1 week Ago
Saguenay fjord, Charlevoix, Que. July 2021 5/5 My sister Tanya and I started going on canoe and kayaking trips together the year she turned 40. She was a busy working mother with young children and felt she was missing out being active for herself in the wilderness.
She asked me to organize a trip, after looking down and watching a kayaker paddle under the French River snowmobile bridge and wishing she was doing the same thing. I contacted an outfitter called Black Feather, out of Parry Sound that offered a wide variety of paddling adventures. All we had to do was show up with our clothing packed in a dry bag, set up a tent, and guides took care of everything else.
For the last dozen years, we have been going on guided paddling adventures most summers (mostly in the Georgian Bay area), but our trip to see the Saguenay fjords in Quebec was definitely one of our most challenging and enjoyable trips. For July 2021, I signed us up for a week-long kayak down the Saguenay River, which empties out into the Saint Lawrence. We were excited at the idea of the possibility of seeing sea life such as seals and Beluga whales.
On our way out to the meeting point, we broke up the drive and stayed in Quebec City. for at least one night. Take a walk along the lookout in front of the Chateau Frontenac and go window shopping down Rue du Petit-Champlain, just below Chateau Frontenac.
Such a entrancing city with a European flare! So many interesting shops and restaurants! From Quebec City, we drove along the north shore through the gorgeous rolling hills and mountains of the Charlevoix area. . We stopped and explored the village of Baie-Saint-Paul and checked out some of the many art galleries and a local farmers’ market.
The village is so breathtaking when you arrive down a mountainside at the village, sitting on the shores of the Saint Lawrence. The Quebecois architecture with its steep roofs and dormer windows, makes you feel as though you are stepping back in time. Next we drove to our meeting spot, a village up the Saguenay River called L’Anse-Saint-Jean.
We got out of the car a few times to admire the lookouts of the stunning fjords. We stayed at a charming bed-and-breakfast, called Auberge La Fjordelaise, looking out at the river. The inn was very friendly, bilingual and had great food.
It was here we met the other Black Feather guests. The next seven days we spent paddling in kayaks in a group of about a dozen people, with two bilingual guides. We paddled past magnificent fjords.
The Saguenay River drains from Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian highlands down to the St. Lawrence. The Saguenay had such different conditions, with fast tidal movements as well as waves coming from all different directions.
Sometimes the waves went right over our kayaks. One day, in very turbulent water, I yelled up to my sister Tanya that I was really afraid, and she randomly yelled back, trying to distract me: “I don’t have a job.” To which I replied: “ You won’t need a job because we are going to die.
” and a waterproof camera. Some days, we swam, and, at night, we needed fleece, or a puffy jacket, to stay warm. During our paddling days, we had a seal follow us and start to play with our rudders.
(I screamed at first, not knowing what the big black thing was.) At one of our campsites, we all sat out on the rock and watched as Beluga whales explored the other side of the river. As we paddled closer to the Saint Lawrence approaching Tadoussac, we had to wear wetsuits, as the water temperature dropped significantly.
Each night, we set up camp. Our guides cooked us some magnificent meals. We even had gin and tonic one night, made with a local gin that used evergreens.
Tanya and I often joked that it was like we were at some very high end restaurant with the unbelievable, unobstructed waterfront views we had each night eating dinner. Our paddling trip ended in the bustling beach town of Tadoussac, where we enjoyed exploring its whale museum and delicious soft ice cream shops. From Tadoussac, we took a ferry back to where our cars were parked and said goodbye to our fellow paddlers.
Tanya and I finished off our trip with a stay at a bed-and-breakfast in the Charlevoix town of La Malbaie, just over an hour’s drive away. The historic house was called Auberge la Châtelaine and the porch looked out at beautiful old French homes with the Saint Lawrence in the background. We relaxed and explored some of the popular sites in the Charlevoix, visiting fromageries, a Llama farm, art galleries, and a took a ferry ride over to the Isle-aux-Coudres.
on your way back. You don’t want to miss the breathtaking scenery of the villages on the rolling hills of the Saint Lawrence with the colourful Quebecois wooden houses, many interesting places to visit, a great variety of restaurants and parks to hike. Our sister Charlevoix kayaking trip was one we will remember, from the challenging and breathtaking paddling of around the Saguenay fjord, to seeing the seals and Belugas, to the charm of the Charlevoix villages.
We would highly recommend this trip for an active holiday with lots of exciting natural and cultural experiences. We’ve launched a new series that invites Star readers to share places they’ve visited recently and would recommend, whether it’s a weekend getaway in Elora, a Banff canoe trip, or a jaunt to Paris or Rome. If you’ve been, loved it and want to tell us about it, we’d like to hear from you.
Email us with “TRAVEL TIPS” in the subject line at . Please include brief responses to these questions. If your holiday experience is chosen, we’ll be in touch.
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