There are lots of things to do in Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean, 210 kilometers northeast of Quebec City.
Did you know, for example, that there is a ghost town in Chambord, Quebec? Val Jalbert is a renovated historic village dating back to the 1920s.
After exploring the old pulp mill and huge waterfall, you can overnight in one of the original workers' houses or in the hotel above the General Store.
Fly fishing trips
Accessible only by seaplane, Odyssee Boreale offers fly-fishing, hiking, golfing, archery, bird-watching and star-gazing in the boreal forest. Fully equipped for business gatherings, its luxurious chalets and fine cuisine attract corporate meetings as well as Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean vacationers.
Nature lovers can observe black bears with Okwari Adventures in Saguenay, arrondissement La Baie. Packages include a Rabaska (voyageur) canoe trip along the Riviere a Mars, a guided tour of an Amerindian site and lunch in a log cabin.
In Desbiens, Quebec, a boardwalk brings you along a cliff face above the Metabetchouane River to the Caverne Trou de La Fee. At the information center, you can observe five species of bats.
GPS Tour Guide
The Veloroute des Bleuets cycling trail circles Lac Saint-Jean for 256 kilometers (160 miles). The bicycle route is very well signed around the entire lake.
A GPS navigation guide helps cyclists plan their bike routes through 15 Lac Saint-Jean communities. The GPS Cycloguide is an audio-visual travel guide to tourism sites along the bicycle route, as well as a GPS.
On bike trips, ranging from one to six days, cyclists pedal past blueberry fields, lush forests and cascading waterfalls. GPS directions help bicycle riders find Albanel and Girardville, at the northern end of the lake, and Dam-en-terre in the Alma sector, a scenic holiday centre at the southern end of Lac Saint-Jean.
Saint Felicien
Domestic yaks and other boreal species live in the Mongolian area of Zoo Sauvage de Saint-Felicien. More unusual Borealie species include the Bactrian camel and the endangered Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalski).
Feeding times for the Bactrian camel are at 12:45 and 3:15 pm, between late-June and early-September. The water games and Japanese macaque monkeys are also popular with kids at the Saint Felicien Zoo Sauvage.
Hotel du Jardin de Saint-Felicien has several rooms with mini fridges, a discotheque with giant screen TVs and an 800-seat showroom with a stage for live performances.
Zipline tours
Centre Aventure et D'Arbre en Arbre, in Saint-Felicien, offers year-round family adventures and annual Quebec cross-country biking competitions. The D'Arbre en Arbre treetop ropes course is a series of wild jumps, ladders, ziplines, bridges, Tarzan ropes, balance beams, swings and surfs. KidAventure is a smaller ropes course for young kids.
During the summer, the adventure centre offers camping, hiking and 70 kilometers of cross-country biking trails. During the winter, the trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
Cap Jaseux Parc Aventures also has ziplines and an extreme ropes course, with accommodations in tree houses, cabins and campsites next to Fjord du Saguenay.
Fjord cruises
Fjord Saguenay II is a 125-passenger cruise boat, operated by Croisieres du Fjord. Cruises bring you to the villages of Sainte-Rose du Nord, Riviere Eternite and L'Anse Saint Jean.
Park National du Saguenay offers hiking, sea kayaking and opportunities for beluga whale watching. Hotel Tadoussac has sea kayaking packages and Saguenay Fjord whale watching cruises.
Lac Bouchette
Located on the shores of Lake Ouiatchouan, Saint Anthony's Hermitage of Lac Bouchette is a pilgrimage site that honors Saint Anthony and Our Lady of Lourdes. Thousands of pilgrims visit the hermitage annually and walk its peaceful forested trails.
The Lac Bouchette hermitage features an outdoor chapel, bell tower and a concert pipe organ. Visitors can follow a bilingual audio guided tour with 43 points of interest on the Ermitage site.
The 215-kilometer Notre Dame Kapatakan hiking trail (Sentier Kapatakan at Lac Bouchette) passes through hills, valleys, towns and villages. Ermitage Saint-Antoine accommodations include lakeside chalets and campsites.
Nouvelle France
On guided tours of Site de la Nouvelle-France, in Saint-Felix-d'Otis, visitors experience 17th century life in New France. A live equestrian performance provides a thrilling and educational history of the Canadian horse.
Visitors discover the Huron Village, the Cent Associes farm and reconstructions of the Upper and Lower Towns of Quebec City. Colorful characters bring this fascinating Quebec open-air museum to life.
For more information about things to see and do and hotels, visit the Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean website.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean: www.saguenaylacsaintjean.ca
More things to see and do in Quebec:
Unusual Places to Stay in Quebec
Jean Paul Riopelle Art Collection in Bistro à Champlain
Quebec Casino Restaurants
Mont Avila Tubing in Quebec Laurentians
Quebec Sugar Shack Arthur-Raymond
