Sept-Rivières

Sept-Rivières covers a vast territory of 38,754 km² and counting 34,358 people (especially Sept-Îles), on the North Shore of Quebec, Canada. The main attractions of the Sept-Rivières region are:

• its vast hinterland made up of rivers, lakes, peat bogs, forests, mountains offering bucolic panoramas, hunting and fishing sites, quad and snowmobile trails, varied wildlife and boreal flora;
• its urbanized coastal strip on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence,
• 400 cabins or hunting and fishing camps;
• nature reserves: Port-Cartier Wildlife Reserve, Zec Matimek, the Matamec Ecological Reserve, the proposed Bright Sand Lake aquatic reserve, the proposed Lake Pasteur biodiversity reserve, and the proposed Monts Groulx biodiversity reserve;
• Lake Walker, Lake Quatre Lieux, the old-growth forest of Lake Larry, Mac Donald Falls and the Rochers River;
• organized camping to truly live with nature with amenities or enjoy outdoor adventures through wild camping;
• backcountry expeditions (e.g., expeditions in canoes or kayaks, pleasure craft, hunting (e.g., caribou) and fishing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, hiking) offered by outfitters; generally, outfitters organize seaplane flights from southern Quebec to the outfitter site;
• its night sky for observing the northern lights, stars (without light pollution) and the movement of large satellites;
• picking small wild fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, crowberries, red berries;

its public events: museums, arts centers, religious heritage, festivals, guided tours.

Cities

The main cities, unorganized territories and Innu reserves of Sept-Rivières are:

• 1 Sept-Îles — the largest city in Sept-Rivières. Sept-Îles is a paradise for nature lovers. The surrounding area includes many forests, numerous sandy beaches, world-famous lakes and rivers (especially for salmon fishing). Sept-Îles is an important centre for commercial, government (e.g. health), airport, maritime and road services.
• 2 Port-Cartier — A town that developed thanks to its forestry industry and the exploitation of iron deposits in the mining towns of Gagnon and Mont-Wright. Today, the economy is oriented towards services for travelers and recreational tourism activities: resorts, hunting and fishing, museums and historical sites, parks, heritage circuits, fine sand beach extending over 11 km in Pointe-aux-Anglais.
• 3 Lac-Walker — Lac-Walker is a vast undeveloped territory offering a variety of outdoor activities in the forest: mountain biking, snowmobiling, hiking in the forest, hunting, and fishing.
• 4 Rivière-Nipissis — The Tshiuetin Rail Transport train runs from Sept-Îles crossing Rivière-Nipissis, stopping at Emeril in Labrador en route to Schefferville. Rivière-Nipissis has a few outfitters for hunting, fishing and the outdoors.
• 5 Uashat — Innu indigenous reserve next door to Sept-Îles.
• 6 Maliotenam — Innu indigenous reserve. Every summer, the Innu Nikamu Festival takes place on the first Thursday in August.

Understand

The name of Sept-Rivières comes from the presence of seven rivers on its territory (from west to east): Calumet, Pentecost, aux Rochers, Sainte-Marguerite, Moisie, Matamec and Pigou.

Get in

By road

The most suitable means of transportation to get to the territory of the MRC Sept-Rivières is the car. Sept-Îles is located 638 km (396 mi) from Quebec City (a drive of some 7–8 hours) and 926 km (575 mi) from Montreal (10–11 hr) .

By train

A train runs north on the Quebec North Shore & Labrador Line (QNS&L) from Sept-Îles in Emeril, Labrador to Schefferville, an otherwise inaccessible mining community in northern Quebec. This line belongs to three First Nations (Indigenous) groups. “Tshiuetin” means “north wind” in the Naskapi language. This line is not connected to the rest of the North American rail system.

• Tshiuetin Rail Transportation, billetterie@tshiuetin.ca. +1 418-962-5530. Departure from Sept-Îles: Monday & Thursday at 08:00. Departure from Schefferville: Tuesday and Friday at 08:00 – followed by 10–12 hours of spectacular landscapes. Sandwiches and microwave meals are available in a dining car. The server may not speak English or French, so refresh yourself on your Naskapi. Northbound train stops at Emeril Jct (no services, no populated place, no cell phone signal) around 15:00 and southbound around 12:00 (Quebec time). Labrador City is a 45-minute drive on Hwy 500 from Emeril Jct, so you should arrange transportation to meet. +1-866-962-0988. (updated Mar 2024)

By plane

• 1 Sept-Îles Airport (YZV ^IATA) (8.3 km east of the city). Airport with flights from Montreal, Quebec City, Wabush, Gaspésie, Nord-du-Québec and the rest of the North Shore. Flights to Sept-Îles can be extremely expensive – for a round-trip flight from Montreal, it is approximately the same price as a round-trip flight between Montreal and Paris ($800–1,000 in March 2024). (updated Mar 2024)

Get around

Route 138 is the main road along the coastline of the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Do

Various outfitters offer fishing expeditions (northern pike, walleye, lake trout and brook trout/speckled trout) and caribou hunting expeditions. Most of these operations are based out of the region and transport the visitor to a remote, off-grid location; a few fly from the Sept-Îles airport to an otherwise inaccessible point.

Stay safe

At all times, visitors to remote areas must plan to be independent in terms of travel, accommodation, food, repairs, first aid, communication (e.g., satellite phones, geolocation) and security in general. (e.g., wild animals, accidents), depending on the activities carried out.

In summer, visitors should take particular care against insects, rain; in winter, protect yourself from the cold and storms by finding out about available shelters or by traveling with an experienced guide.

Connect

Don't expect to find mobile phone coverage everywhere.

Low altitude satellite communication services (e.g. Starlink satellite constellation) are increasingly accessible in remote regions such as the North Shore.