Duplessis

Endless miles of coastline on the Gulf

From Labrador to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Duplessis offers up forests as far as the eye can see and a coastline punctuated with broad, powerful rivers, with beaches that are among the finest in Québec. Along the Whale Route, rorquals and other large cetaceans (sea mammals) can be seen frolicking on the water’s surface. Parallel to the easternmost tip of Île d’Anticosti, a boat takes up where the road leaves off, bringing supplies to the string of villages on the Basse-Côte-Nord. Duplessis, the ancestral home of the Montagnais, attracts hunting and fishing enthusiasts, snowmobilers and adventurers of every stripe. To appreciate the region’s true worth, let curiosity and time be your guides!

Where nature stands proud

Almost the size of Corsica, Île d’Anticosti is the realm supreme of the white-tailed deer: nearly 20 deer per square kilometre, or over 50 per square mile! Countless ships have perished on the reefs that ring the unruly isle, which boasts a remarkable, though little-known, national park of unsurpassed wild beauty, complete with cliffs, canyons, grottos, falls and rivers. Between the island and the mainland, sea and wind have joined forces to sculpt the imposing and strangely shaped monoliths of the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve of Canada, home to innumerable puffins and seabirds. The Réserve faunique de Port-Cartier—Sept-Îles has over 100 bodies of water (including magnificent Lac Walker) and many rivers teeming with brook trout and salmon—paradise for nature lovers and sport fishermen alike.

Sea, shore and iron ore

Jump aboard a coastal vessel and discover the 15 or so seaside hamlets and communities (of which Harrington Harbour is perhaps the best known) that dot the shoreline from Natashquan to Blanc-Sablon, right up to Newfoundland. North of Port-Cartier, deep in the region’s interior, pay a visit to Fermont, home to one of North America’s largest strip mines. You’ll find that the friendly city of Sept-Îles perfectly embodies the dynamic personality of a region whose gaze is half turned seaward, half inland toward its rich backcountry resources.

Duplessis: four seasons of resplendent nature


Québec Travel experiences Tourist regions To do and see Tailor-made holidays E-Magazine