Parc national des Monts-Valin

Quebec National Park (SEPAQ) North Of The Saguenay; The Vallee Des Fantomes, Where Snow Loaded Firs Stand As White Figures, And Among The Heaviest Snowfall In The Province · Saint-Fulgence, Quebec

North of the Saguenay the land lifts into a block of rounded summits that catch an extraordinary amount of snow - several metres of it in a normal winter, among the deepest in Quebec. What the snow does to the balsam firs on the upper slopes is the reason people come. Loaded and reloaded through the winter, the trees disappear under white until each one is a hunched, shrouded figure two or three metres tall, and a whole slope of them looks like a crowd standing still. Quebecers call it the VALLEE DES FANTOMES, the valley of the ghosts. A shuttle runs visitors most of the way up and the last stretch is walked or snowshoed. In summer the same summits - Pic de la Hutte, Pic Dubuc - are a straightforward day's hiking with the Saguenay fjord laid out to the south, and the park is quiet enough that the walk feels a great deal more remote than an hour from Chicoutimi has any right to.

360 rang Saint-Louis, Saint-Fulgence, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Saint-Fulgence, Quebec, Canada

OPEN YEAR-ROUND, AND IT IS A WINTER PARK FIRST. THE GHOSTS ARE A WINTER PHENOMENON: the snow-figure season runs roughly from JANUARY TO EARLY APRIL, peaking in FEBRUARY AND MARCH, and outside it the Vallee des Fantomes is simply a wooded valley. SEPAQ CHARGES A DAILY ACCESS FEE per adult, recently around CAD 9-10, with children free; THE SHUTTLE UP THE MOUNTAIN IS CHARGED SEPARATELY and should be reserved in winter. Equipment rental, the discovery centre and the restaurant keep seasonal hours. SUMMER HIKING RUNS ROUGHLY LATE JUNE TO EARLY OCTOBER once the trails clear. THE ROAD IN IS MAINTAINED but the park is at altitude and closes trails or the shuttle in bad weather without notice. Reserve winter shuttle seats and any lodging well ahead - February and March weekends sell out.

Official website

Parc national des Monts-Valin on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos