Had a couple big days looking around the Lac Saint Jean-Saguenay region. It is more beautiful than I thought. I felt like there was a carrot in front of my nose leading me further east the whole way. The lake, the rivers in the region have provided me with great quality time.
The region is under marketed as an adventure getaway. If not for my reading literature and asking allot of questions I almost did not visit the area. And that would of been a shame. No tourist info centre mentioned it.
The cherry on the sundae, what sealed the deal, was visiting the village of Baie on the shores of Baie des Ha! Ha! And yes that is the real name of the bay. I am not pulling your leg. Baie and the drive along the Fjord du Saguenay was the ending of my trip in the region, but not my ending of my interest in the region.
Quai in Baie, Quebec
The region is going in the right direction on their development of tourism activities. In the summer cyclists will dream about 240+ bike route leading around Lac Saint Jean. Mountain bikers will love the downhill and single track trails in Jonquiere exploring the banks of the Riviere Saguenay. Sightseers will enjoy the views of Baie des Ha! Ha! on the waterfront and hikers will enjoy the trails and waterfalls in Le Centre plein air Bec-Scie.
In the winter the trails become cross country sking, snowmobile and snowshoe routes.
The Baie des Ha! Ha! waterfront is the town’s pride and joy. It is dressed up, all spiffy and clean. It is almost like you are scared to spill something. The reason for the dressing up is because the waterfront acts also as a cruise ship port welcoming tourists to the region who have just completed exploring the Fjord du Saguenay.
There is a large welcoming information building, a walking path, a bike path and a sandy beach. Next to the waterfront is the Parc de Mars with a healthy supply of viewing benches and picnic tables looking out onto the Baie des Ha! Ha!. So.. I guess I have painted a picture of an all around great view eh! And it is.. to a point, if it were not for the shipping port with black towering cranes and rusted warehouses erected at the far end of the bay. C’est la vie.
Baie is a small village. One of those that, when strategically parked, you can walk the whole town. However, my walking was nothing compared to the number of people on bikes. I proceeded to take pictures. There was a click, click here and a click, click there, everywhere a click, click. No wonder so many people look at me funny when I work as I take pictures of road signs, information boards, sidewalks, paths, trails, etc. Not the normal picture taking items I guess.
Next I wanted to check out the Centre plein air Bec-Scie. Not sure what was there but I had a gut feeling. Some days my intuition is like a radar and I am getting better at listening to myself. For some reason I took the indirect route and on my way I discovered the Rivieres a Mars lookout and a trail system. Pretty cool too.
There are spillwater waterfalls and lookouts. Along the route are trails and information shelters. I was so happy with myself I took a few pictures of me playing around the falls and boulders. (Main BLOG PHOTO).
Le Canyon Waterfall
Highlight of the day was the Le Canyon Trail at the Centre plein air Bec-Scie.
The destination ending up being a wicked network of cross country ski trails used for hiking in the summer. It also happens to be home to the highlight of my trip – The Le Canyon Trail.
The Le Canyon Trail is a short 1.3 kilometre trail leading to waterfalls, a bridge and lookouts. The trail is a mixture of dirt and boardwalk. Way more boardwalk.
There are boardwalk stairs, foot bridges and lots of it. It is one of the best series of boardwalk trails exploring along a canyon I have hiked in a long time.
At the end of the trail is an amazing waterfall created from dams and rock cliffs. I lost myself for awhile, as all I could hear for a long time were the sounds of thunder (the roar from the waterfall) .
Next thing I know I hiked back to the jeep and soon found myself driving towards Quebec City still going over details of the waterfall and hike in my head. “What a great find”, I murmured!