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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
5 Days in Gaspé
The Gaspé Peninsula is a wonderful mix of Maritime and French culture.
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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
5 Days in Gaspé
Explorers of Forillon National Park may come across Fort Peninsula, a gun emplacement to guard Gaspé from the German Navy during the Second World War.
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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
5 Days in Gaspé
Keep an eye out when traveling the coast, random works of art can pop up when you least expect.
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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
5 Days in Gaspé
The iconic boardwalk of Percé with the equally famous Percé Rock in the background.
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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
5 Days in Gaspé
Another random work of art.
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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
5 Days in Gaspé
Rocher Percé
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Budd Stanley & Wikimedia photos
5 Days in Gaspé
View of Percé rock from Bonaventure Island
Story & photos by Budd Stanley, additional photos courtesy of Wikimedia
An itinerary to tour the Gaspé Peninsula
It is where the mighty St. Lawrence River spills into the Atlantic Ocean and where francophone Quebec merges into the Maritimes of the east coast of Canada. The Gaspé Peninsula is a spectacular merger point both in terms of geography and cultures as well as being historically significant to the birth of our nation.
Touring through the Gaspé region will reward travellers with one of Quebec’s best-kept secrets, boasting Maritime gourmet cuisine, pristine national parks and a slower rural pace of life.
A round trip starting from Quebec City will rack up 1,622 km and will allow travellers to explore the quaint seaside villages that dot the coastal route, wander park land wildernesses and search out a myriad of infamous, and not so well known historic sites. Come with us as we meander our way around the magnificent Gaspé Peninsula.
Day 1: Gaspésie National Park
Things to Do: Hiking
After a scenic five-hour drive up the south banks of the St. Lawrence River on highway 132 (make a few stops to stock up the fridge with hardy meals and try the local dishes), make a left turn onto highway 299 to enter Parc National de la Gaspésie. Here you will find nature at its best, hitting you with a one-two punch of majestic alpine lakes and 1,200 metre high peaks.
A natural magnet for hikers of all abilities, the park gives visitors access to an extraordinary mountain environment. The Chic-Chocs and McGerrigle Mountains, as the native Mi’kmaq know them, dominate the park. Among them, Mont Jacques Cartier is the second highest peak in Québec. The altitude of these mountains deeply influences the climate that molds the landscape and creates a diversity of species unique to Québec, and even the world. Arctic-alpine plants and tundra landscapes form a habitat for a herd of woodland caribou, the last representatives of this species south of the St. Lawrence.
Stay: La Vallée RV allows visitors to stay in the heart of the Gaspésie National Park, close to hiking and biking trails and a Natural Heritage Centre.
La Vallée RV - 981, route du Parc, Ste-Anne-des-Monts, Quebec, G4V 2E4
Day 2: Forillon National Park
Things to Do: Sight Seeing
Along the ocean route from Gaspésie National Park, make sure to take a break at the iconic light-tower at Phare de Cap-des-Rosiers. This 34 m high stone light-tower, perched atop rugged cliffs, is the tallest lighthouse in Canada and national historic site. The exposed point of land is at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River where it enters the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. Built between 1853 and 1858, the lighthouse has never since stopped operation, guiding ships through treacherous waters.
Forillon National Park is located at the very tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. Its magnificent seascapes, cliffs and mountains occupy 245 km2. The park features a broad diversity in wildlife and plant life combine as well as the hidden gun emplacement of Fort Peninsula to make this park a unique sightseeing spot to spend the day. Located within the seaside park, the Grand-Grave Heritage Site bears witness to the lifestyles of the fisher folk who lived here in the early 1900s.
Stay: RV and trailer camping at Camping des Appalaches can be found on the west side of the park on highway 197, or make use of the Parks own facilities.
Camping des Appalaches - 367, Rivière Morris (route 197), Rivière-au-Renard Québec G4X 5P7
Day 3: Gaspé
Things to Do: Museum Tour
Making your way out of the park, you are greeted with a picturesque drive around the back of Gaspé bay, entering the small town of Gaspé. Here you can come in from the wilderness and enjoy some urban luxuries such as a gourmet coffee and meal at the Café des Artistes or a pint of craft brew from Pit Caribou microbrewery that specialize in German-style ales and weissbiers using Québécois ingredients.
Gaspé is also a historic site and important point in Canada’s timeline as this was where Jacques Cartier first came ashore in 1534 and erected a cross, claiming the land for King Francis I of France. This marks the beginning of the French presence in North America. A stop at the Musée de la Gaspésie to discover the Gaspesian history is a must. The permanent exhibit Gaspésie... A grand journey! takes you on a trip around the Gaspésie to meet the men and women that shaped their region. The temporary exhibits revolve around the history, art, heritage and culture of the Gaspésie.
Stay: RV and trailer camping can be found at Camping Fort Ramsay, just 3 km north of the town centre, with views of the bay.
Camping Fort Ramsay - 254 Boulevard Gaspé, Gaspé, Québec, G4X 1B1
Day 4: Percé
Things to Do: Island tour
The Percé Rock, an island with a large tunnel bored through its base over millions of years through the erosion of waves, may be Quebec’s most famous natural wonder, but the real gem is Bonaventure Island. Accessible by a 15-minute ferry ride from the Percé marina, Bonaventure Island was once a British-run cod-fishing outpost with a population in the hundreds. Today it is now an uninhabited national park with towering cliffs that boast one of the world’s largest colonies of gannets. These yellow-headed migratory seabirds return to the exact same spot every spring to mate. You can observe them in the thousands from just metres away.
After a day on the sea’s, treat yourself to a high quality Maritime dinner at La Maison du Pêcheur. Just off the waterfront boardwalk, this restaurant is full of character and great food, specializing crispy brick-oven pizza, which you can top with shrimp, scallop and lobster meat. Take a stroll up to the second level and bear witness to the true historic significance of this iconic building. Political graffiti covers the steep roof sides, placed there back in 1969 by the young FLQ members who sparked political upheaval in the area and would later kidnap and murder Quebec Immigration and Labour Minister, Pierre Laporte.
Stay: Camping Côte Surprise - 335 route 132 Ouest,, Percé, Québec G0C 2L0
There are several campsites doting the Oceanside south of Percé. One such place is Camping Côte Surprise with an epic view of both the Percé Rock as well as the town of Percé itself.
Day 5: New Richmond
Things to Do: Festivals
For those who enjoy live entertainment, the New Richmond area is one that is brimming with music. Live music is never too hard to find throughout the year, however if you find yourself in the area in mid August, head down the road to Shigawake. The tiny Anglophone farming community boasts Gaspé’s oldest country fair and the popular Shigawake Music Festival that is headlined by some of Montreal’s biggest indie music artists. Come a little later and you can take in the New Richmond Bluegrass Festival in the first week of September.
Looking for something a little more rowdy, Rallye Baie des Chaleurs is a motorsports event that tears its way through the gravel mountain service roads north of New Richmond at the end of June featuring Canada’s fastest and most spectacular rally cars and drivers.
Stay: Camping New Richmond - 410 Rte 132 O, New Richmond, QC G0C 2B0
Nestled on the banks of the Cascapedia River, this campsite is situated in the Taylors Point Park and just across the bridge from the town of New Richmond.