5 Spectacular Sights to Admire by Snowmobile in Gaspésie

A true winter wonderland in the cold season, Gaspésie offers impressive panoramic views you can discover by snowmobile.

This section of Trans-Québec trail #5, which runs along the coast, offers impressive views of the endless Gulf of St. Lawrence as well as of the immense Chic-Chocs, home to the highest peaks in southern Québec. Discover areas that are otherwise completely inaccessible during this snowmobile ride!

A must-see along the way, about 1 km from the main trail: the views from Mont Saint-Pierre, which offers four fenced-in lookouts on the edge of a cliff. Admire local villages, the sea and even Côte-Nord across the water on a clear day! Mont Bernèche, which is 0.6 km from the trail, also offer impressive panoramic views. Follow the Grand Tour or the Eastern Peninsula Loop to take in these sights.

This snowmobile ride is a very accessible dream expedition that allows you to soak up magnificent scenery along the Chic-Choc Loop. Follow regional trail #595 from Saint-Paulin to La Cache, where you can stop to refuel. In addition to gas, the Mi’gmaq community, which owns the La Cache snowmobile clubhouse, offers delicious hot meals and lodging in a recently renovated building.

You can then follow through the snowy Matane and Chic-Chocs wildlife reserves, deep in moose country. Enjoy breathtaking views of Mont Albert and Mont Lyall as well as of the McGerrigle Mountains, which are some of the highest peaks in Québec.

Please note: the trail between La Cache and Murdochville is closed due to safety concerns on two essential bridges that will require major work.

Moose on the snowmobile trail. Photo: Richard Marin

Since Gaspésie is the cradle of wind power in Québec, you will have several opportunities to be wowed by these immense structures along your itinerary. The region is one of the few places where you can ride a snowmobile close to a wind farm.

One of the areas where you can observe wind turbines is in Cap-Chat, a coastal municipality that is home to the tallest vertical-axis wind turbine in the world! Other places to see them are in Cloridorme, in Murdochville (via trail #597), on the mountain in Carleton-sur-Mer and in La Rédemption in the Matapédia Valley. If you opt for the Grand Tour, you will hit most of these spots; Murdochville is on the Eastern Peninsula Loop. 

Photo: Studio du Ruisseau

To get to Percé, follow the 18-km local trail from Trans-Québec #5. You will ride along Route d’Irlande past Route des Failles before arriving in the village. Note that the closest gas stations are in Barachois (to the east) and Grande-Rivière (to the west). From the village, you can walk to the wharf and the boardwalk to admire famous Percé Rock up close. Percé is along the Grand Tour and the Eastern Peninsula Loop.

Percé. Photo: Roger St-Laurent

One of the most unusual sights you can admire on a snowmobile in Gaspésie is a forest of “ghost trees”! As you ride along regional trail #587 N between Amqui and Sainte-Angèle-de-la-Mérici, you will encounter the Saint-Pierre Mountain in La Rédemption, which is where this forest is found. The thick blanket of frost that covers the trees is caused by a weather phenomenon produced by the effects of wind, humidity and pressure. From the top of the mountain, you can admire a 360-degree view of the St. Lawrence, wind turbines and the Matapédia Valley. You can reach this mountain by riding the Gateway Loop.

“Ghost trees” on the Saint-Pierre Mountain. Photo: Donald Bélanger

Access these spectacular views on a snowmobile in Gaspésie! 

See also: 

• Plan a Snowmobile Trip in Gaspésie
• 5 Snowmobile Rides in Gaspésie
• Snowmobile Clubhouses in Gaspésie