Quebec City to Tadoussac, North shore

LeGobu

Anyone done this? Is it really bad? I'm headed out there next week from Ottawa and continuing out to Lac-St-Jean. Tips and advice would be greatly appreciated. I cycled the north of Lake Superior last summer - how does this road compare?

mgagnonlv

It depends.

From Québec City to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, you are riding through the last part of the Saint-Lawrence valley. There are two highways side by side in the plains:
- highway 138: 4 lanes, newish, boring, fast, and closer to the river;
- highway 360 : 2 lanes, very ols, with stops, but also old houses and IMHO much nicer.

From Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré to Baie-Saint-Paul.
Hills begin with a vengence (13% for 2 km and 7% for 10 km) at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, and there is only one road, the very busy #138. Highway 138 is well done and with lots of paved shoulders, however. IMHO, not bad.
You could also follow indications for highway #360 to Mont-Sainte-Anne and continue on the local road past that point (then unnumbered). It eventually joins highway 138 at Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges and is a slightly better alternative, unless you are pressed with time. Totally local road (i.e. narrow, winding, but trafficless).

From Baie-Saint-Paul to La Malbaie.
Either ride on highway 138 which is inland, boring, shoulderless, hilly and with lots of traffic, or on highway 362 which is along the shore, very scenic, shoulderless too, really very hilly, but mostly with tourists and local traffic. An easy choice (#362).

From La Malbaie to Tadoussac.
There is only highway 138 and it was mostly shoulderless a few years ago. This was a stretch I really didn't like, traffic wise. People were, on the most part, very considerate, but there simply is little room for bumper to bumper car and truck traffic and cyclists. Some parts have improved, but I don't know to what extent.

From Tadoussac to Saguenay (ex. town of Chicoutimi) and the Lac-Saint-Jean area. Both highways (#170 and #172) have lots of hills (though not as bad as Charlevoix), a few scenic stretches and heavy traffic. I haven't travelled them often and not in the last 10 years so I can't be more precise.

Another very scenic highway is highway #381 from Saint-Urbain to Saguenay (ex. city of La Baie). Some very long hills, a few very steep ones (how about 19% for 2 km and 17% for 8 km?), gorgeous lakes, a 30-km stretch alongside a nice creek, etc. There are almost no services along the road (i.e. 100 km, unless there is a tiny convenience store in Boilleau), no shoulders, lots of curves... but little traffic and great scenery. A must see, I think.


All in all, I think the road between Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Baie-Saint-Paul is comparable to the ride along Lake Superior. East of there, it's more hilly and more difficult. However, traffic is much easier to deal with because of paved shoulders on highway 138 up to Baie-Saint-Paul, and other roads (#362, #381) have little traffic.

LeGobu

Thanks for the replies. I just got back from my trip, and what can I say...it was very hilly! I took the 138 to Baie-St-Paul which was just a tame prelude to the 362. Outside of Ste-Irenee I walked my loaded touring bike for the first time in 10 years - 18% for 3 kms!

I had a nice time in Tadoussac and saw quite a few minke whales and belugas close to the shore...amazing! I continued on along the 172 which is a beautiful road along the Ste Marguerite river canyon and has shoulders for about half its length (but will have them throughout in a few years time, I think)

To cap the trip I did the relatively tame tour around Lac-St-Jean on the Veloroute des Bleuets and took the train back south. All in all, my 2 weeks cycling Ottawa-Quebec-Tadoussac-Lac St Jean was a great time.

mgagnonlv

Nice to hear you had a great time.

__________________
Michel Gagnon
Montréal (Québec, Canada)

Edie Kay

Hi all!

I am reviving this thread with a few new (I hope) questions. Please forgive my lack of knowlege of the area if my questions have already been answered...

My boyfriend and I are planning a self-contained trip this August on the tandem and we have a few specific concerns about route choices. Namely, the route from Trois Rivieres on the St. Lawrence up to Lac St. Jean in the north. From Trois Rivieres we can take more local roads like Rt. 157 to 153 to 159, but eventually must wind up on Rt. 155 for most of the ride north.

Any suggestions as to what that route is like?

And any alternatives?

LeGobu and mgagnonlv, I would love to hear what either (or both) of know about this!

Thanks so much in advance!
Edie from Cleveland

LeGobu

The 155 has spotty shoulders but the traffic is not overly heavy although bear in mind it is a trucking route. Is there a reason you are skipping Quebec City and the scenic route further down the St-Lawrence shore?

martin cooperma

LeGobu, I am the other half of the Saguenay cycling trip along with Edie.
We were looking for a 2 week cycling-camping trip and the triangle from Trois-Rivieres to Lac St. Jean to Tadoussac back to Trois-Rivieres looked interesting.
We thought we'd start clockwise, head north up 155 past La Tuque, around Lac St. Jean, down the Saguenay to Tadoussac, then back to Trois-Rivieres via the St. Lawrence.

We'd of course stop at Quebec City, see the city and stay at the youth hostel on Isle D'Orleans. I assume this is the part of the St. Lawrence you mentioned above as the scenic route? Or are there other parts we're missing further south?

Having never cycled here we were wondering what to expect on the roads. We know they're hilly. We saw some roads marked on our map as forest roads that run roughly from Trois-Rivieres to La Tuque but east of 155. Any idea if these are paved or not. We want paved.

We'd also like to know the preferred route along the Saguenay as there are roads on both sides of the river.

Lastly we like to know the preferred routes from Tadoussac down the St. Lawrence to Trois-Rivieres. One friend suggested we cross by ferry and take the south shore part of the way. We'd like the more scenic and less heavily trafficked routes, of course. We'll handle the hills. Which side of the river is preferable on which stretches.

We'll also be camping the whole way or staying in youth hostels. Are there places to camp at Tadoussac or along the Saguenay? Or elsewhere along our route? We'd just as soon camp off in the forests if that was allowed, especially in non-populated areas.

We'd appreciate any suggestions you have.
Thanks.
Marty

LeGobu

Personally, I'd head to Tadoussac on the way up so that you are cycling on the river side of the road. The 138 has been recently improved and there are decent shoulders most of the way. The 362 is another story -- it is VERY hilly, narrow and scenic, also devoid of shoulders but relatively light traffic...guaranteed you'll be walking your bike on some sections. Île-aux-Coudres is a popular cycling destination but to get to it there is a monster descent/climb that is difficult even for some cars.

I recommend highway 172 north of the Saguenay. It goes through a beautiful scenic canyon and the traffic is vey light because it is filtered by the ferry schedule across the fjord.

The ride around Lac-St-Jean is a cyclist's dream -- water stations and rest pavilions at every 5 to 10 kms, and campgrounds, B&Bs and other businesses that cater specifically to cyclists. You'll feel spoiled as a cyclists, like much of the campsites at Point-Taillon can only be accessed by bike, and there is a free bike ferry across the Grand Décharge.

The 155 is a lonely road that I would leave for last, or leave out in favour of spending more time elswhere. If you ride around Lac-St-Jean counter-clockwise, there is a train that leaves Chambord (from Jonquiere) for Trois-Rivières and Montreal. There are bike racks on this train as a lot of people go up to Lac-St-Jean just to cycle. (info: http://www.viarail.ca/) The train ride itself is an awsome experience as it plunges into the wilderness where there are no roads and you'll meet hunters and fishermen who get on and off at the rustic camps along the way. One option is to get off at Rivière-à-Pierre and cycle down a converted railway path back to Quebec City.

I've also cycled on the 132 along south shore between Quebec city and Rivière-du-Loup and it is much flatter and has more villages than the north shore

Have you checked the Route verte site?

LeGobu

BTW, when we say "down the St-Lawrence" we mean going north towards the Atlantic Ocean

martin cooperma

LeGobu,
Thanks for your reply.
Indeed, 'down' the St. Lawrence would be downstream toward the ocean. I should have checked my authoritative Great Lakes and St. Lawrence guide, the book 'Paddle to the Sea' after which my rowboat is named.

We didn't think of a train ride through the wilderness. That's a neat suggestion and we'll check it out.

Do you have a preferred route from Quebec City to Trois Rivieres? Which side of the river, and which route?

Thanks,
Marty & Edie

LeGobu

Definitely take the north shore route 138. It's a designated bike route and there is light truck traffic on it as they mostly use A-40.

Are you biking up from Cleveland? or are you starting off at Trois-Rivières? Actually I'm just curious how you chose T-R

martin cooperma

LeGobu, thanks for the recommendation of the south shore from Quebec City to Trois Rivieres. I assume the north shore is a much busier route given the big cities on that side.

We are not biking up from Cleveland as that would likely take up our entire 2 week vacation. We are starting at Trois Rivieres. When we retire...

We chose Trois Rivieres because that was the only city whose name my high school French would permit me to translate. I have yet to figure out what 'Quebec' means, much less 'Chicoutimi'.
We chose T-R because it seems to make a nice 1000km triangle to the Saguenay and back, gives us a chance to see Quebec City and has a youth hostel. It's also an easy if long drive from Cleveland.
The main attraction in this area was the Saguenay.
Our only trepidation was running into a band of maurauding Iroquois. We've seen Black Robe...
Marty & Edie