Forillon National Park / Cap Gaspe
Day 3 in Forillon National Park | Hiking the Cap Gaspe Trail | July 2024
Today was our first Canada Day that we’ve ever spent in Canada, as well as our last full day in Forillon National Park. Our only plans for today were to hike the Cap Gaspe Trail. The trail is five miles long and follows the Southern shoreline of the Forillon National Park peninsula all the way to the Easternmost point. While the trail was relatively easy, a wide gravel path that stays level until the last half-mile, there wasn’t a lot of shade so we didn’t expect Charlotte to want to finish the trail. With that in mind, we packed snacks for us and her, plenty of water, and set off on our hike.
The trail started off more shaded, with occasional views of the sea to the South, but as the trees thinned out, the views expanded. We kept our focus on the sea, hoping to see a whale, or maybe some seals on the coast. No such luck here, though we saw several whale watching tours speed off towards the open sea. Still, we enjoyed the coastline views, seeing the peaks on the Perce peninsula in the distance, and the bright blue water. The road that we were walking goes from the trailhead all the way to the lighthouse at the point, but there is also a more narrow walking path (the final miles of the IAT/SIA) that goes along the road and goes closer to the coast. Walking the road is shorter though, and since we knew it was probably better for Charlotte, we stuck to that.
As expected, Charlotte grew tired after a couple miles, and we found a shaded spot to rest with her while Curtis and I took turns walking to the point. She had conveniently decided to stop right before the steep hill which climbs up to the lighthouse at the point. I went first, and after one long push I made it to the top. I found the lighthouse area a bit busy, and it had somewhat limited views, so I opted to continue walking on the SIA/IAT, which was a narrow path that switchbacked down to a slightly better viewpoint closer to the coast. Doing this meant I had to climb back up the switchbacks and stairs though, so I sort of questioned if it was worth it. When Curtis made his trek up to the point, he chose not to take this spur, in favor of saving it for his triumphant finish of hiking the SIA across Quebec (though the trail apparently continues in Newfoundland-Labrador, and there’s not exactly an easy way to reach it from this point…)
Once we had both hiked to the point, we had our snacks and then worked to get Charlotte hyped for the return trip. As it was growing warmer, she was less interested in walking back, so Curtis carried her for short stretches, which helped shave some time off our finish. Today was definitely the busiest we’d seen the park in our 4 days here — more of what we had expected since it was Canada Day, but still not too crowded.
After completing our hike, we drove over to the recreation center to use the laundry machines, and had lunch in the shade while waiting. We wrapped up our day by relaxing at our campsite and taking advantage of the hot showers one last time. We briefly wondered if we would be able to see any fireworks coming from Gaspe if we drove to a lookout over the bay, but just didn’t want to put in the effort that evening. (Do Canadians even do firework shows?) So overall, our first Canada Day in Canada was pretty uneventful, but we spent it the way we know best — enjoying the nature and beautiful views that this country holds!
