Day 1 -3.
The trip started with pretty much non-stop driving. We crossed the border in Detroit on Ambassador Bridge (after relatively short wait) and arrived at Big Band Conservation Area campground in early evening. Yes, we camped on Thames River near London. Ontario has great network of small Conservancy Areas that offer short walks, picnic and camping. Next day we passed Toronto and camped at Darlington Provincial Park on Lake Ontario, where we walked along the shore. The following day we drove to Milles Roches/Snetsinger Island campground (recommended). On the way, we spent some time exploring locks 46-49 of Rideau Canal at Kingston Mills. We also took a short break from highway-driving (Hwy 401) and slowly moved along St Lawrence River on 1000 Islands Pkwy (between Rockport and Butternut Bay) with good views on the river (Thousand Island National Park).
Day 4.
We moved past Montreal to Petite-Rivière in Quebec where we stayed two nights at camping du Domaine à Liguori/Coopérative de Solidarité l’Affluent (recommended). We knew nothing about this place as Joanna found it in late afternoon researching options for O/N stay. Pleasant surprise: not only a nice place to stay and friendly people, but also mountains in the backyard to hike.
Day 5.
Finally without driving. We walked over to the lower Massif de Charlevoix gondola station, took the gondola to the top and following advice received at the Co-op started looking for trails to walk back down. We were unprepared. To a hiker it looked like the mountaintop was just plowed over – it is skis and mountain bikes territory. Nobody insisted on selling us single-ride tickets as everybody else had a pass. When asked about “the trail”, locals told us just to go downhill. Friendly ATV rider directed us to power line on the horizon and we found it there. Piotr tuned-in to Organic Maps. There are many well maintained and marked walking trails on the mountain, separate from mountan bike trails. Once a bit away from the center of activity, it was quiet, with good views on surrounding hills and St Lawrence River. We completed 14 km loop (almost 3 km/650 m gondola ascent and 11 km walking) through forest with some open vistas and visiting small waterfalls near our campground (recommended).
Day 6.
Laundry, hot shower and good, morning coffee at the Co-op, and we are ready to go. After short stop in Petite Rivière, we drove closer to the river through small towns and villages along Rte Du Fleuve (382) from Baie Saint Paul to La Malbaie, rather than on the main highway (138). We stopped at St-Irénée beach and train station. A round trip on Train de Charlevoix along St Lawrence River sounded interesting, but we were a day behind our initial schedule already. We stopped for lunch at Boulangerie Artisanale in La Malbaie: good coffee, pastry and bread (recommended).Next stops: Pointe-Noire Interpretation and Observation Centre to watch belugas and, after crossing Rivière Saguenay by ferry, Marine Environment Discovery Centre in Les Escoumins (both Parks Canada). We visited this part of Quebec on earlier road trip (☞ Quebec 2009). We purchased our annual park pass there (hoping to use it also in western Canada in 2024). We then observed several beluga pods for an hour or so. The Discovery Center was closed, but we were allowed to visit the rocky coast behind it – popular whale-watching spot (no luck this time).
We arrived at Les Dinosaures du Quai De Ragueneau after 7 pm. Popular and very nice (parking lot) camping site on the peninsula (recommended on iOverlander etc) was packed with large campers. Not for us even though a tight parking spot was available. We walked around to check out the views and dinosaur-like sculptures next morning. We decided to O/N on the main picnic area parking lot (next to Oie de George-Henri Gagné) with a few other (dispersed) car-campers, not bad. Access road to perfect camp sites on the other side of the bay, which we checked-out next day, looked impassable (mud). It was getting dark and started to drizzle. Enough time to cook dinner in nearby shelter. Toilet was permanently closed. Weather was nice next morning so we took to the trail through taiga and rock outcrops along St Lawrence River.
Day 7.
Real adventure begins: we are driving from Baie Comeau inland on Quebec Rte 389 heading north towards Labrador, tank full. The first section of the road to Manic 5 is in very good shape with very few cars/trucks. It feels somewhat remote but safe. The landscape is flat with some hills. Endless dense forest, meadows, marshes, lakes, rivers and streams. Changing all the time but not in very dramatic way, making the trip relaxing. We loved the emptiness. There aren’t any organized rest stops or even just accessible side roads to park for a break. It is continuous ditch on both sides of the road. We found a decent spot on side road for Piotr’s obligatory afternoon nap. Next stops: Visitor Center at Manic 5 (very engaging staff) and viewpoint on nearby hill. The size of the dam is impressive. We learned about meteorite crater filled with water when the dam was built. Lac Manicouagan with island in the middle, the round shape on map, attracted our attention years ago.
Two sections of Rte 389 between Manic 5 and Labrador City are unpaved gravel, but quite well maintained (mostly). We encountered few passenger cars and a number of heavy trucks. Yes, one speeding truck sprayed our windshield with gravel (luckily causing no damage), but the road does not really live-up to its reputation as difficult, bad and dangerous. Patience and slow driving helps.
As we were driving along Lake Manicouagan, we found on map a road section running very close to the shore. We decided to look for wild camp site in this area. We took first obvious dirt road towards the lake and found good spots on stony beach, but decided to park a short distance away. Weather was changing and we thought we would be better protected from wind there. Rain and wind came, but nothing serious. There were obvious signs (tire tracks) of other visitors but no one in sight that day, even at access points further down the road. Piotr started fire on the beach and Joanna cooked dinner. All sounds great, but we were also attacked by swarms of (nasty) biting black flies. Glad we had mosquito nets, but were bitten many times anyway before we took precautions. They fly in front of your eyes just for deception but crawl into your hair and bite your neck. It takes quite some time to feel it. Painful lesson learned. End of August was supposed to be already past peak fly season.
Oh, how beautiful! So much green. The road did not look too bad. Thanks for the photos and the story, waiting for the next instalment!