Québec and the Gaspé, all the way to Percé Rock

Before the road

Lac Saint-Joseph and the old town

A few wonderful days on the shores of Lac Saint-Joseph, with friends who know how to welcome guests: water, forested shores, a white wake behind the boat.

An evening in Old Québec too, in the lanes of Petit-Champlain, with the Château Frontenac watching over the lit-up roofs.

Mauricie and Charlevoix

Lakes, forests and a fjord

Always magical to be off on these adventures as a threesome, between fits of laughter and discoveries. An outfitter's camp by a lake, canoeing and kayaking, then La Mauricie National Park and a hike among the bears, who were probably too hot to take an interest in us.

Then up the Chemin du Roy to La Malbaie. The Acropole-des-Draveurs trail in the Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie is superb, its 880 m descent much less so. Then Port-au-Persil, the Saguenay Fjord, a swim in the fjord and, for want of a bear, a raccoon.

Tadoussac and Rivière-du-Loup

Mist, a whale and dunes

The first grey day: the beluga did not show itself in Baie Sainte-Marguerite, but a fin whale rewarded our seven kilometres, and Tadoussac in the mist was enchanting.

The next day, a ghostly lighthouse, incredible dunes, the ferry and a sunset from the hotel room.

The Gaspé

Rivers, forests and lupins

Then the road heads east. Clear rivers rolling over pebbles, firs as far as the eye can see, cabins set by the water, a waterfall hidden in the forest.

By the roadside a fox cub comes to see who is passing. The lupin fields are in bloom, mauve and pink, and white lighthouses with red roofs announce the sea.

Percé

The rock standing in the sea

And then it appears, first far away on the blue horizon: Percé Rock, a huge stone ship moored opposite Bonaventure Island. Up close, from the heights, it towers over the village and its bay.

To finish, the region is seen from above, by helicopter: the rock becomes a tiny island on a silver sea, and the Gaspé coast unrolls its beaches and points.

Back to Québec City

Isle-aux-Coudres and the old town

The way back goes through Isle-aux-Coudres, its marshes and mills, then a last night in Québec City, a little gem of a town, for a final stroll below the Château Frontenac.