Episode #4: The Gaspé Region of Quebec

Travelling east along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, we entered Quebec's beautiful Gaspé region. The Gaspé Peninsula is one of Quebec's most popular tourist destinations. 

Our first stop was Distillerie Cap-Au-Péchés, near Rivière-à-Claude. It's a Terego Camping location (Canada's version of Harvest Hosts), where participating businesses welcome self-contained RVs to stay overnight free of charge in exchange for supporting the business by purchasing some of their products.

Distillerie Cap-Au-Péchés in a re-purposed church

Distillerie Cap-Au-Péchés is a small-batch craft distillery producing a variety of gins and liqueurs. The owners have beautifully restored a former church into their distillery and retail store, creating one of the most unique tasting rooms we've visited.

We settled into the original church pews while their enthusiastic master distiller walked us through the inspiration behind each spirit, explaining the ingredients and production methods before inviting us to sample them all.

Smiles all around as we sample various gin's in old church pews

The "still" is behind us, where all the magic. happens

When it came time to choose a bottle, we couldn't help but smile—the products were displayed on shelves built into the church's former confessionals. We selected their Survenant Gin, infused with tender new spruce tips that impart a subtle, refreshing hint of mint. We were assured it makes an exceptional gin and tonic, and we're looking forward to finding out. Our overnight campsite overlooked the St. Lawrence River, making for a peaceful and memorable stay.

Products on display in re-purposed church confessional

The drive along Highway 132 is both beautiful and demanding. The road hugs the coastline through countless small villages, winding over rolling hills with spectacular views around nearly every corner. Some stretches are newly paved and smooth, while others are rough enough to require your full attention.

Our next destination was Forillon National Park, located at the northeastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, where the northern Appalachian Mountains meet the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Forillon National Park

Established in 1970 as Quebec's first national park, Forillon also has a difficult history. Creating the park required the expropriation of approximately 225 families from their homes, while more than 1,200 landowners lost farmland and woodlots. The forced relocations caused significant hardship and forever changed the social fabric of the surrounding communities.

Long before European settlement, the Mi'kmaq people had travelled through and harvested the abundant marine resources of the region for thousands of years. Later came French and British fishermen, lumbermen and farming families, whose communities prospered through the cod fishery.

Following decades of advocacy by the Association of Persons Expropriated from Forillon, the House of Commons issued a formal apology in 2011. Today, Parks Canada preserves both the area's remarkable natural beauty and its complex human history through restored heritage buildings and interpretive exhibits.

Whatever one's views of the park's creation, there is no disputing its spectacular scenery. Covering 244 square kilometres, Forillon offers rugged cliffs, endless hiking trails and opportunities to see whales, seals, seabird colonies, red foxes, black bears, moose, lynx, coyotes, mink and numerous species of raptors.

During our stay we visited Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse. Navigating the St. Lawrence in the early 1800s was extremely hazardous because of strong currents, unpredictable weather, large tides and a rocky coastline. After numerous shipwrecks claimed thousands of lives and valuable cargo, pressure mounted for a lighthouse to guide mariners safely into the Gulf.

Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse

A tight, steep climb

The original Fresnel lens in the lighthouse with it's 400 watt bulb

The light can bow seen 42 kilometres away at night

Constructed between 1854 and 1858—before Confederation—it remains Canada's tallest lighthouse at 112 feet. Its original French-made Fresnel lens is still in operation, an engineering marvel capable of projecting light more than 42 kilometres. The lighthouse originally burned whale and porpoise oil before converting to kerosene in 1869, incandescent petroleum vapour in 1903 and electricity in 1950.

Today the lighthouse is fully automated. It became a National Historic Site in 1973 and a Federal Heritage Building in 1994. More than 165 years after it was built, it continues to serve as an active navigational aid while standing as one of Forillon's most recognizable landmarks.

We also completed the hike to Forillon's famous "Land's End" at Cap-Gaspé. The round-trip hike is about eight kilometres with over 1,000 feet of elevation gain, following dramatic cliffs overlooking the Bay of Gaspé and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The reward comes with the final climb to Cap-Gaspé Lighthouse, where the sweeping views truly make you feel as though you're standing at the edge of the continent.

You can just see the lighthouse at Cap-Gaspé we hiked to

Recovering from our hike up to Cap-Gaspé

Spectacular cliffs 

Along the trail we stopped at one of Parks Canada's restored heritage buildings and met Jonathan, an enthusiastic interpreter dressed in period clothing. Working inside a recreated 19th-century general store, he explained how local families purchased imported goods on credit, settling their accounts after each cod fishing season. It was a fascinating glimpse into everyday life in coastal Gaspé over 150 years ago.

Great views of Baie de Gaspé

By the time we returned to our campsite, we had one thing on our minds: a cold drink, a hot shower and an early bedtime.

Our campsite at Forillon National Park

Every Town Has a Story

Back in January we mapped out a route that would take us to Canada's East Coast and back. It included many well-known destinations—Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax—but also dozens of small towns and villages that most travellers simply drive through.

As we've travelled, it has struck me that every community has its own story. Each has a reason for existing, a unique history, community leaders, business owners, athletes, volunteers, local heroes and a cenotaph honouring those who never came home.

There were countless other routes we could have chosen, each passing through a different collection of communities with their own stories waiting to be discovered.

Add them all together and you have Canada. It's not perfect, but it's about as close to perfect as you'll find.

Percé and Bonaventure Island

Percé is one of Quebec's premier tourist destinations and a member of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec. Long before tourists arrived, however, it was the traditional homeland and seasonal fishing territory of the Mi'kmaq people.

European history began with Jacques Cartier in 1534, followed by Samuel de Champlain in 1603. For centuries the harbour attracted Basque, Breton and Norman fishermen, eventually becoming a major cod fishing and processing centre. When the cod fishery declined during the 20th century, Percé successfully reinvented itself as a tourism destination centred around its world-famous landmark, Percé Rock.

View of Percé rock from our campsite

View of Bonavista Island from our campground

Just offshore lies Bonaventure Island, also named by Cartier in 1534. It evolved from a seasonal fishing station into a permanent community before declining with the collapse of the cod fishery. In 1971 the Quebec government acquired the island, relocating its remaining residents. Today the island, together with Percé Rock, forms part of Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé.

The island is home to more than 110,000 Northern Gannets—the largest colony in North America and one of the largest in the world. These remarkable birds return each spring from the Atlantic, with lifelong pairs nesting in the exact same location year after year to raise a single chick.

Northern Gannets are extraordinary hunters. Spotting fish from heights of up to 100 feet, they plunge into the ocean at speeds approaching 80 kilometres per hour before pursuing their prey underwater using both their wings and webbed feet.

Northern Gannets cling to the cliffs

Thousands of Northern Gannets in the air

Hiking up to the "colonies"

Thousands of nesting pairs. They return to the exact same spot each year to raise one chick

Click on this photo and you can see three chicks in their nests being protected by a parent

Another 20 thousand Northern Gannets

Fran and I visited Bonaventure Island by boat in 2016 and hiked to the gannet colony. Since we were back in the area, we couldn't resist doing it again.

The shortest return hike from the dock to the colony is just over 10 kilometres—and we tackled it only two days after our challenging hike in Forillon. We may have bitten off a little more than we should have, but we survived, and seeing the thousands of nesting gannets once again made every step worthwhile.

A cold drink (local beer) after our long hike

Our final stop in Quebec was Carleton-sur-Mer.

Its shoreline is defined by two remarkable overlapping sandbars that extend into Chaleur Bay, creating a sheltered lagoon with unusually warm seawater and one of the province's most beautiful coastal settings. One of the sandbars is home to a large campground, where we settled in for a well-earned rest.

Carleton-Sur-Mer - 2 large sandbars with our waterfront campground on the largest sandbar

Our campsite, backing on the water

Fishermen unloading farmed muscles

Local fishing boat fleet

Carleton-Sur-Mer behind us

After two demanding hikes in three days, we decided relaxation was the order of the day. We spent our time enjoying the beach just outside our bedroom window, soaking up the sunshine and the constant cooling breeze off the bay.

Before leaving Quebec for New Brunswick, we treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at a charming local Québécois restaurant—a fitting farewell to a province that had once again exceeded our expectations.

Crispy Scallop Appetizer

Lobster Ravioli

Rabbit Shoulders with potatoes & onions

Chocolate lava cake with ice cream, creme anglaise and crispy mint leaf

And of course Crème Brulée

Episode Three: Quebec City, Tadoussac, and Rimouski

Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦 to all our readers! As we write this, we are enjoying beautiful weather here in Parc National du Bic on the south shore of the St. Lawrence.

🚗 Montreal to Quebec City

We chose the scenic route along the north shore of the St. Lawrence, which typically sees less traffic than the south shore. Our base was Camping de la Joie, a great private campground just outside of Quebec City. Upon arrival, we were hit with a brief, torrential downpour, so we quickly pulled into our site to wait it out before properly setting up camp.

Thanks to the campground’s shuttle service, getting into Old Quebec City the next day was incredibly easy. We hopped on a "hop-on/hop-off" city tour. The city has done a marvellous job of maintaining its historic buildings and character; every turn presented a new photo opportunity. We particularly loved exploring the Lower Town area.

Quebec City - Hop on / hop off tour bus

Fortified walls of the Upper Town of Quebec City

Beautiful Plains of Abraham 

Colourful Lower Town of Quebec City

More colourful advertising in Lower Town

Chateau Frontenac 

The Cradle of French Civilization

Old Québec City, founded by French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1608, is the cradle of French civilization in North America and the only walled city north of Mexico. This beautifully preserved UNESCO World Heritage site features a striking separation between the fortified Upper Town and the historic, bustling Lower Town (home to the cobblestone district of Place Royale).

Today, Old Québec stands as a living museum shaped by Indigenous, French, British, and Irish cultures. We can all be thankful for the past leaders who chose to preserve this rich history for future generations.

⚽ Pub St. Patrick

After our tour and lunch in the Lower Town, we stopped at Pub St. Patrick to watch the Canada vs. Switzerland World Cup game. Even though Canada lost 2-1, the pub crowd was packed with extremely enthusiastic fans, making it a fantastic and fun atmosphere.

Go Canada Go!!

⛪ The National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

The next day, our first stop was the National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, the oldest Catholic pilgrimage site in North America. For nearly 370 years, this sanctuary dedicated to Sainte Anne (the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus) has been globally renowned as a historic place of miraculous healings.

Discarded canes and crutches from those who were cured

Stained glass depictions of Sainte Anne's life

Why did it become such an important pilgrimage?

• The Sailor's Vow: The shrine's origins trace back to a group of French sailors from Brittany caught in a violent storm on the St. Lawrence River. Facing certain death, they prayed to Sainte Anne—the patron saint of sailors—promising to build her a sanctuary if they survived.
• Safe Harbor: After drifting safely ashore at Beaupré, the sailors immediately fulfilled their vow. On March 8, 1658, a local settler named Étienne de Lessard donated two acres of land to the Catholic Church to construct the first wooden chapel.
• The First Miracle: Supernatural events quickly cemented the chapel’s holy reputation. In 1658, a local labourer named Louis Guimond suffered from severe, crippling rheumatism. After placing three stones into the chapel’s foundation out of devotion, he was instantly and completely cured.

Word of these sudden healings spread rapidly throughout New France. Pilgrims began arriving by the thousands, leaving behind their canes and crutches as physical testimonies of their recovery.

Rising From the Ashes

The original church was expanded several times but was tragically burnt to the ground on March 29, 1922. Remarkably, history survived the flames: the famous golden statue of Sainte Anne on the exterior facade survived the intense heat, and the main interior oak statue was heroically rescued by priests before the roof collapsed.

The current monumental basilica was constructed between 1923 and 1946. It stands over 100 meters tall, adorned with intricate mosaics and vast stained-glass windows detailing the life of Saint Anne. The original exterior statue has been placed back at the peak of the new facade. Today, the shrine welcomes almost 1 million visitors each year, who are still greeted by giant pillars covered in crutches, braces, and canes. A visit here is truly breathtaking.

🥾 Canyon Sainte-Anne

Our next activity was a hike to Canyon Sainte-Anne. This spectacular, 1.2-billion-year-old gorge features a roaring 243-foot waterfall that plunges into a depth greater than Niagara Falls!

The canyon bedrock is part of the Canadian Shield shaped during the ice age. In the 19th century, it was used by local loggers to move their harvest, and it has been open to the public since 1973. The stunning views are greatly enhanced by multiple suspension bridges that allow you to cross directly over the roaring gorge. It is well worth the visit. 

Getting a bear hug at Canyon Sainte-Anne

Suspension bridge over the canyon

The spring "run off" from snow melt will completely cover all this exposed rock

Another suspension bridge

It's a bouncy walk across the suspension bridge

🐋 Tadoussac: A Whale-Watching Wonder

Next, we travelled 225 kilometres east of Quebec City to Tadoussac on the north shore. Getting there includes a short, scenic ferry ride across the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord.

An Environmental and Historical Gateway

Long before Europeans arrived, Tadoussac served as a vital summer meeting place for Indigenous groups, using the Saguenay River as a massive trade corridor. In 1535, Jacques Cartier became the first European to sail into the fjord. By 1600, Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnerait established Canada's first permanent fur trading post here. In 1603, Samuel de Champlain arrived and forged a commercial and military alliance with the Innu Chief.

Over the centuries, the local economy shifted from furs to lumber, and eventually to tourism. The famous Hotel Tadoussac was built in 1864 to accommodate summer vacationers. In 1983, the Quebec government established the Saguenay Fjord National Park to protect the fragile ecosystem. Today, it is a world-renowned hub for ecotourism.

Us taking the short ferry ride across the Saguenay Fjord

Entrance to the Saguney Fjord

View from above Tadoussac

Our Zodiac Adventure

Whale watching was our main priority. We booked a tour through our campground (Camping Tadoussac) and had a fabulous two-hour outing. We saw numerous minke, fin, and humpback whales. At one point, we had a humpback whale at close range on each side of our 32-seater zodiac! The conditions were so calm and quiet that we often heard the whales surface and exhale before we even saw them.

Dressed for whale watching

Our "ride"

Minke whale

Humpback whale

Humpback tail shot

Why are there so many whales here?

1. The Fjord Effect: The Saguenay Fjord pushes out cold, oxygen-rich fresh water.
2. The Ocean Tide: The St. Lawrence River tide brings in deep, salty ocean water from the Atlantic.
3. The Underwater Wall: The deep Laurentian Channel suddenly goes from a depth of 300 metres to just 20 metres near Tadoussac.
4. The Nutrient Elevator: When the cold ocean tide hits this massive underwater cliff, it forces nutrients upward. This "upwelling" brings billions of krill and capelin to the surface, mixing with sunlight to trigger a massive plankton bloom.

This creates a giant, concentrated feeding station that whales migrate thousands of miles to enjoy. It is truly one of the best places for whale watching in the world.

Cooking on the griddle

🌲 Crossing to Parc National du Bic

Our next travel day had us crossing the St. Lawrence River via ferry from the village of Les Escoumins on the north shore to Trois-Pistoles on the south shore, and then on to Parc National du Bic near Rimouski.

This park was established by the Quebec government in 1984 after decades of gradually acquiring properties to protect its unique coastal ecosystems. While a portion of this land is used as a beautiful provincial campground, the vast majority is kept as a pristine nature reserve with hiking and bicycle trails. We chose one of the shorter trails to hike, and the sweeping coastal views and absolute peace was fabulous. 

Our rig at the front of a jam packed ferry acrossing the St. Lawrence 

On our hike at Parc National du Bic

🚢 Our Canada Day Outing: The Empress of Ireland & HMCS Onondaga

Our Canada Day outing was a visit to the Pointe-au-Père Maritime Historic Site to tour the Musée Empress of Ireland. Located right on Rimouski’s waterfront, this wonderful museum chronicles the tragic sinking of the Empress of Ireland. Through a video presentation and a vast display of recovered artifacts and photographs, the museum does an incredible job of keeping this story alive.

The Story of Canada's Titanic

The Empress of Ireland was a 14,191-ton ocean liner commissioned in 1906 for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Measuring 170 meters long and 20 meters wide, she could cross the Atlantic in just six days at a speed of nearly 20 knots. Across her four steel decks, she could accommodate 1,550 passengers.

On May 29, 1914, the Empress completed her mailbag exchange at Rimouski and was preparing for her 96th transatlantic crossing. She dropped off her harbour pilot (ships transiting the St. Lawrence are legally required to have a local pilot take control of navigation) at the Pointe-au-Père station. As the crew gathered speed and headed for open water, an exceptionally thick fog rolled across the river. 

Shortly after 1:30 AM, the SS Storstad—a 3,500-ton Norwegian ship carrying a cargo of 11,000 tons of coal upriver—rammed into the starboard side of the ocean liner at mid-ship. The Storstad penetrated nearly 6 meters into the liner's hull. The Empress’s skipper frantically directed the captain of the Storstad via megaphone to keep his engines full ahead in hopes of plugging the massive hole. Inevitably, the two ships separated. The ocean liner immediately began taking on an astronomical 270,000 litres of water per second. Though close to shore, beaching the vessel was impossible. She listed sharply, tipped onto her side, and slipped beneath the freezing water in a mere 14 minutes.

Dawn revealed a horrifying scene as hundreds of bodies washed ashore or were brought to the local wharves. The final death toll was 1,012 lives, many of whom were never recovered from their watery grave. In a sense, it was even more terrifying than the Titanic or Lusitania because it occurred in the dead of night while passengers were fast asleep, leaving almost no chance for escape. The Empress of Ireland still holds the tragic record for the largest loss of life on a passenger liner during peacetime.

⚓ Step Inside a Cold War Submarine: HMCS Onondaga

Sharing the same property as the museum is the HMCS Onondaga, a decommissioned Oberon-class submarine. It is Canada’s very first publicly accessible museum submarine, allowing visitors to step directly inside an authentic Cold War-era naval vessel. Built in Chatham, England, it was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy from June 22, 1967, until July 28, 2000, conducting covert intelligence gathering and tactical training alongside NATO allies.

After sitting in Halifax for six years awaiting its fate, the submarine was purchased by the Rimouski maritime museum for just $4 plus tax! The 1,400-ton vessel was towed up the St. Lawrence River to Rimouski to begin its second life. However, hauling it out of the water and across dry land to its permanent dry dock became an engineering nightmare. The submarine actually keeled over during the attempt, a dramatic crisis captured by a film crew and featured on the Discovery Channel’s hit television show, Monster Moves (in an episode titled "Supersize Submarine”).

Engine room

Radar screens

Galley

One of numerous compartment watertight doors

Forward torpedo room

Our tour of the sub was absolutely fascinating and well worth the visit. That being said, trying to imagine the daily life of a submarine crew in those incredibly cramped quarters? Not for us!