Gaspésie Forillon National Park is a stunningly beautiful park where the mountains plunge directly into the St Lawrence Gulf. You’ll probably feel like you’ve reached the land’s end in this very scenic coastal landscape, located at the very northeasternmost tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. Though the park is great for a multitude of outdoor activities such as sea kayaking and cycling, and wildlife viewing, here we will focus on its hiking trails. Below we will present our list of the Best Hiking Trails in Forillon National Park, focusing on those trails that maximize the effort-to-reward ratio.
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Forillon National Park Orientation
Location: The park is located at the northeastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, roughly 100km north of the town of Percé. (If you intend to visit Percé during your trip, check out our Top Things to See and Do in Percé page).
Entry fees (2023): 8.50$/day or 72$ for a yearly Discovery pass (includes access to all Canadian National Parks).
The park has two visitor centers, one in the North Area and one in the Pennouille Area. Our trail list will include some trails that are considered easy and some moderate — we won’t cover two of the park’s trails that would be considered difficult as they are more than 35km long, and would thus be difficult for most to complete in a day. All but one trail are located in the North and South Areas of the park.
Easy trails
Du Banc
Du Banc, sandwiched between Canada’s tallest lighthouse to the North and the magnificent Forillon cliffs to the south, is a straightforward trail with insignificant elevation gain but with beautiful and quaint views along the coast. It was the first trail we did after arriving in the area and was a great introduction to the park.
Distance: 4.2 km
Route Type: Out & back
Elevation gain: flat
Start point: Cap-des-Rosiers parking lot or Visitor Information and Discovery Centre (North Area)
AllTrails rating: (4.3, 53 ratings (2023))
La Taïga
This is a very family-friendly trail and one of the most unique trails in the Park. It starts with a walk along a wide boardwalk that follows the Penouille sandbar on the south side of the Gaspé peninsula, with a saltwater marsh on one side and a sand beach on the other. Eventually, you veer off into the unique taiga ecosystem, a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. Although not an overly exciting trail, it does take you through unique forest scenery.
Distance: 4.7 km
Route Type: Out & back
Elevation gain: flat
Start point: Penouille parking lot
AllTrails rating: 4.2 (67 ratings, 2023)
La chute
One of Forillon National Park’s hidden treasures, the La Chute trail will reward you with a modest yet spectacular waterfall. Follow the winding boardwalk and wooden stairs down through the forest to a lovely 17-metre-high waterfall. After the falls there are several levels of stairs to climb to make your way back to the parking lot.
Distance: 1.3 km
Route Type: Loop
Elevation gain: 60 m
Start point: Sentier des chutes parking lot
AllTrails rating: 4.5, (172 ratings, 2023)
Cap Bon Ami
This isn’t really a hike but rather a beautiful viewpoint and the starting point of the park’s trail with the highest elevation gain (see Mont Saint-Alban trail below). It’s a beautiful spot that only requires going down (and then back up) a few flights of stairs.
Distance: 0.5 km
Route Type: Out & back
Elevation gain: N/A
Start point: Cap Bon-Ami Parking Lot
AllTrails rating: N/A
Moderate trails
From our perspective, the two following moderate trails are the best of the best hiking trails in Forillon National Park.
Les Graves
This is such a beautiful trail that meanders along the coast through pretty meadows with breathtaking views of Gaspé Bay. If you are lucky, you might see whales and dolphins swimming by you. After a short but intense final climb, you can choose to end your hike at Cap-Gaspé, where a lighthouse sits atop a 95-meter cliff. Alternatively, you can continue along a final 0.3km section where you’ll drop down to nearly sea level to reach Land’s End.
Note that the trail has several up-and-down sections, meaning that the total cumulative elevation gain (see below) is much greater than the actual elevation difference listed on the park website.
Distance: 16.1 km
Route Type: Out & back
Elevation gain: 100 m (cumulative elevation gain: 494 m)
Start point: Grande Grève parking lot
AllTrails rating:
Note: Many stop at the lighthouse and picnic tables about 0.3km from the end of the trail (the area known as Gap Gaspé). If you continue on to the very end (to the point referred to as Land’s end), you’ll climb down nearly 100m (along a steep section of trail) to get close to sea level (and you’ll have to climb that back up again), nearly doubling your elevation gain for the trail. If you chose not to go down, the total cumulative elevation gain for the whole trail would be closer to 300 m.
Alternative half-trail: You can reduce the hike’s distance by nearly half starting at the L’anse-aux-Améridiens parking lot.
Mont Saint-Alban
This is the most rewarding trail of the park in terms of sweeping grand views of the beautiful Forillon coastline, stretching out to Cap Gaspé and Land’s End. It is also probably the most difficult trail in terms of steep ascending sections, particularly the very first section up from Cap-Bon-Ami where you will gain just under 300 m in the first 2 km.
Distance: 8.2 km
Route Type: Loop
Elevation gain: 275 m (cumulative elevation gain 455 m)
Start point: Cap Bon-Ami Parking Lot
AllTrails rating: 4.6 (585 reviews, 2023)
Alternative options: If you are short on time, you can do an Out & Back shortened version that takes you to the viewing platform and back. You can also combine this trail with the Les Graves trail highlighted just above. You can also start the trail from two other parking lots located along the Blvd de Grande Gréve.
Other things to see and do in the area
Wildlife viewing at Forillon National Park
There are also excellent wildlife viewing opportunities at Forillon National Park. Although forty-three species of land mammals inhabit the park, including black bears, moose and beavers, the main draw here is the coastal wildlife, including seals, whales and double-crested Cormorants.
Beaver Pond: You can take a light stroll to visit beavers in their natural habitat from the beaver pond parking lot. We, unfortunately, didn’t get to see any as they are primarily nocturnal animals. Your best chance to see them is around dusk or dawn.
Double-crested Cormorants at Cap Bon Ami: There are lots of beautiful coastal birds to be seen here, particularly the beautiful double-crested cormorant.
Seals: There are a few different spots from which you can view seals from land. One of them is from Land’s end, the end point of the Les Graves hiking trail highlighted above. Another is from a viewing platform a short walk from this parking lot.
Sea kayaking: This is a great opportunity to see some of the sea wildlife up close, particularly the seals. See Cap Aventure Forillon for the schedule and reservations.
Whale-watching tours: Two different boats are available (47 passengers or 12 passengers) for whale-watching tours. See Baileine Forillon for the schedule and reservations.
Canada’s tallest lighthouse
Immediately north of Forillon National Park (near the Du Banc trail parking lot) lies the Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse, which at 34 metres (112 feet) high, is the tallest in Canada. It was declared a national historic site in 1974, and the tower itself was designated a Classified Federal Heritage Building in 1994 — the lighthouse is one of just seven in Canada to hold this double classification. The lighthouse site opens on June 24 and closes at the beginning of September, and guided tours are available.
If you are curious about other lighthouses in the area, check out our page on Gaspésie’s Most Beautiful Lighthouses.
The town of Gaspé
Gaspé is both the administrative capital and the largest town of the Gaspé Peninsula. While we wouldn’t urge anyone to go out of their way to visit the town, it can provide a worthwhile stop either on your way to or from Forillon National Park. There’s a lovely waterfront promenade and a well-regarded history museum on its eastern end, and a short walk from the promenade, you will find the only wooden cathedral in North America.
If you are looking for a place to eat while in town, we can recommend the Bise-Brise bistro bar.
Peninsula Fort
Like the town of Gaspé, this is not a must-visit attraction, but it does have important historical significance. It is the only World War II shore battery that has been completely preserved and that is open to the public in Quebec.
From 1942 to 1944, German “U-boats” (submarines) entered the St. Lawrence Gulf and River to disrupt critical supply routes between Canada and the Allied forces in Europe, where they sank 23 ships during what has become known as the Battle of the St. Lawrence. In response to this danger, Canadian Navy strategists chose this site as a naval base to defend the St. Lawrence Gulf and River.
The famous Percé Rock
The Percé Rock is a huge sheer rock formation in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, located roughly 100km south of Forillon National Park. It is one of the world’s largest natural arches located in water and is considered a geologically and historically rich natural icon of Quebec. For more tips on visiting the Percé Rock, check out our page on the top things to see and do in Percé.
Bonaventure Island National Park and the Northern Gannet Colony
Bonaventure Island is, without a doubt, one of the gems of the Gaspé Peninsula — despite its relatively small size, it is home to the largest migratory bird refuge in North America. Its colony of 110,000 northern gannets is the most accessible in the world. It is estimated that a total of 300,000 seabirds nest on the island, including razor-billed auks, gulls, kittiwakes, murres, and cormorants.
Bonaventure Island also offers four hiking trails, one of which is a historic heritage trail that reflects the island’s prosperous past. For more tips on visiting Bonaventure Island, check out our page on the top things to see and do in Percé.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Best Hiking Trails in Forillon National Park and that it will prove useful for planning your trip in the Gaspésie region of Québec.
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Preparing a trip to the Gaspe Peninsula (Gaspésie)?
We highly recommend these guidebooks:
- Gaspé the Romantique ‘Revisited’: A Road Trip Guide to the History, Legends and Attractions
- Lonely Planet Best Road Trips Ontario & Quebec
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