The road from New Brunswick, Canada unfurls along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, hugging the coastline through fisherman villages like Cap-des-Rosiers and L’Anse-à-Valleau, where weathered wharves and salt-kissed homes frame the endless blue. It’s a perfect summer escape—windows down, sea air thick with brine, every curve revealing another postcard view of waves crashing against cliffs.
Percé Rock’s Timeless Arch
Percé Rock commands the bay like a half-sunk ship from legend—limestone carved 375 million years deep, 433 meters long with one massive 30-meter arch left from three that Jacques Cartier sailed through in 1534. Time’s chipped away the others, eroding 300 tons a year, but it stands, pierced and proud, daring the sea to try harder. Standing under that gap, waves thundering approval, feels like touching eternity.
Fairytale from Mont-Sainte-Anne
Mont-Sainte-Anne’s trail hits steep fast—roots gripping your boots, calves burning as rain starts pattering down, soaking everything in a cool, misty veil. It quits right at the top, clouds parting like a curtain. Fresh-rinsed greens pop vivid below, Percé’s colorful roofs sparkling brighter against the sea, rock dead center like a storybook giant. Mist drifts lazy off the bay—pure magic, earned one muddy step at a time.
Forillon’s Wild Ride and Watchtower
Forillon National Park swallows you next: rollercoaster roads—steep drops, hairpin climbs—thread ancient forests to Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse, Canada’s tallest at 37 meters, beaming since 1858 through Gulf storms that sank ships for centuries. Trails spill to Cap-Gaspé’s edge, Mi’gmaq-rooted cliffs echoing whale breaths and seal calls, history thick as the fog rolling in.
Gaspé’s Lively Shores
Gaspé buzzes downtown with locals at weekend markets and events, spilling onto cold-water beaches like Haldimand or Cap-aux-Os—shallow sands perfect for dipping toes despite the chill, views framing Forillon’s peaks. It’s surreal: icy waves lapping lively shores under summer sun.
Bonaventure’s Feathered Sanctuary
Boat from Percé to Île Bonaventure in Parc national de l’Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé, North America’s largest bird colony with 110,000 northern gannets (fous de Bassan), plus razorbills, puffins, kittiwakes, and cormorants nesting on cliffs. Hike island trails amid cries and dives, a migratory haven since 1919
Golden Sunset’s Lasting Pull
Percé sunset seals the spell: wind off the sea, golden light drenching the rock as shadows stretch long, birds tracing fire across the sky. Sitting there etches it—Gaspésie isn’t a trip; it’s a hook, highways whispering return before you’re even packed.
Still pictures. Moving stories.
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