of the Huron-Wendat Nation during an enchanted forest walk.
To truly make this an evening devoted to authentic indigenous tourism experiences we stayed at the First Nations-owned Hotel-Musee Premieres Nations in nearby Wendake, just 15 kilometres from downtown Quebec City. The hotel has an onsite longhouse and a museum where we learned more about the Huron-Wendat culture the next day, and one of the best restaurants in Quebec featuring indigenous cuisine.
Plan on at least two to three days in Quebec City before heading off to the Quebec Maritimes. We also stayed at the ideally located L’Hotel du Capitole, just steps from Old Quebec and the Plains of Abraham.
Bas-Saint-Laurent
The drive to this region from Quebec City took approximately three hours to reach our first night’s stay in the university city of Rimouski.
Along the way we did a slight detour to the charming village of Kamouraska. And like so many towns in Quebec it has a picturesque church and artisan boutiques, some located in 19th century heritage homes, along its main street.
In recent years, this coastal village has become a popular foodie destination, so we made sure to stop in at the local bakery and chocolate shop. At La Fee Gourmande, we indulged in their homemade chocolate ice cream and bought decadent chocolate brownies for the road.
Another stop worth leaving the road for is Parc de la Pointe at Riviere-du-Loup, where we enjoyed a picnic and stretched our legs while watching a storm cloud roll in far down the St. Lawrence River shoreline.
After reaching Rimouski we checked into Hotel Le Navigateur, which is directly across the street from the St. Lawrence River. It’s also near many of the region’s main tourist attractions, the most notable being Pointe-au-Pere Maritime Historic Site, which has three main draws — a decommissioned Canadian Navy submarine, a museum dedicated to the Empress of Ireland, which sank near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in 1914 killing 1,012 people, and the second tallest lighthouse in eastern Canada, which is 33 metres high.
While all three were interesting, the highlight was going on board the Onondaga — Canada’s first publicly accessible submarine, which criss-crossed the North Atlantic from 1967 to 2000. Using a self-guided audio tour, it was easy to get a sense of what life was like for the 70 men who lived aboard this submarine for months at a time.
Gaspesie region
Close to Rimouski (just a 30- minute drive) we dipped into this region to visit Reford Gardens and to see the International Garden Festival (on till Oct. 2).
The latter event showcases contemporary gardens on a site adjacent to the historic gardens created by horticulturist Elsie Reford, between 1926 and 1958. This English-style garden, integrated into the natural landscape, has more than 3,000 varieties of native and exotic plants. Walking through the beautifully laid out gardens also provides a peek into life of those fortunate to be wealthy in the early 1900s.
Saguenay Lac Saint Jean region
Our first stop was Tadoussac, a picture-perfect village at the confluence of the Saguenay and St. Lawrence rivers, famous as a whale-watching destination. We started our day off with breakfast at the iconic Hotel Tadoussac, which has overlooked the bay for more than 150 years. As I took photographs from the expansive front lawn, my daughter enjoyed contributing to the lobby puzzle — a very nostalgic summer activity in keeping with the tranquil setting.
After breakfast we took a three-hour cruise from nearby Sainte-Rose-du-Nord, another charming coastal town and a gateway to the Saguenay Fjords National Park. The cliffs along Quebec’s only fjord reach a height of 350 metres but average 150 metres.
The highlight was cruising past the Notre-Dame-du-Saguenay statue built high on a cliff by salesman Charles Robitaille in 1878. It’s said he created a statue in honour of the Virgin Mary after he survived a fall through the ice of the Saguenay River. As we passed, the captain played Ave Maria, which apparently is a naval tradition for all ships floating by the statue in hopes of safe passage.
Our only camping experience was at Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux, where we spent the evening in a dome tent that had mesh walls so we could see the stars and kept warm by a fireplace beside the bed. The next day we checked out our neighbour’s abode — spheres hanging from the trees suspended over the cliff. Not for the faint of heart. My daughter was all for spending the night there. Myself, not so much.
I prefer more of a spa experience, so we stopped in at Chalets et Spa Lac Saint-Jean where we indulged in a Nordic spa, jumping from cold to hot pools for part of the afternoon. Although you could rent chalets at the spa we opted to drive five minutes down the road to the Historic Village of Val-Jalbert, for what would be the trip’s highlight.
Here we got to experience life as it was in the 1920s in a company town near the beautiful Ouiatchouan waterfall, which is higher than Niagara Falls. It was a privilege to be able to stay overnight in the heart of the village, in one of the 24 suites in the restored period homes on the main street.
An old-fashioned trolly bus took us to past the 80 buildings still on site (half of them have been saved) and to the pulp mill at the base of the falls, which also has the extraordinary Restaurant du Moulin, which features regional cuisine (breakfast is included for those staying overnight).
Kim Pemberton is a Victoria freelance writer. She was a guest of Tourism Quebec.
