The Best Hikes Near Quebec City
Less than a few hours outside of Quebec City are some amazing provincial parks with some great hikes and amazing views! Whilst I haven’t done all the hikes on my list, here are my favourite I’ve done so far…
Acropole des Draveurs
Hiking during the fall colours took this hike to the next level! It wasnt the easiest of hikes, but the views are worth it. At approximately 11kms round trip (there and back) and almost 900m elevation gain, this hike takes between 4-6 hours to complete. After you reach the first summit, there are still multipel vantage points that give you all sorts of angles of the views. Throughout the entire hike there are some great view points which start from the parking lot!
This hike can be found in the sepaq park called “Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Riviere-Malbaie” national park. We had to park in the main parking lot, then take a bus from the visitor centre (which runs on a regular basis so not much waiting around) that stops at all the trail entrances within the park. This hike, although 100% worth it, was busy during the weekend we visited.
Heres the link with the most up to date information on this trail: https://www.sepaq.com/pq/hgo/annexes/acropole-draveurs-renseignements-importants.dot
Distance from QC: 2 hrs
Distance from Sageuany: 2.5 hrs
Distance from Montreal: 4.5 hrs
Access fee: $9,25 (paid online: https://www.sepaq.com/fr/reservation/achat/acces-quotidien)
Mont du Dôme
This hike takes approximately 2.5-4 hrs to complete with 8 kms of hiking and an almost 500m elevation gain. There a multiple views at the top, looking down at the road you can almost see the cars drive by, or walk around the side to see more mountains all around.
We visited during the may timeframe (as around this area, snow tends to stick around a little longer!), and although the weather cooperated the trail was muddy. The trail isnt as easy to find details on as others, but the trailhead is located at kilometer 23,2 of Route 381, which starts in the parking lot. You need to register at the Welcome Centre before hiking, which is found at km 10,6 of route 381. Details for the hike can be found at this site: https://www.tourisme-charlevoix.com/en/trails/du-mont-du-dome-trail-traversee-de-charlevoix/ or here, https://www.sentiersquebeccharlevoix.com/sentier-du-mont-du-dome
Distance from QC: 1.5 hrs
Distance from Saguenay: 1.5 hrs
Distance from Montreal: 4 hrs
Access fee: 5$ (paid at the welcome centre)
Pic de la Hutte
The nice thing about this hike is it can either be a long hike, or a short hike. You can follow the hike from the visitor centre, or from the parking lot for the hike which is further up the road from the visitor centre (which cuts about 13 kms or 4 hrs off the hike!).
I also did this hike during fall, which brings this hike to a new level! There are alot of viewpoints along the route (different view points, depending on which route you take).
The hike is in Parc national des Monts-Valin and you can find the hike details at the following link: https://www.sepaq.com/pq/mva/annexes/randonnee_pedestre.dot
Distance from QC: 3 hrs
Distance from Saguenay: 45 mins
Distance from Montreal: 5 hrs
Access fee: 9,25$ (paid on the sepaq website)
Point de Vue du Géant
You get to see the mountains and river up close and personal, and from a 500m elevation gain! This hike is a portion of the Sentier Les Caps hike and is 9.3km hike with almost 500m elevation gain (there and back). We did this hike on a nice weather day in fall (i am ALL for hiking during fall colours in Quebec), and the views were something else! The path was only slightly muddy in particular areas, and had some steep areas with lots of stairs. Although the hike was slightly busy, it didnt feel like there were too many people out on the trail.
The hike can be found on the sepaq website and is found in the Parc national du Fjord du Saguenay in the secteur de la Baie-Eternite: https://www.sepaq.com/pq/sag/.
The AllTrails hike is here which if you download the map, it will be able to lead you to the closest parking lot: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/quebec/point-de-vue-du-geant-via-sentier-de-la-riviere
Distance from QC: 1.5 hrs
Distance from Saguenay: 1.5 hrs
Distance from Montreal: 4 hrs
Access fee: 9,25$ (paid on the sepaq website)
Sentier des Chutes / Montagne Blanche
This hike was a long one! We did it right after the snow cleared up so the weather was cold and windy but this hike gave us more than we expected! It was a bit difficult to find and there was no parking lot (only parking on the main street, which is a quiet country road), but maybe thats why the trail was so empty (or maybe it was that hiking season hadnt really kicked off yet)! There was barely anyone else on the trail
Found in the Parc national du Saguenay (secteur de l<Anse-Saint-Jean), the hike was approximately 14 kms with almost a 600m elevation gain and will take between 5-7 hrs. The hike starts in what seems like the middle of nowhere and takes you by a waterfall, views of the town below, and all the way to the top of the mountain with views of the water below. The view at the top is a 360 view all the way around… so if its a windy day be aware cover at the view point is limited!
You can find more information on the hike here: https://www.sepaq.com/pq/sag/annexes/randonnee_pedestre_courte.dotand the all trails information is here: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/quebec/montagne-blanche.
Distance from QC: 3 hrs
Distance from Saguenay: 1 hr
Distance from Montreal: 5.5 hrs
Access fee: 9,25$ (paid on the sepaq website)
Sentier des Loups
This hike is right outside Quebec City and is a popular one for a reason! It is in the Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier, and, if you decide to go the full hike, is a 11 km (there and back) hike with an elevation of almost 500m and will take between 3-4 hrs. We did this hike during summer, and whilst the park itself is always quite busy, the hike itself wasnt too bad. To get to the trailhead you have to drive quite a far ways down the road, so you just need to factor in some extra time from entering the park to getting to the parking at the trailhead. The drive through the park is worth a visit in itself, and being just outside Quebec City its too close to make any excuses not to visit!
You can find hike details at the following link: https://www.sepaq.com/pq/jac/annexes/sentiers_pedestres.dot
Distance from QC: 30 mins
Distance from Saguenay: 1.5 hrs
Distance from Montreal: 3 hrs
Access fee: 9,25$ (paid on the sepaq website)
This list has JUST begun as there are so many hikes in and near Quebec that are yet to be explored. Happy hiking!!!
