Gaspesie, Quebec, Canada

48.6667° N, 65.8333° W

Gaspe driving map. google.com

I have been wanting to go to the Gaspesie area as long as I can remember. I tried twice; once in early 90’s. It was late in the fall, maybe even early December. I remember it was cold, snow was collecting on the road and my inner voice told me it was a bad idea to proceed. I listened and turned at Riviere du Loup towards New Brunswick and onward to Nova Scotia to see family.

Then 10 years ago, I had another opportunity when I was moving back east from Ontario. For two days I held out, slowly driving northward from Riviere du Loup, on to Rimouski, inching my way to Mont Joli. My wipers couldn’t keep up with the torrential rain and with a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel, I squinted through the windshield to see the road. I gave up and turned towards the Acadian coast of New Brunswick and kept going on to Cape Breton.

Since then I have had time to do research and I am glad that I didn’t make it on either of those two occasions. I would have missed out on so many places. When I was young I thought, I will come back again. Now that I am older, I realize how quickly years fly by and chances to revisit places don’t come around as we would like, if ever. I am lucky the Gaspe stayed on my list of must-see places. Other than missing the hike to Mont Saint Joseph, in Carleton Sur Mer, I had a mishap-free marvelous vacation. I highly recommend visiting.

Should you be interested in retracing my road tour, I did it from June 28th to July 5th 2019. I choose to drive the Eastern loop. Heading north from Campbellton, New-Brunswick be sure to stop at Miguasha-UNESCO-heritage-site. Next up is Carleton-Sur-Mer. then Saint-Alphonse for a hike to falls over a suspension bridge. Getting belayed down into the cave at Saint-Elzear was an adrenaline rush. A large cross marks the spot where Christopher Columbus held his first Mass in Port Daniels-Gascons.

From there I headed less than an hour north towards Perce. for the giant rock and to take a boat tour to Bonaventure-island to see the largest nesting site of northern gannets in the world.

I spent two nights and three days camping in Forillon-national-park, hiking to Lands End. I recounted my moose encounter in Forillon-national-park and some more hiking along the coast line and lighthouse area in Forillion-national-park.

Nearing the most northerly section of the Gaspe, I found my first covered bridge and took in some local culture in Grand-vallee. The Saint Lawrence River is beautiful along the western coast, where I turned off and and headed into the chic-choc mountains of Parc-national-de-la-Gaspesie.

Within the park I attempted to hike to the top of Mont-Jacques-Cartier not only because it is the highest peak in Eastern Canada, but it is home to the last herd of caribou south of the Saint Lawrence River.

I did a little urban sight-seeing in the town of Matane before hopping on a bus and heading into the forest on a moose safari in Matane wildlife reserve.

There is a interesting story behind the naming of Philomenes-falls. I ended my tour at a historic fishing lodge not far from the area’s longest covered bridge, in Causapscal.

My 2020 vacation will be a month in Peru starting May 15th 2020. A lifetime of dreaming and two years of researching will finally become a reality. Until then please join me again as I explore new places. Happy travels from Maritime Mac.