I go up to La Verendrye in Quebec about once a year but it’s a long drive and wondering if anyone has done any other canoe camping in and around Quebec that could be recommended. I thought around Parc Tremblant might be ok but I suspect it’s much busier.
Adirondacks
are two hours from you.
Lots of paddling and the St Regis Canoe area is 2 1/4 hours away. About 180 km from you.
Parc Papineau Labelle ls lots closer than La Verendrye
plus…
plus going through customs.
“why do you have a canoe on your roof”?
“Why do you think?”
Usually adds an extra 30mins of delays…
Do you see other people whilst canoeing in the adirondacks? That’s one of the main things about the parks further away, you don;t see anyone else for the few days you are paddling/camping.
You have written off the ADKS
it seems. Not much of a delay at the border. Why is five minutes such a big deal? Lots of places in the Adirondacks are far less crowded than Algonquin.
I get asked where I am going too going to Canada. Gee…it takes me all of sixty seconds to clear Customs.
…
no not written off at all, just looking at options.
I just haven’t been to adirondacks yet.
Part of the lure of canoe camping is being in the wilderness so didn’t want the routes to have too many people on them…
There are plenty of
places in the Adirondacks that match your definition of “wilderness”. Like anywhere else, you just have to be willing and capable of traveling a bit off trail and doing a portage or two into the backcountry. Wilderness and complete solo remoteness abounds in many Adirondack regions if you can handle it.
Adk Wilderness
I’ve been to the Adirondacks plenty of times while seein few to no other paddlers. And I haven’t even made it to St. Regis yet!
A couple of the best ways to have an isolated, remote experience are:
- Plan on a portage or two…portages tend to weed out a lot of people that just don’t want the hassle.
- Plan a trip when people ain’t there: Just after ice-out to Memorial Day (late May) is a good time, as is mid-September to late October.
Do those two things while avoiding the most popular destinations (Lowe’s Lake, Little Tupper, Lake Lila for a few) and you generally have a good recipe for a quiet experience.
-rs
Mastigouche
When I lived in Montreal I went to the Adirondacks often for paddling and hiking.
I canoe camped in the Parc Mastigouche, northeast of Montreal and enjoyed it. It seemed like a reasonable drive from Montreal. I guess it’s part of La Mauricie national park now.
I was just dropping in to see if there
was any real wilderness under discussion today, and all I get is car camping.
Reservoir poisson blanc
Big place lots of island camping. Don’t attempt to reserve a spot, they’re the best, and expensive. Lots of free spots that are marked.
You can camp around Mille Iles also I think… the whole length of the lake.
Good resource… http://www.kayakdemer.net/destinations/destinations.php
Good luck.
Suggest you head over to
– Last Updated: Jan-15-14 8:04 PM EST –
the Canadian Canoe Routes forum g2d. You will like it there.
Adirondacks
Another good time is the week before Labor Day. Be sure to leave on Friday before Labor Day!
Been there for many years. Much less
mistaken posting there because people seem to know what forums are for what subjects. But if you did, you wouldn’t be over here tweaking me.