I am going to tour around the Gaspe peninsula this summer towing a 28ft fifth wheel. Are there any grades, turns or low clearances that would be a problem?

Hi VtLee,

You should have no problems with low clearances or sharp bends, the road is made for tractor trailers. A few stretches of the road were in bad condition when I did the trip 4 years ago, especially between Grande-Vallée and Rivière-au-Renard. Maybe it's fixed by now. There are a few steep grades, but nothing very long, you should not worry about them. The worst part is between Rivière-la-Madelaine and Grande-Vallée. For the landscape I like the stretch between Cap-Chat and Rivière-au-Renard best. If you plan on staying in Forillon National Park I advise reservations. Be aware though that gas is about 25 to 30% more expensive than in the US, and brush up on your French, there are people that don't speak English in the area.

PS: For road works you might want to check here:
http://www.quebec511.gouv.qc.ca/en/

Hi wprigge: Thanks for the info. I bought a translation booklet with helpful phrases like "I am lost".

Hi VtLee.

(I suppose this is for Vermont Lee.) Welcome neighbor! If you want to see a few photos of our trip, go here:

http://web.mac.com/wolfgang.prigge1/Site_3...Gaspésie_1.html

and here:

http://web.mac.com/wolfgang.prigge1/Site_3...Gaspésie_2.html

Hi Thanks for the photos. I will look at them when I go somewhere there is a high speed connection. We live 10 miles from Montpelier, Vermont's capital, yet we have no broadband service. Perhaps one day we will catch up to the rest of the world. We are leaving for Gaspe on 7/8 and are really looking forward to the trip. We went to Newfoundland in '08 and loved it.

wprigge:

Beautiful photos. We too are planning the same trip in early August. Which CGs did you visit, and any tips?

Hi Land Yacht,

I reviewed all the campgrounds we used here on rvparkreviews. It basically boils down to where you want to stop for the night. If you want to get a place in Forillon National Park I do advise reservations, even though we got a nice spot with electric hookups for three nights without reservations. I also suggest a few days in Québec City, there are campgrounds listed here. Also you might want to check this:

http://www.guidecamping.ca/cdcq/en/cdcqgeo.shtml

There are no reviews here, but you can find campgrounds within the area where you want to stay. I'll have a look at my records of the trip and try to give a list of the campgrounds where we stayed. Might take a few days before I get to it though.

Hi wprigge,

Thanks for your reply and the info. We had already intended to include Quebec City on our itinerary. We are considering Camp Juneau as the base camp for our three days there.

No hurry on getting the campground list. We're unhurriedly retired.

Hi Land Yacht,
Do you like to visit museums or similar stuff when you travel? I might be able to point out quite a few things around the Gaspé. Getting the stuff together, maybe I'll be able to write up a proper reply tomorrow. As for camping near Québec City I'm afraid I can't be much of a help as we stay with friends when we visit there. Ther is an option though, if you want a quiet place, to go to the other side of the St. Laurence to Beaumont, several campgrounds in that area but our last stay there was to long ago to write a review. From there it's easy to drive to the ferry terminal at Lévis where you can find ample parking and then just cross over to the foot of Chateau Frontenac. If you are a good walker you can easily see most of the sights on foot for one day and bring your car over to see the sight a little further away for another day.

Hi wprigge: On your list of things to see, if you know of any good short hikes add those to the list also. I have my reservations for 3 nights in Forillon. The other nights we are going to stop where we can. Hopefully we will not encounter too many full campgrounds, although it will be July. I will post reviews of the campgrounds for Land Yacht's August trip.

Will do. Forillon wil give you a good choice, but there are other places as well. Stay tuned, coming up soon!

Hi VtLee & Land Yacht,

Here you get the first installment for suggestions for the 'round the Gaspé trip. It's for the northern route from Québec City to Forillon, but including neither.

Take autoroute 20. Remember we measure our distances in km, so from exit 30 to exit 130 is 100 km or about 60 miles.

My first suggestion is at exit 364, the Grosse Île National Historic Park. Grosse Île used to be the quarantine station of Canada, There are several thousand Irish buried here that fled the potato famine only to die here. It's quite interesting, even if you have no Irish ancestors. The link is here:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/qc/grossei...sit/visit4.aspx

The only way to get there is by this boat: http://www.croisiereslachance.com/en/cruis...?no_croisiere=9

Close (exit 378) by is a a good municipal camping where you should have no problem finding a spot even without reservations. Camping Pointe aux Oies Montmagny http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Quebec/Montmagny.html

Next suggestion is the Québec Maritime Museum, (exit 400) of moderate interest unless you really love ships. One of the highlights is an experimental hydrofoil submarine hunter that could go at 63 knots under full load. Here is the link:
http://www.mmq.qc.ca/index_en.html
Very close by is an ok municipal campground with one interesting feature: the spots with the million dollar views are not taken by the seasonal campers but reserved for transients. It's the Camping Municipal du Rocher Panet at L'Islet, http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Quebec/L_Islet.html

Then, at exit 414, there is the world famous woodcarver village St-Jean-Port-Joli.
(I give the exit numbers, but once past Montmagny you can easily follow the riverside road highway 132.)


Next, at exit 507 in Rivière-du-Loup, there is something I highly recommend, a whale watching cruise. It will bring you to one of the 10 world-best whale watching areas near the mouth of the Sagunay Fjord.
http://www.croisieresaml.com/en/_destinati...4&idprod=17

Two campgrounds, Camping du Quai (half a mile) and Camping Municipal (¾ of a mile) are close by. I have not camped myself there but from what I hear they seem to be ok. http://www.guidecamping.ca/duquai/indexeng.shtml http://www.guidecamping.ca/riviereduloup/indexeng.shtml
You can see Camping du Quai quite well on Google Street View.

Then you get to the end of Autoroute. (Interstate for you)

The next place is certainly of interest for VtLee, a provincial park called "Parc National du Bic", lots of hiking, biking and kayaking, problem is the RV campground of this park is situated right next to the #132 highway with truck traffic 24/7. http://www.sepaq.com/pq/bic/index.dot?language_id=1

After the park you get a bypass road of Rimouski, take exit 621, to visit the Pointe-au-Père historic site with a lighthouse, a museum commemorating the Empress of Ireland tragedy and the possibility to go into a submarine.
http://www.shmp.qc.ca/index.php?lang=en

Only a few km further is Camping Capitaine Homard, where you will be squeezed in close to your neighbors, but the adjacent restaurant is the drawing card here. If you arrive early you should not need reservations. Check out the place, if you like it, stay, if not there are more campgrounds just a little further.
http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Quebe...nte-Flavie.html

This photo and the following 5 were taken at Capitaine Homard. The building with the red roof is the restaurant. Gives you an idea how tight the spots are. http://web.mac.com/wolfgang.prigge1/Site_3...runswick.html#0

The next place of interest is the Jardins Métis. Some unusual flowers, I remember a blue poppy that only grows here and in Nepal.
http://www.RefordGardens.com/english/

At Cap-Chat visit a windmill site with the remains of the largest vertical windmill ever built, 110 metres tall. It looks like a giant eggbeater.
http://www.eolecapchat.com/e_index.html

For VtLee, there are lots of hiking opportunities in the "Parc National de la Gaspésie". really a provincial park just south of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. Only some electric hookups for the campgrounds, but out there in the deep woods there is a high class restaurant, I don't know today's prices, but when I was there many years ago prices were very low for such a quality dinner.
http://www.sepaq.com/pq/gas/index.dot?language_id=1

Mont-Saint-Pierre is Eastern Canada's hang gliding hot spot. The municipal campground was ok when I was there several years back. http://www.guidecamping.ca/cdcq/en/fiche_c...asp?no_cdcq=105

After Rivière-la-Madelaine the road gets a little hilly and curvy for around 18 km, but you should have no problems, after all tractor-trailers go through there with no problems. Just before going down into Grande-Vallée, on top of the the hill, you have a viewpoint with a big parking lot, well worth a photo stop. Just after the village centre you find a a nice stopover campground.
http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Quebe...nde-Vallee.html

That's it for today, the second installment soon.

Hi wprigge:

Wow! Thanks for the detailed itinerary. This will be immensely helpful. We'll be arriving at the Gaspe through New Brunswick from PEI, so we'll just reverse your route. Looking forward to your next installment.

Hi VtLee:

Thank you for your kind offer to act as pathfinders for us. This will be our first specific "season-long RV tour" (although we've done several thousand miles in the rig "visiting family", etc). Your advice will be very helpful and we really appreciate it.

Which direction will you be traveling? We'll be in the Maritimes from July 7th to August 7th when we head into the Gaspe via Campbellton, NB. We may pass each other.

Hi,

Finally the second installment. It took me a while, I had to give priority to some urgent family matter. We start with Forillon National Park:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/qc/forillon/index.aspx

Besides hiking there are historical and cultural activities, just go to the information centers and let the staff there help you.
The hike to the end of the peninsula includes almost always the sighting of whales, last time I was there we were able to see two Blue Whales, but I have to admit at a distance of about a mile even a these giants are not that an impressive sight. You should try to do this as a guided walk, they are rarely offered in English, but you might try it in French. If the group is not too big the naturalists could give you some explanations in English between the stops. If you don't get enough from then, just go the rest on your own, remember there is no extra charge, the activities are included in the daily entrance fees. This hike constitutes the last stretch of the International Appalachian Trail that connects with the American Appalachian Trail in Maine and then goes down all the way to Georgia.

If you feel up to it I also suggest the Mont Saint-Alban hike, it brings you over the mountains to the other side of the park, it goes up to 255 meters above sea level with a beautiful view (weather permitting).
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/qc/forillon/activ/activ5.aspx

Do not miss to drive out to the Cap-Bon-Ami camping and go down to the beach there. Most of the time there are park interpreters there to show and explain the fauna & flora.

Another place you might want to see, maybe just in passing, is the Fort Peninsula area. The Bay of Gaspé is one of the very few coastal areas of Canada not near a major port that had coastal artillery installed during WW2. It was prepared as a safe area for the British Royal Navy in case Britain had to surrender. All vessels that could escape were to report there. You also find info on the secret battle with the U-boats in the gulf of St. Lawrence during WW2.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/qc/forillon/natc....aspx#peninsula

Forillion is also a good place for whale watching, almost as good as the spot near Tadoussac that I mentioned in the first installment, where you would leave from the marina of Rivière-du-Loup:
http://www.baleines-forillon.com/intro.aspx

Between Forillon and the town of Gaspé, on the south shore of the bay about a quarter mile east of the bridge at the head of the bay is the museum of the Micmac Indian Nation. When we were there they had very tasty Indian food.
http://www.gespeg.ca/english.html

In town the museum has very little to offer in English. Outside there are some sculptures and a reproduction of the cross that was erected here by Jacques Cartier in 1534 to claim the land for France.
http://museedelagaspesie.ca/french/index.html

About 19 miles east of the town there is a campground that is part of a holiday complex with cottages, hotel, fancy restaurant and golf club. Only water and electric, but great views over the bay to Forillon. It is on the site of one of the coastal batteries and you can visit the remains.
http://www.guidecamping.ca/aubergefortprevel/indexeng.shtml
http://www.sepaq.com/ct/pre/index.dot?language_id=1
PS: Don't worry about the 30 amps only in most of the parks, it is highly unlikely you will need a lot of A/C with the cool nights of the area.

Another option for camping in the area is Camping Tête d'Indien:
http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Quebec/Percé.html

The Percé townsite is the tourist hotspot of the area, and the boat tour of Percé Rock and Bonaventure Island is a must. The boat leaves you at the island and there are several hiking trails and a few buildings where you can get info on life in the old times. Do not miss the hike to the huge Gannet colony. Just make sure you have time enough on the island, and be careful, the boat people are not always honest. We got suckered in once, they told us that the last boat of the day lets you get off on the island to visit, but only when we were out on the water did they say that the stop was too short to go to the bird colony. The island is a beautiful spot, and I remember fondly a day many years ago, our kids were pre-teens, when we had brought our lunch. We were sitting at a picnic table, watching Percé Rock, the boats going to and from the island, the townsite with the mountains in the back and three Minke whales feeding in the bay. It doesn't get any better than this. If you want to camp in town, Camping Baie de Percé is your best choice. It's not fancy, but you are only a 200 yard stroll from the quay to the island tours and the town attractions. It normally is quiet at night. It is better to reserve, especially in July.
http://www.guidecamping.ca/cdcq/en/fiche_c....asp?no_cdcq=54
The camping Du Phare is not as rustic, but a little closely packed in, it offers a splendid view of the Rock. It is a bit far to walk to the centre of the action, but doable.
http://www.guidecamping.ca/cdcq/en/fiche_c...asp?no_cdcq=442
http://www.campingduphareaperce.com/en/

If you know what to look for you can find semi-precious stones on the beach at Anse-à-Beaufils, just out of Percé. There are several stores in the area where you can learn about them or buy some.

Another option for camping is 30 miles from Percé, at Pabos Mills:
http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Quebec/Pabos_Mills.html

The next major town is Bonaventure, not even close to Bonaventure Island! ;-) You find an Acadian museum there, remember the Acadians are the cousins of the Cajuns from Louisiana. There is not much English in the museum, but maybe they have a booklet with explanations.
http://www.museeacadien.com/
There is a good municipal campground in town:
http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Quebec/Bonaventure.html

About 12 miles from Bonaventure town, in New Richmond, you find the Gaspesian British Heritage Village.
http://www.villagegaspesien.com/01_eng.htm

Another place where you might want to stay is Carleton-sur-Mer, about 20 miles from New Richmond. The campground is on a sandbar and you have a good view of the town and the mountains as well as of New Brunswick, some 10 miles over Chaleur Bay.
http://www.guidecamping.ca/cdcq/en/fiche_c...asp?no_cdcq=390

For VtLee the area offers good hiking, on Mont Saint-Joseph, 555 meters (1820 feet), or Mont Carleton, 613 meters (2011 feet). You can hike up from the town or drive up on the mountain where you'll find parking areas next to the different trails. Get maps and explanations from the tourist office in town.

The next place is on the list of World Heritage sites of UNESCO, the Miguasha Museum of Natural History. Here fossils were found of the transition from sea life to land life, 380 million years ago. You can go with a guided group to the cliff site and might be able to pick at the rocks yourself, the guides will show you how. If you do find a worthwhile fossil it will belong to the park though!
http://www.sepaq.com/pq/mig/index.dot?language_id=1

The last place of interest is the Battle of the Ristigouche National Historic Site. The last battle between France and England over the possession of North America was fought here in 1760. For Land Yacht, if you are entering Québec via the interprovincial bridge from Cambellton, New Brunswick to Pointe-à-la-Croix, QC, you will have to turn left when you get to highway 132. The site is about 1 mile west from the intersection.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/qc/ristigouche/index.aspx

As a general rule, you'll find lots of local tourist offices and it's worth a visit to get local info. Also, along the road there are plenty of rest areas, most of them with water views and toilet facilities.


Bonus section for Land Yacht:

As you are coming in from New Brunswick, I suppose you'll follow more or less the coast line. I put some campgrounds that I know of here and some possibly interesting places to visit. There are more campings listed in rvparksreview, some of them by me, so just check them out. My wife and I went to the area last summer. You can find photos here:
http://web.mac.com/wolfgang.prigge1/Site_3..._Brunswick.html

I have not been to this campground recently, but the facilities should be ok and the situation with the Gulf of St. Lawrence on one side and the estuary of a small river on the other it is beautifully situated.
http://www.staycanada.ca/details/19299-cam...eau_val_comeau/
Another link I have for this place doesn't seem to work today, although it did last week:
http://www.sn2000.nb.ca/comp/camping-valcomeau/

Nearby you'll find the New Brunswick Aquarium & Marine centre:
http://www.aquariumnb.ca/home.html

This area of NB is called the Acadian Peninsula, the major town is Caraquet with an ok campground.

You definitively should not miss the Village Historique Acadien, an open air museum with lots of activities going on all the time. You walk a lot, but for the way back to the entrance you can hop on a horse-drawn carriage.
http://www.vhanb.ca/index_en.cfm

Welcome to Canada!

PS: We'll be going through the Acadian Peninsula this summer, possibly the end of July, on a trip to PEI. Who knows we might meet!

Hi wprigge: Thank you very much for the detailed tour information. We will be touring from the north so your exit information will be very helpful. It sounds like I should have allowed for more than two weeks for my Gaspesie tour.

It comes down for how much hiking you want to do!

Link for Bonaventure Island:
http://www.sepaq.com/pq/bon/index.dot

Hi, you will enjoy it, however, Ihope that you have a very powerful truck to pull your rig, if you go as far as the Forillon Park there are very hard hill to climb.
the area is beautiful and peopkle very, very nice

Thanks Galli: I don't worry about climbing (the people behind me might) as much as going down the hill.

Hi and if I remember well, there are hills with more than 17% inclination; hoops, I forgot in my previous message, please brush your French before leaving since you are going to hit small villages where English is spoken mainly by the priest, the major and pharmacist he, he,he.
I am sure that you will enjoy your trip, the people there are very friendly.

don't worry Vtlee, French Quebecers are very friendly and between your booklet and sign you will be find.
One thong I may had, if you do go as far as the Forillon park, there are certain road with inclination up to 30 %, therefore, if you don't have a powerful truck, take your time with it.

We are back from our trip around the Gaspe Peninsula and we had a good time. The tour info posted by wprigge was very reliable and a great help. Forillon National Park is beautiful and a "must see" if you go to the peninsula. There was a major storm in December that caused damage to many roads and the shoreline in that area. Most roads have been repaired and the park is fully open and operational with the exception of the Penquille section which is open to foot travel only. The hike from Les Graves to Cap-Gaspe is easy and very nice. I have posted reviews of some of the campgrounds we stayed at in Saint Flavie, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Gaspe, Carlton-sur-Mer and Levis. For Land Yacht, if you are coming in from the South, the roads from Gaspe to Saint Flavie are rougher than those from New Brunswick to Gaspe. Thanks to all who posted, it was a big help.

tell me, did you eat the puteen and local dishes , did you buy the berries liqueur, did you see the windmills and did you pay the higher price for gas he, he, he. I am happy that you enjoyed your trip. congratulations VtLee, I see that you memorized the French cities and parks he, he,he Galli

We did all of that, and only gained 1kg from the puteen.

Hi VtLee,

Glad you enjoyed your Gaspé trip and found my hints useful. Too bad for the rowdy campers in one campground. We just got back from Prince-Edward-Island and I'll post my campground reviews shortly.

Ha ha, ha , French there are very, very nice, difficult to understand but extremely friendly, I am glad you enjoyed

thanks so much for such detailed information.
we will be touring gaspe this summer.
the last trip to Quebec was difficult driving the huge hill past Quebec City.
do we have to worry about anything like that?
thanks

Not knowing what your tow vehicle is, that is a hard question to answer. I had no problems pulling my 28ft. fifth wheel around with my F-250.

Hi tzfardaha,

I suspect you are talking about Highway 138 when you talk about the hill past Québec City, especially the first few kilometres past Beaupré, where the road builders where of the opinion that winding your way up a hill was for sissies and the only way to go was straight up. You go from sea level to over 3 000 feet in about 12 miles.

There is nothing similar on the Gaspé Peninsula. Unless your rig is seriously underpowered you should have no problem.