Canoeing around the Charlevoix region in the province of Quebec

Charlevoix region is downstream Quebec city on the north side of the St-Lawrence river estuary. This region combines mountain geography to maritime geography. The St-Lawrence river estuary is huge (25 + km wide by maybe 400 km long) and therefore behaves much more like the open sea than has an estuary. Tidal cycles are spectacular. Mountains are very nice with little rivers and streams all over the place. Charlevoix region is also pound country. So many natural streams allow for easy pound landscaping. To go to Charlevoix region from Montreal take highway 20, cross the bridge at Quebec city on the 73 north. Take the highway 40 east toward Ste-Anne de Beaupré. Then the route 138 east toward Ste-Anne de Beaupré. It should take you around 3 hrs to get there. This flat section on the 138 toward Ste-Anne de Beaupré is called Cote de Beaupré and runs beside Orléan island. The St-Lawrence estuary starts after Orléan island with an abrupt widening. You can use the scenic route on your left instead of the 138 for that flat section if you like old houses (19th and 18th century) or else. Turn left at the l'Ange Gardien light on the 138 for the Route Royal or route 360 (the first route in North America). Here are pictures of two types of old building you can see on the Royal road that I never saw in Quebec before.

Above: tentative translation from French, a vegetable warehouse (19th century).  Several of these can be seen on route 360 near Chateau-Richer.

Above: tiny chapel seen on route 360 near Chateau-Richer.

Past the Cote de Beaupré area the route 138 suddenly attack the mountains of Charlevoix and follow   

their landscape. At several point on the 138 you can get access to the St-Lawrence estuary by following the roads that goes perpendicular to the 138 and that leads to small villages that sits on the estuary. Here are some pictures of the road that leads to Petite-Rivière St-Francois (maybe 60 km downstream Quebec city).

Above: Canoeing landing spot is circled. Colored code map is from canoeing association Fédération Québecoise de Canot-Camping.

Above: the roads that allow access to the St-Lawrence estuary from the route 138 are typically a bit rough on the brakes. Keep your speed low and use the drive 2 on your transmission when needed.

Above: emergency exit if brakes goes off. Of course no one wants to see how it goes for real if the brakes take a brake.

Above: the St-Lawrence estuary in sight.

Above: the Petite Rivière St-Francois municipal quay. Cargos are common on the estuary. To get access to the quay turn left after the village church. You can park on the quay. Went canoeing from the quay. Locals are not familiar with people canoeing on the estuary. They will typically inquire to see what level of awareness someone has about the estuary (tidal cycle, sudden change in wind direction etc). So to keep them without worry I said ''I will canoe near the coast and I will go counter-tide''.

Above: view of Petit Rivière St-Francois church during daytime.

Above: view of the church during sunset.

Above: high tide upstream of the quay.

Above: high tide downstream of the quay.

Above: low tide upstream of the quay.

Above: low tide downstream of the quay

Above: all the big rocks seen at low tide here and almost everywhere on the banks are gone at high tide.

Above: canoeing downstream the estuary should bring someone in theory into the real open sea.

Here are some pictures of two prototypical small Charlevoix rivers.

Above: covered bridge at St-Placide de Charlevoix on the Bras du Nord-Ouest river. Parking possible beside the bridge. To access the bridge, follow the covered bridge sign on route 138 at around 1 km west of the road that leads to Petite Rivière St-Francois. Trout fishing possible with a provincial fishing permit.

Above: Rivière du Sot. It crosses the road that leads to Petite Rivière St-Francois when the road gets flat.  

Walking on the rocks fairly easy. Of course its much more efficient to walk around in those types of rivers by getting your feet wet with a good pair of sports shoes and hiking sticks. To get access to the river by feet, walk into the woods on the left side of the bridge than down to the river when the steepness of the bank gets less severe.

Above: river landscaping done on the Rivière du Sot by I dont know who. Titans maybe. This can be observed maybe after a 45 min. walk from the bridge.

 

Above: How the h... did they manage to bring over these huge granite stones.

Following are two pictures from Rivière du Gouffre that runs into the village of Baie St-Paul. Baie St-Paul is an artist city. It probably has the largest number of famous painters tributaries in Canada. Rivière du Gouffre means more or less Canyon River. But upstream near Baie St-Paul it is easy to paddle upstream and if the current is too strong it is easy to walk on the bank or even in the middle of the river due to several shallow water spots. For canoe landing we turned right on St-Jean Baptiste street from route 138 in Baie St-Paul. After less then 1 km we then turned left on St-Edouard then first road on the right (there is a concrete factory on the corner). Parked near the fence. For access to the river, by feet turn right after the fence then you should see an opening in the woods that allow canoe landing. Here are two pictures of the rivière du Gouffre. The Canyon that gave its name to the river must be much more upstream of Baie St-Paul.

Above: canoeing landing spot is circled. Colored code map is from canoeing association Fédération Québécoise de Canot-Camping.

Above: downstream view from the island.

Canoeing the Lachine rapids on the St-Lawrence river: section Lasalle part I

The Lachine rapids connects the Lac St-Louis enlargement that is upstream downtown Montreal to the Lasalle borough that is just west of downtown Montreal (see also Part II blog in August 2011 folder) . It is a huge area of nasty current and of nasty R1-R3. Every level canoeist can find something for himself. But beware of over enthusiasm these rapids are meant to be respected. The debit of the St-Lawrance river around that area was more or less 10 000 m3/s. I am just starting to explore that area so I decided to start with the end of the rapids in LaSalle borough just to get a taste of what these rapids are. The LaSalle borough has a huge linear park on the St-Lawrence river waterfront so there are plenty of spots to land a canoe from the LaSalle boulevard. You cannot land your canoe upstream of the islands seen on the picture  below because that section is a migratory bird sanctuary. Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures in this blog, I touched something on my Canon Powershot S3 and I am to retarded to figure out what happened. 

Picture above: here is the view someone can have from the LaSalle borough linear park were the Lachine rapids ends. Landing of canoe possible anywhere on the shore but not more upstream on the right (not seen on picture) because of the presence of a migratory bird sanctuary. Put long sleeve since I got poison Ivy ounce (1 out of 10 times maybe). On the other side on the picture is Heron Island, one of the biggest Bleu Heron nesting area in North America. On the other side of Heron Island flows also rapids as large as the ones seen on this picture. To get access to that section someone can go at the park in the city of St-Catherine on the other side of the St-Lawrence river. 

Picture above: LaSalle linear park and LaSalle boulevard were you can park. From downtown Montreal the easiest way to get there is to take Atwater street all the way south to the end of the street, than Lasalle boulevard on your right. Pass a marina, a swinming pool and other facilities. After that you should see a stretch on the linear park without facilities and then an isolated ancient stoned mansion sitting in the park. I parked near that mansion.

Picture above: I went canoeing upstream. Its been 3-4 time now that I want to reach the last island seen on the picture on the right. That is were the biggest waves are and it would make amazing pictures. Waves there dont appear that big from this picture because of the distance, but believe me with binocular  someone can appreciate how amazing that section is in terms of how huge these waves are. But I was not able to reach that island again this time because the level of the water was too high. I still managed to go upstream to the biggest island in the middle of the picture. It is possible to manage going upstream because of the numerous obstacle that are disseminated around that allow someone to hop from obstacle to obstacle. 

Here are some pictures below I managed to take while resting being obstacles while paddling upstream. Again sorry for the poor quality of the pictures due to something I touched on my Canon Powershot S3 that I cant figure out.

Picture above: there are houses on Heron Island reachable by boat only.

Mont St-Hilaire in sight. A cargo bypassing the Lachine Rapids can be guessed behind the tree line on the picture on the right of the building. This section were the cargo can be observed is part of the St-Lawrence seaway that allow cargo to reach the great lakes. Before the creation of the St-Lawrence seaway in the 1950s (the US Army Corp of Engineers were involved in its creation) every boat going upstream the St-Lawrence river could not go more upstream than Montreal because of the Lachine Rapids. The engineering behind the creation of St-lawrence seaway (the Lachines rapids is only one part of it) is apparently an incredible accomplishment I was told.

The Champlain bridge seen on the picture leads to downtown Montreal from the south shore.

Picture above: The point on the right is part of the above mentioned bird sanctuary. Try not to approach it even if you see people around. People can walk around the sanctuary but can not canoe around it !!!! There are also always people fishing on this point. The foggy line on the picture is due to the heavy white water (the roaring sound it makes is very impressive also). On a foggy morning that is the last place were the fog dissipates.

Picture above: Surreal effect due to geography and power of current. There are two currents observable here at 90 degree from one another. The current closer to the camera is perpendicular to the current seen the furthest from the camera which flows from right to left. 

Picture above: Here is a question to the geologists: how to explain that the rocks found in the Lachine rapids look alike rocks found around and on top of Mont-Royal in downtown Montreal ?

Canoeing the Richelieu river from Chambly

Richelieu river is 30 min east of Montreal. The Richelieu name is a tribute to the famous (or infamous) Cardinal that ruled France in the 17th century. It starts in Champlain lake in New York state at its north tip (while the Hudson river that flows toward New-York starts at its southern tip). The French-Indian war say something to anyone? The Richelieu river ends in the St-Lawrence river at around 60 km downstream the island of Montreal. Chambly used to be one of several stronghold along the the Richelieu-Champlain lake axis to defend New-France from English Albany on the the Hudson river. A renovated version of the Chambly stronghold sits at the end of the Chambly rapids. The Chambly rapids ends into an archipelago of small islands and into an enlargement  called the Chambly bassin. The water level on this june 5th was at spring levels because of an unusual wet month of may (debit was around 1000m3/s). The islands of the archipelago were thus all flooded and it was possible to canoe between the trees of the islands while paddling upstream the rapids from Chambly bassin. Be careful, paddling around these islands are prohibited from june 20th to july 20th for fish conservation reasons. Here are some pictures. Landed canoe in old Chambly from a parking spot along the water front. Fastest way to get to Chambly from Montreal is 116 east, exit 30 west, right away from the 30 exit Boulevard Cousineau Chambly direction. Past the bridge and when several lights show up turn left after 2-3 lights. Go strait to water front. Here is the view you should get from Chambly (this picture is a zoom in version).

Above: Canoe landing spot is circled. Colored code map is from canoeing association Fédération Québécoise de Canot-Camping.

Chambly bassin on the Richelieu river. The Richelieu river is a primary tributary of the St-Lawrence river. The mountain on the picture is Mont-St-Hilaire. One of the 6-7 isolated mountains on the Montreal south shore area. There are nice apple orchards on Mont St-Hilaire lower slopes.

Thats the Chambly stronghold. On the picture, current goes from left to right and stops in Chambly bassin that starts on the right side of the stronghold. Old Chambly and water front is on the right side of the bassin as well. Its possible to go counter current when paddling beside the concrete wall on the left side of the stronghold. (see below)

Was able to paddle upstream up to the trees beside the wall. Then cross facing the current toward the other side were there is a line of trees on the left. That is were the flooded islands are.

Big obstacle like this tree were all over the flooded islands to allow for resting ounce in a while.

The lines on the tree tells us the water level at one point this spring was maybe a foot higher. Amazing.

Paddling between trees was such a cool experience.

Thats the most upstream I was able to go. White water section on the picture dont seem that bad from this picture but believe me there were 6-8 feet high waves there. I guess that would have been a real turn on for wave surfers or kayak surfers.

That is another section I was capable to paddle upstream thanks to the irregularities of the shore side of this island.

There are a few country houses on the islands built on pillars  to avoid spring high waters. But this year high waters are so exceptional that these country houses are still damaged. They will need higher and stronger pillars.

This is not  flash flooding. Its been like this from april to early june because of an unusual rainy spring. White water in trees is a first to me. One of the most fun canoe ride ever.

This is what someone could experience every early april. It is kind of neat to experience it in june with leaves on the trees and in short and t-shirt.

Canoeing Lac des Deux Montagnes from Montreal island

Lac des Deux Montagnes (Two Mountain Lake) is actually the end of the Ottawa river that bounce on the the northwest end of Montreal island. It appears as a big lake but that is just an illusion. It is home of monster Muske, Sturgeons and to the Lepisosteus Oculatus (a kind of Longnose fish that looks like a jurassic survivor). Two Mountain lake can look almost like an ocean when there is a 10-15 knot or above wind in a West or North West direction. It is a lot of fun to paddle in the waves that are generated during those days. I usually bring an anchor so I can rest on the lake and so that I do not loose the small distance I was able to make counter wind. To get access to Two Mountain lake from the Island of Montreal take the highway 40 toward the west part of Montreal island. Take chemin Ste-Mary exit. Go on chemin Ste-Mary. Turn right at the Couche-Tard convenience store if coming from the east than straight until the end of the road. Turn right, past the stop sign. You should soon see on your left the Anse à L'Orme municipal park. Parking fee is 7$ (credit card only). Here are some pictures when Two Mountain lake is peaceful. Following will be pictures when Two Mountain lake is mad (mad fun of course).

Above: Canoe landing spot is circled. Colored code map is from canoeing association Fédération Québécoise de Canot-Camping.

    

Here is the same place (in front of the the little island on the picture above) when there is a good west / northwest wind. Sorry for the lower resolution, these pictures are from a video I did while resting after putting my anchor in the lake.

I swear this is the same place.

The canoe I have (officially a Madriver Caption but I suspect it is actually an Outrage) have strapping gears that allow me to keep my balance in weaves and allow me to go counter wind since the straps gives a much better leverage when paddling. Surprisingly, I get sore legs after a paddling session like this and almost no soreness to my arms !!!!! The Madriver Outrage reacts very well in waves.



The rope of my anchor is visible on this picture. I suggest to someone that would want to use an anchor as I do to get a T shape paddle to allow you grab the anchor rope when you want to paddle again. I bring also a cheap surfing board I keep in the bottom of my canoe in case something wrong happens.

When there is no wind (rare) or a NE-ENE wind it is possible to cross straight from the bay of Anse à
L' Orme on the other side which correspond to Oka beach. There you will find a very nice beach around 5 km long. Crossing straight with a NE-ENE wind means that you will have the wind perpendicular to you both on your way there and on your way back. Covering your canoe with air ballon (as picture above) and / or by other means will help you being more aerodynamic. Near the Oka beach you will cross the boating waterway, so be careful. The waterway is typically made of two floating structure (usually one red and one green) that boats cross (every km I think). Boat people do make an effort normally to not get too close to canoes but sometimes they can only see you at the last minute, typically when you stand between the sun and the boat due to blurring effect of the sun on the water (from the boat perspective you could be invisible if you are in the blurring section on the water). The safest procedure I use is to assume the boat does not see me and then to adjust my pace and direction to either let the boat pass me in the front or to accelerate to make it pass behind me. Depending on your pace, you should be able to cross from Anse à L'Orme to Oka beach in an 1 hour or 2. Here are some pictures.

Above: Oka beach in sight. Most of the crossing is done at this point. There are plenty of space on the left also where there is almost no other people.

Above: Oka beach. Lots of birds. Beware poison ivy observed at some spots at the frontier between sand and green (poison ivy is typically only observed at the no vegetation frontier).

Above: Oka beach. Beach goes very far down the picture.

Above: Hydroplanes are common on the Oka beach side of Two-Mountain lake.