Quebec Hidden Winter Paradise – Vallée des fantômes / The Valley of Ghosts in Quebec

In the region of Saguenay, QC (about 2.5 hours away from Quebec City) is one of the best areas for snow shoeing amongst trees covered head to toe in snow. The Monts-Valin National Park is home to the large “ghosts” where you can book your own tour to see them in person. The pictures below were taken during mid-march, so not the full ghost effect on the trees, but if you google the “Vallée des fantômes / The Valley of Ghosts in Quebec” you can see the dramatic effect the snow can have in the park! Even if you miss out on the ghost-hunt, the snow-shoeing in the park and backcountry guided tour is an awesome experience.

About The Valley of Ghosts (vallée des fantômes)

The Valley of Ghosts tour is offered by SEPAQ (the provincial park authority for Quebec) throughout the winter months (more below on how to book the tour).

We went mid-march and were blessed with amazing weather, however this also meant the snow wasnt as dramatic as we were hoping. Nonetheless, it was still an amazing outing with the family and a great way to spend the day in the sunshine and backcountry!

We arrived at the discovery centre 30 minutes before our tour, checked in for our shuttle, and rented some snowshoes. Once they were ready, we squeezed into the snowcat shuttle (basically a passenger minivan with tracked wheels to drive through the winter weather in the park) and headed up to the trailhead (about 45 minute drive).

They dropped us off right at the location to start snowshoeing and started our 3km journey to the top. We walked through the snow covered trees with some great views of the surrounding mountains and a big blue sky above us.

About 2km in, we reached the hut and stopped for some homemade sandwiches and snacks – we even got to enjoy some of the wildlife. This is the only covered area on the trailhead before you head to the summit, so if you have a bunch of time left and its a cold day, stay warm inside and use the facilities here before departing! We had 1km left, and the second part of the journey to the top was a bit more exciting than the first as you start to see more snow in the area.

Once we got to the top of the trailhead (the trail leads to the summit of Pic Dubuc) you get some epic views of the entire park as you are at the highest point in the park – almost 1000m elevation. It is almost a 360 degree panaromic view of the area! We left the hut a little early, so we had about 30 minutes to wait until the guide was taking us on our back-country tour. This is why I suggest not to depart early on a cold day – our day was warm but the difference in the temperature you feel when you are moving versus standing around is definitely noticeable!

We met up with our guide in the centre of the summit and she took us through what we could expect. We were going to loop back through the backcountry to head back to the hut on the trailhead. Going through the back country allows you to see parts of the park that are off the beaten path, so different views and areas where there are a lot more snow (and hopefully more ghosts!). This part was maybe 45 minutes – 1 hour before we arrived back at the hut and there was a significant amount more snow in the backcountry than on the well-trodden trail.

When we got back to the hut, we were back on our own schedule again until we had our timing to meet up at the bottom of the trail head near a cabin for pick up and to be brought back to the visitors centre to finish off the tour.

Overall, it was a full day experience! Our tour was at 10:30 (departed on the shuttle) and we didnt get picked up by the shuttle until 16:00. With somewhere between 6-8km of walking for the snowshoeing activities, expect an active day. The trail is a steep incline on the way up, but it overall is a moderate level trail.

When to Visit

We visited mid-march and although still beautiful, the full-effect wasnt there as the trees were no longer covered in snow due to warmer weather, less snowfall, and wind scaring the ghosts away. I would recommend trying to reserve a tour between mid Jan – mid Feb to try and get the snowiest months in the area, but it always depends on the recent weather!

Getting There

Getting to the Mont-Valins National Park:

• From Quebec City: Approx 3.5 hours
• From Chicoutimi: 45 mins – 1 hour

Getting to the trail head: to get to the trail head you will need to park at the visitor centre (and check in likely 30 minutes before your shuttle) and take the snowcat shuttle to the trail head location. This is approximately a 45 minute drive and you will place your equipment in the front storage area attached to the shuttle (your backpack will go in to the shuttle with you).

Getting around the Vallée des Fantômes: the trail to the top is about 3km, with a hut to stop and eat lunch at about 1km away from the top. With the guided tour through the back country, it is likely about 4-5km back down (if not a bit more).

How To Reserve

Reservations are usually open between mid-December and end of March and they will have two transportation times a day (leaving early morning and mid-morning to return early and late afternoon).

The rates will vary per year, but in 2023 it cost us 65.50$ (CAD) per person for a weekend slot and then the rentals for snoeshoeing cost an extra 18.50$ per person. You can also rent poles and other types of back country skiing equipment at the park visitor centre aswell.

Book this activity as far in advance as possible to secure your dates. We reserved this activity as soon as they started taking reservations but due to extreme weather warnings it was cancelled in late-January and had to be pushed to mid-march which is why we missed out on some of the snow. For the snowshoes you can rent them on location as they have a large supply, but it does say on the website to call them atleast 24 hours in advance to reserve.

You can find the link to reserve the activity here (under activities – Destination Vallée des Fantômes).

Where To Stay

We stayed in Chicoutimi and made the drive up in the morning. We used airbnb to book our stay but there are a selection of hotels in the Chicoutimi area.

We would recommend staying near Boulevard Talbot (business sector with major stores and good selection of restaurants) or Rue Racine (downtown area with main street for restaurants and boutiques) in Chicoutimi as this is close to the two main downtown areas, or near Rue Mars in La Baie (downtown la baie close to restaurants and beautiful fjord views).

If you are booking a hotel try and book as far in advance as possible. There isnt too large a selection of hotels and due to the popularity of the area for winter activities the hotels do sell out on weekends sometimes.

Within the park (Monts-Valin) itself there are also mountain huts and cabins available to stay in overnight aswell which would be great if you wanted to snowshoe on your own time during sunset or sunrise without the tour group, or explore some other trails in the area. To get to the mountain huts you would still need to take the shuttle (or snowcat ride) or by foot (snowshoe / backcountry ski) to get to the cabin itself.

See the options available for overnight in the park area here (under Accomodations).

Other Information

• The tour is in Saguenay, QC. The tour will be in french and it is likely that most of the people you encounter in the area will speak french and may not speak english. The touristy areas (i.e. in the park, certain restaurants) you may come across anglophones but be prepared to speak french (or use google translate).
• It is a long day! Bring appropriate layers, snacks, water, and food.
• Keep in mind you will be shedding and putting back on layers throughout the day as you will be hiking! During rest periods (when you are waiting for the guide or having some lunch) you may need to put some layers back on.
• If its a sunny forecast you may want some sunscreen and sunglasses despite it being winter!