Tours River and Chic-Chocs Circuit

Photo: Michel Julien

Shores and mountains. From Sainte-Félicité to New Richmond. 227 km, one way.

All along the coast you will come across locations that have intriguing names such as Grosses-Roches, Les Méchins, Capucins and Cap-Chat. Through this circuit, you will discover small charming coastal villages. Here, the River feels like an ocean! In the heart of the peninsula, the Parc national de la Gaspésie offers the Chic-Chocs Mountains that are among the tallest mountains in Eastern Canada.

Nestled at the hollow of a cove, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts is an excellent example of a marriage between the sea and the mountains and proudly opens the gate to the Parc de la Gaspésie. Take 1^re Avenue, which runs alongside the River for over eight kilometres and take some time to explore the trails, the parks, the beach and the promenades along the River. Stopping on the wharf is a must in order to visit Exploramer, la mer à découvrir, a scientific activity complex focusing on the marine environment and presenting an aquarium and a museum, as well as offering sea excursions.

At this point, you access the splendid Parc national de la Gaspésie, via Route 299. This old glacial valley offers an impressive scenery and the winding road follows the Cascapédia River. This place is ideal for hikers of all levels. The tablelands, where you find flora and vegetation similar to those found in the toundra, are home to a caribou herd. While on this road, winding at the heart of the great Gaspesian nature, be on the lookout as you are in moose land. Visit the interpretation and services centre to obtain all the information on the park. A large variety of types of lodging is offered: campgrounds, cottages, shelters and the highly-renowned Gîte du Mont-Albert with its fine regional cuisine that has greatly contributed to making the Gîte famous. Seventeen kilometres south of the Gîte, you will find the Mont Lyall agate mine. Prospect this open-pit mine and seek for magnificent geodes. Watch carefully for the signs.

Keep riding on Route 299 for 100 km, along the splendid Cascapédia River, to reach the municipalities of Cascapédia-Saint-Jules and New Richmond. You are now at the bay beach circuit. As you come back on Route 132 in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, towards Cap-Chat, you can not miss the tallest vertical axis windmill in the world as well as the 76 windmills of Le Nordais Park as they stand out. At the entrance of the town, a roadside rest area gives access to the beach and offers a breathtaking view of the Chic-Chocs Mountains, while in Capucins, another roadside rest area offers a unique scenic point on tomorrow's energy. Further west, you are back on the garden and covered bridge circuit.

Visit: Parc national de la Gaspésie, Éole, Arbre en Arbre, Musée des phares, Exploramer and Mines d'agates du mont Lyall.