A Guide to Quebec City's Natural Escapes 🌿

Quebec City sits on a cliff where the St. Lawrence narrows — kebec, the Algonquin word the place is named for, means roughly where the river narrows. That geography gives the city a waterfall taller than Niagara on its doorstep, a glacial valley cut hundreds of metres into the Laurentians an hour north, and a working agricultural island in the river that has looked much the same for three centuries.

💦 Chute Montmorency – Taller Than Niagara

The Montmorency River drops 83 metres over a cliff at the point where it meets the St. Lawrence — about thirty metres higher than Niagara, though far narrower. A suspension bridge crosses directly above the crest, a staircase of nearly 500 steps runs down the cliff face beside the falls, and a cable car carries anyone who would rather not. In deep winter the spray freezes into a cone of ice at the base that climbers scale on ropes.

• 83 m Drop
• Taller Than Niagara
• Suspension Bridge
• Winter Ice Cone

Source: Sépaq

🏞️ Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier – The Glacial Trench

Half an hour north, the Jacques-Cartier River runs through a valley carved 550 metres down into the Laurentian plateau, steep-walled enough that the climate at the bottom differs from the rim. Trails such as Les Loups climb the wall to lookouts over the full length of the trench, and the river itself is run by canoe and kayak through the summer. Moose, black bear and wolves live in the park, and the autumn colour through the valley is exceptional.

• 550 m Deep Valley
• Les Loups Trail
• River Paddling
• Moose and Wolves

Source: Sépaq

🌳 Plaines d'Abraham – The Cliff-Top Park

The Plains of Abraham run for 98 hectares along the clifftop right beside the old city, a battlefield turned park where the ground drops away to the St. Lawrence far below. It is Quebec City's Central Park in practice: joggers, picnics, cross-country skiing in winter, and paths along the edge with the river and the south shore laid out beneath. The Joan of Arc Garden sits within it, and the views down to the water are the best in the city.

• 98 Hectares
• Clifftop Paths
• Battlefields Park
• Winter Skiing

Source: Commission des champs de bataille nationaux

🍏 Île d'Orléans – Farm Country in the River

A bridge crosses to an island of about 190 square kilometres just downstream of the falls, where six villages and a single ring road circle three centuries of farmland. Strawberries, apples, cider, maple and blackcurrant come off this ground, and the shoreline looks back at the city and the mountains behind it. Félix Leclerc lived and is buried here. It is a drive or a long cycle rather than a hike, and it is the classic day out from Quebec City.

• ~190 km²
• Six Villages
• Farms and Cider
• Ring Road Cycle

Source: Tourisme Île d'Orléans