Length of stay: 2 days
Visited: August 2026

Rimouski is located along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River near the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. So it contains the best of both worlds when it comes to scenery: mountains, forests and water. While there are plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy nature, Rimouski also has a vibrant cultural scene and contains a few museums, historic sites and one of the best outdoor gardens in Quebec.

Day 1: Coastal Scenery

We didn’t have to do much driving today as we’d be spending another night in Rimouski. After a rainy start to our road trip, we were eager to take advantage of the blue skies and sunshine and spend some time outdoors. We got an early start to the day and headed to Bic National Park, one of the main highlights of Rimouski.

It’s worth mentioning that while Bic may have “National Park” as part of its name, it’s not actually a national park in the traditional sense where it’s managed and maintained by Parks Canada. It’s actually a provincial park. Quebec refers to all their parks, whether provincial or national, as national parks. A bit confusing, I know. But the park itself is nonetheless spectacular and exceptionally well maintained.

Bic is located along the shore of the St. Lawrence River. It contains several hiking trails, picnic areas and pebbly beaches to enjoy the coastal scenery. We arrived just before 9am and no one was at the entrance gate. Instead we paid for our day pass using the QR code posted outside the gate that directed us to a website to pay our entrance fee. We appreciated not being forced to download yet another app.

We planned to hike Le Chemin-du-Nord (4km roundtrip, rated easy). The path is mainly gravel and is considered accessible and family-friendly, which was perfect for our little M. The trail follows along the shoreline, providing plenty of opportunities to enjoy the coastal scenery.

The trail also passes several historic buildings. The area here was once used by farmers, loggers and fishers. By the early 20th century, vacationers started to visit and build summer cottages. A few of which still remain within the park. You could even go inside some of them, although they weren’t furnished.

Once we wrapped up our hike we drove through the western edge of the park along the Route de la Mer, stopping at Raoul-Roy Lookout for a scenic view. We then made our way to Anse à Copeland, a scenic cove with a nice beach. There were a few lovely cottages along the shore, which we couldn’t resist driving by on the way back to our hotel.

After nap time we headed back out later in the afternoon to check out the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site. The site became a hub of navigational aid facilities and services, which included a pilot station, lighthouse, fog alarm, wireless telegraph station and tidal and current survey station.

In terms of the lighthouse, there have actually been four lighthouses that operated here from 1859 to 1997. The third lighthouse is the one most associated with this site and is still around today. It was built in 1909 and is one of the tallest lighthouses in Canada. Visitors can pay to enter and climb to the top. But given the heat, that didn’t sound very appealing.

Instead we wandered through the grounds where there are a few interpretive signs to learn more about the history of the lighthouses. There are also a few other buildings nearby that were once used for other navigational purposes. The fourth lighthouse, a skeleton tower, is also still remaining. It was built to automate the lighthouse until the station was formally closed in 1997.

Our luck would have it that right across the road from the historic site was a massive playground. So naturally we had to go there. It was clearly the highlight of M’s day.

Day 2: Historic Sites

We were all packed up and ready to head out at 8:30am. Except our car battery had died overnight. Our mischievous little M had turned a light on in the back, which we meant to turn off when we returned to the hotel, but clearly forgot. After some negotiating with the hotel staff, the maintenance guy kindly agreed to give us a boost. And then we had to drive around for a bit to replenish the battery.

By the time we got to the Onondaga Submarine it was closer to 10am. And it was already pretty busy. We paid the entrance fee and were given an audio guide to explore the submarine and learn more about its history. The whole tour lasted about 40 minutes.

The Onondaga served in the Canadian Navy followed by the Canadian Forces before it was purchased for a museum. When it was operational between 1967 to 2000, it toured the North Atlantic with up to 90 people on board. The submarine consists of five chambers, including the living quarters, control room and torpedo room. It was hard to imagine how so many people lived in such tight spaces.

We hit the road and continued our road trip further north along the Gaspé Peninsula, stopping 30 minutes later to visit the Reford Gardens (Jardins de Métis). They were created by Elise Reford who converted her uncle’s fishing camp on the Metis River into gardens. She developed the concept for the gardens in 1926 and construction took about ten years. The English-style garden is now a designated Canadian National Historic Site and contains about 3,000 plant varieties.

There are 15 points of interest through the gardens, including a stream garden, azalea walk, floral terrace, alpine garden and a meadow. We could have easily spent our entire afternoon there, but we still had another hour and a half to drive to get to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.

It can be tough to follow a consistent routine while travelling. The past few days of our road trip we’ve tried to time when we drive around M’s nap time. While sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And today was one of those days when nap time didn’t happen. As we approached town, we pulled over at a random beach to take a break from being in the car, something we all needed!

We took our shoes off and walked along the sandy beach. The water was freezing, but felt refreshing on a hot summer’s day. We spent an hour watching M play in the sand. The only thing missing was some ice cream. But not to worry as there was a Chocolatier, Couleur Chocolat nearby that sold homemade chocolate and ice cream.

We then headed to our hotel to check-in and take a shower to clean off all the sand which always has a habit of getting everywhere.

L