Upper Gaspé

La Martre Lighthouse (phare de La Martre)

Upper Gaspé (La Haute-Gaspésie) is a region of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec. It stretches over 130 km on the southern coast of the St. Lawrence River.

Cities

• 1 Cap-Chat — outdoor activities and the famous cat-shaped rock that gave its name to the place
• 2 Sainte-Anne-des-Monts — on the north shore of the peninsula, an important service centre for the region, home of the Exploramer museum-aquarium, one of the must-see activities in the Gaspé
• 3 Grande-Vallée and 4 Petite-Vallée — home to an annual festival of Québécois folk music
• 5 Murdochville — a mining town

Other destinations

• 1 Gaspésie National Park — an 802-km² provincial park including the Chic-Choc and McGerrigle mountains which have some of the highest peaks in Eastern Canada, magnificent landscapes, caribou, moose and white-tailed deer, vegetation passing from the tundra to the boreal forest and the subalpine forest, 140 km of trails, fishing, boating, skiing, snowshoeing, and multi-day hiking
• 2 Chic-Chocs Wildlife Reserve — 1,134 km² next to the Gaspésie National Park

Understand

Upper Gaspé stretches along the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the town of Cap-Chat to the village of Grande-Vallée via Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. It includes the Gaspésie National Park on part of the Chic-Chocs Mountains.

The landscape consists of cliffs and mountains which mark the end of the Appalachian range. Route 132 makes many switchbacks wedged between the coast and the cliffs. Many valleys have formed at the mouth of the rivers. They are often the location of the locations of many fishing villages, because sheltered from the wind and waves. More inland, the mountains reach 1000 m in height.

Chic-Chocs mountains

View from Mont Jacques-Cartier

The Chic-Chocs mountains run parallel to the St. Lawrence River some 20 to 40 km inland. They are a narrow band of mountains approximately 95 km (59 mi) long and 10 km (6.2 mi) wide. The Chic-Chocs are heavily eroded, with rounded, flattened tops and steep sides. Over 32 mountains in the range have peaks higher than 1,000 m (3,300 ft); the highest is Mount Jacques-Cartier at 1,268 m (4,160 ft). Caribou can be found in the plateaus of this region. The name "Chic-Chocs" comes from the Mi'kmaq word sigsôg, meaning "crags" or "rocky mountains."

Winter in the Chic Choc Mountains

Although visited by just a few tourists, Chic-Choc Mountains became much more popular in the late 1990s as backcountry skiing gained popularity in Eastern Canada. Some of the most popular backcountry skiing areas in the region include Mont Hogs Back, Mont Albert, Champ Mars, Mont Logan, and Mines Madeleine. The mountains near Mont Saint Pierre are a destination for ice climbers.

A network of trails, including the International Appalachian Trail (which includes the Appalachian Trail in the U.S.), passes through these mountains. Quebec's Gaspésie National Park protects most of the mountain range.

Get in

By car

From Montreal, Quebec City or Rivière-du-Loup, take Autoroute 20 east until it ends, then continue on Route 132 east. From Quebec City, it is a 6-hour drive to reach Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.

From the south of Gaspésie, take Route 299 north from Route 132 between New Richmond and Carleton-sur-Mer. It is a 2-hour drive from the intersection with Route 132. Route 299 provides access to the Gaspésie National Park.

By plane

The regional airports closest to Upper Gaspé are those of Mont-Joli, Bonaventure and Gaspé, which are 2 hr, 2 hr 45 min and 3 hr drive from Sainte-Anne-des-Monts respectively.

Get around

Route 132 is the main highway in the region. It follows the coast of the St. Lawrence River. Route 299 provides access to the Parc national de la Gaspésie. Route 198 provides access to Murdochville.

See

Exploramer, in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, is an activity complex with an aquarium, a thematic exhibition about the sea, offshore excursions, and many cultural events.

River and Chic-Chocs Circuit is a tourist circuit along Routes 132 and 299 allowing you to discover the Saint Lawrence River, the Chic-Chocs Mountains, and the Gaspésie National Park.

Anse et Mounts Circuit is a tourist circuit along Routes 132 and 198 allowing you to discover the St. Lawrence River and the mining town of Murdochville.

Do

Petite-Vallée hosts Le Festival en Chanson, a nationally-renowned festival of Quebecois traditional music at the end of June and the first week in July.

Go hiking, climbing and camping in the Gaspésie National Park.