Rivière-Saint-Jean (La Côte-de-Gaspé)

For other places with the same name, see Rivière-Saint-Jean (disambiguation).

Rivière-Saint-Jean is an unorganized territory of the tourist region of Gaspésie, in the east of Quebec.

The main tourist attractions of Rivière-Saint-Jean are:

• hunting;
• fishing: this area is a realm of sport fishing, especially salmon fishing on the Saint-Jean, York and Dartmouth rivers. The three zecs administering the territory of these rivers offer various services to fishermen;
• picking wild berries, including: raspberries (at the beginning of August), blueberries (at the end of August), currants, pimbinas (ripe in spring and fall), cloudberries, cherries, currants and currants, field strawberries, and blackberries; the fruits picked are generally eaten fresh, partly transformed into jams or jellies, or are used as ingredients for pies, and muffins. The pickers also collect the Little wintergreen, and the wild rosebush for infusion;
• hiking in forest and mountainous territory;
• wild camping or on campgrounds: in an idyllic territory, far from the hectic life of urban areas and in the most beautiful scenery of nature;
• the descent of rivers in kayaks, canoes or other light boats;
• ATV expeditions (in summer and on the trails in winter) or snowmobile expeditions (in winter): the intrepid want to venture there to discover the jewels of the forest and mountain trails;
• the aerial flight over this area to admire from the air, the embedded valleys, the remaining mountains capped with snow longer in the spring, the rivers manifesting themselves in different moods, the immense mature forests, the bodies of water of all form wrapping the forest landscape, and the impressive cliffs;
• the observation of biodiversity: a burst flora in this Gaspé externality, a wild fauna where the bear is king outside the hibernation season, a geology of all types and a land relief shaped over millennia;
• the observation of the sky: the clear starry skies allowing to distinguish the movement in the sky of large satellites, the superb sunrises and sunsets, the clouds announcing the weather to come, the migratory birds passing by millions in spring and fall.

Understand

This territory is located in the Monts Chic-Chocs (Monts Notre-Dame). It looks more or less like a large V opening towards the northwest, bounding the TNO Collines-du-Basques. The town of Gaspé is located nearby to the east.

The name of this area is derived from the Saint-Jean River.

Get in

By car

The territory is accessible via Route 132, which runs along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf. This unorganized territory can be accessed:

• passing by Murdochville and crossing the TNO des Collines-du-Basque;
• going up the Darmouth River, via the forest road;
• starting from Gaspé heading west on Route 198;
• taking the forest road up the Saint-Jean River. A forest road connects the Saint-Jean River valley (south side) and the York River valley.

Get around

This mostly mountainous territory, except for the York River valley, includes Route 198 which goes up the York River valley from Gaspé to Murdochville. In addition, the TNO has several forest roads. In addition, you can travel there in a limited way by all-terrain vehicles (ATV) in summer or more efficiently by snowmobile in winter, thanks to the freezing of the bodies of water.

Do

Visitors can immerse themselves in nature doing recreational tourism activities organized in particular by ZECs (controlled harvesting zones).

Connect

Low-altitude satellite communication services (e.g., Starlink satellite constellation) are increasingly accessible in remote areas such as the Gaspé Peninsula; they allow you to make video calls, play online games, view streaming video, and perform other high-speed activities, among other things. In remote areas, these satellite communication services offer security and efficiency.

Go next

Routes through Rivière-Saint-Jean

Rimouski ← Forillon National Park ←	W  E	→ Percé → Rimouski
Rimouski via ← Murdochville ←	W  E	→ Gaspé

• 1 Mont-Alexandre This territory is a paradise for hunting and fishing, camping, hiking and a variety of other forestry-related activities.
• 2 Cloridorme Riverside municipality of La Côte-de-Gaspé, on the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with three magnificent bays. Its territory has become a destination for resorts and recreational tourism activities, both in the riparian zone and in the hinterland.
• 3 Rivière-Bonaventure Vast unorganized territory of the Gaspésie peninsula (south side), crossed by the Bonaventure river. This territory is very popular for salmon fishing.
• 4 Mont-Albert Unorganized territory of La Haute-Gaspésie endowed with magnificent mountains.
• 5 Collines-du-Basque Forest territory of the Gaspésie peninsula with magnificent mountains. It is crossed in particular by the York River and the head of the Saint John River. This territory is a hunting and fishing paradise, as well as excursions in forest areas.
• 6 Gaspé The main city and the main tourist centre of Gaspésie, Gaspé is built on a large point jutting out into the magnificent Gaspé Bay, facing the Forillon National Park, and at the confluence of the York and Saint-Jean rivers. It is a great cultural, social, heritage and recreational tourism environment. This city (and its suburbs) is located in a grandiose environment and also offers many amenities to visitors: restaurants, accommodation, various shops, and marina well protected from the sea by rock jetties.