Forillon National Park combines jaw-dropping scenery with exceptional hiking, wildlife viewing, kayaking, and other adventure possibilities. Jutting into the northeast point of Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, it’s a land of forested highlands and rugged coastlines where soaring cliffs drop into the sea at aptly named Land’s End. Adding to the surprises are reminders of a little-known era of Canadian history.
So whether you’re into history, nature, or a little bit of everything, here is our list of the top 10 things to do in Forillon National Park, Quebec.
1. Start at the top at Canada’s tallest lighthouse
Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse dominates the skyline just outside the park’s north gate. At a lofty 34 metres or 112 feet, it’s Canada’s tallest lighthouse, looking even more impressive perched atop rugged cliffs.
The powerful light marks the turning point from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the St. Lawrence River, a spot that has seen more shipwrecks than anywhere along the Gaspé coast. Built in 1858, the tall tapering tower has walls over 7 feet thick at its base. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1984 and was covered in white marble.
Now designated a National Historic Site, the lighthouse is open to visitors in summer, and you can even climb to the top.
2. Enjoy the sunrise at Cap-Bon-Ami
The picnic site at Cap-Bon-Ami has Forillon’s most celebrated viewpoint. Here we look over the wildest sections of the park’s many cliffs. It’s a great spot to go any time of day, though sunrise is outstanding. Indeed, we would rank it as among the top sunrise locations we have come across anywhere in Canada. The cliffs face east, so as the sun clears the horizon over the open sea it immediately floods the cliffs with a rich golden glow.
Although this is a popular spot, we had it all to ourselves one early summer morning. The place was quiet and calm except for the birdlife and a couple of lobster boats working in the distance. Some of the best views are right from the picnic site. You can also take a stairway down to the rocky beach to see a small waterfall.
Cap-Bon-Ami is very close to the main campgrounds in the north sector of the park. Even though you have to get up quite early for sunrise, it’s only a few minutes’ drive if you’re staying in the campground.
3. Hike the Mont-Saint-Alban Trail
Forillon’s other iconic view is from atop the Mont-Saint-Alban tower, only accessible by a hiking trail with an altitude gain of 245 to 280 metres, depending upon which trailhead you start from. One trailhead starts at the Cap-Bon-Ami lookout. If you look straight up, way up, you can see the tower. This is the shortest route but also the steepest.
We hiked the trail starting from the Grand-Grave trailhead on the opposite side of the narrow peninsula. It’s a bit longer, though still only 5 kilometres return, but the 280-metre ascent is more gradual. Closer to the top, the trail consists mostly of stairs made from logs embedded in the slopes. The park ranks the trail as having Moderate difficulty. There is nothing difficult, just a lot of up, up, and more up. Along the way, a nice resting spot with Parks Canada red chairs overlooks the coastline.
The tower sits on the highest point of land with a 360-degree view. The classic view faces Land’s End where the narrow peninsula juts into the sea. Looming in the distance we can see the coastline and islands of Percé, home to the famous Percé UNESCO Global Geopark. Looking in other directions we see the heavily forested hills of the park’s interior and the Gaspé north shore dominated by the Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse.
4. Hike to Land’s End
The 8-kilometre return hike along the Les Graves Trail takes us to the edge of the cliffs at Land’s End. Land’s End is named for being the northern terminus of the International Appalachian Trail that runs all the way to Georgia in the southern United States.
Besides stunning scenery, Les Graves Trail is one of the best parts of the park for wildlife. Hikers often come across black bears or moose. But we did one better and saw whales. The route follows the coastline much of the way, and we were fortunate to watch a pod of Minke whales travelling not far offshore. They were moving slowly in the same direction as we were, so we had them as “hiking companions” for much of the way.
A highlight is the gleaming white Cap-Gaspé Lighthouse atop the 95-metre cliff at the end of the trail. It’s hard to imagine a more awesome setting for a lighthouse. Built in 1950, it replaced a lighthouse that had been here since 1873. Interpretive panels provide the lowdown on the lighthouse, landforms, and the Appalachian Trail. Cliff-top red chairs offer the chance to enjoy the view in comfort.
5. Go Whale-watching
Seeing whales from shore is exciting enough, but even better is seeing them up close while on the water. We took a cruise with Croisières Baie de Gaspé, based in the park. The waters along the Forillon coast are frequented by several species including the Minke whale, Fin whale, Humpback whale, and Blue whale.
Minke whales are the most common. We saw several during our trip, along with porpoises. Up to 10 metres long, these dark grey whales dive every few minutes to feed on fish, plankton, or crustaceans. The cruise is much more than whale-watching, incorporating a lot of cool nature facts – differences between sighting a Minke whale or a porpoise, seeing seals basking along the shore, and identifying birds floating on the water or flying by.
6. Marvel at the cliffs of Land’s End from the water
While the hike to Land’s End is great for amazing landscapes, we are on top of the cliffs most of the way and can’t fully appreciate the faces of the cliffs dropping into the water. From a boat, we get an entirely different view. We enjoyed the whale-watching trip as much for the scenery as the wildlife. Here we get the big picture of the lay of the land, with the Cap-Gaspé Lighthouse standing as a sentinel high above the water.
The commentary on the boat trip included background on the formation of the amazing landscape. Forillon is especially interesting to geologists because it’s possible to see three distinct geological periods, the Ordovician, the Silurian and the Devonian in a fairly small area. For photographers, the landscape can best be summed up as “Wow”.
7. Take in the Beauty of La Chute
Short and sweet, the La Chute Trail is only a one-kilometre loop, but with a lot of up and down along the way. Unlike most other walks we did which included views over the coastline, this walk goes inland to a picture-perfect waterfall. It seemed like a fairytale land as we walked through the green valley of maple and cedar groves. Near the base of the 17-metre waterfall, you can relax and take in the view at a Parks Canada red chair. Besides the waterfall, other stretches of whitewater add to the beauty of the route.
8. Get in touch with Forillon’s bird life
The park is frequented by 246 bird species, 125 of which nest here. The woodlands are home to a variety of sparrows, jays, warblers, woodpeckers, and various raptors. But the highlight is the coastal seabirds, many of which nest in notches along the rugged cliff faces.
A popular and accessible place to look for birds is near the Cap-Bon-Ami picnic site. When you finish watching that picture-perfect sunrise, simply turn around and look in the other direction along the steep cliff faces. Several birds nest in tiny cavities along the cliff, plus there are usually more birds on the water and in the air. Look for black-legged kittiwakes, cormorants, razorbills, and guillemots, among many others.
9. Kayak past a coastal seal colony
Kayaking is great fun anywhere, but here you can combine the joy of paddling with great scenery and wildlife. We did a trip with Cap Aventure as we paddled along the southern shoreline of the park to an area frequented by seals. The early morning trip brought calm waters and a better chance of spotting wildlife.
It wasn’t long before we started seeing basking seals on the rocks at the base of the cliffs. Two species hang out here – Harbour seals with mottled skin and a short, doglike snout, and larger Grey seals with an elongated head. Our guide Vincent knew how to get us close enough for photos without disturbing them.
10. Watch for submarines from massive gun batteries
This was the most surprising part of Forillon. It brought home just how close World War II came to the shores of Canada. Between 1942 and 1944, German submarines sank 23 Allied ships in the Battle of the St. Lawrence, some just off the Forillon coast.
To protect Allied ships, the Canadian Navy established coastal batteries. One was here at Fort Peninsula, which has been preserved by Parks Canada and is open to the public in the southern part of the park. Two huge guns still point out to sea from inside concrete bunkers. We can wander through the tunnels and into the bunkers to help visualize just how close the war came.
Visiting Forillon National Park
Forillon is accessed along Highway 132 which follows the coastline of the Gaspé Peninsula. It’s only a short drive north from Percé, Gaspé’s other prime attraction. To be close to the action, we recommend staying inside the park. There are well-equipped campgrounds in both the northern and southern sectors of the park. We stayed in the Des-Rosiers Campground just inside the north gate, which proved to be an ideal spot. It’s very close to Cap-Bon-Ami and the Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse and a short drive to attractions on the south coast. If you don’t have camping gear, campgrounds also offer oTENTiks and other innovative accommodations.
Get details at the Parks Canada website. For suggestions on other nearby attractions in the Gaspé Peninsula, also see the Quebec Maritime website.
Want more things to do in Quebec? Check out our travel guides below!
Leave a Reply
\n