I’m heading to les Laurentides in Québec, where I’m exploring Lac Poisson Blanc by sea kayaking before busting out my trusty whitewater boat to paddle one of Eastern Canada's most popular rivers (and a personal favorite of mine), the Rouge River.
Sandwiched between Canada's capital city of Ottawa and the never-sleepy city of Montréal, the Laurentians (known as les Laurentides by French Canadians) takes it's name from the chain of mountains that run through it. The Laurentians is a wilderness paradise with beautiful rolling hills, countless lakes, and wild rivers. The region features endless opportunities for outdoor adventure along and is one of Canada's top adventure sport destinations.
Although this is arguably the most accessible region of Québec, it's also a land with an amazing amount of ecological diversity and wide open spaces. Smack dab in the center of the region, Mont-Tremblant is a resort town that draws countless visitors. And for good reason! It's a beautiful and lively place. Although it's probably the most popular destination in the Laurentians, there are so many other places worth exploring in the area.
With this in mind and looking to get off the beaten track a bit, my adventures began at Lac Poisson-Blanc—a regional park dotted with a hundred islands offering wild campsites and incredible canoe and kayak camping. To show me around, I'm met up with Fabienne Herve, a local paddler who loves exploring the world by kayak as much as I do.
Although Lac Poisson-Blanc is definitely a beautiful lake, it's beauty isn't what makes it unique, because the Laurentians are packed with gorgeous lakes and rivers. What's so awesome about it is how accessible they've made it by offering canoe, kayak, or paddle board rentals onsite. There is even the option to have your luggage delivered to and from your campsite! 20 years ago I would have scoffed at this option, but now that age has delivered an aching back, it’s a real treat to pull up to camp and have all my gear already onsite.
After an absolutely amazing day on the water, it only got more beautiful as the sun began to set. In my mind, the only thing better than a good day of paddling is finishing a good day of paddling with a big meal and camping on an island.
Although Fabienne and I had a beautiful time on Lac Poisson-Blanc, one of the thing the Laurentians is well known for is having great whitewater. It was only fitting that next on my list was a trip to the Rouge River. The Rouge River is one of the most popular whitewater rivers in eastern Canada and home to New World Rafting, a whitewater rafting company which has been running both high and low adventure trips on the Rouge for 38 years.
New World is really proud of the experience and passion of their guides–and rightly so! Many of these guides are lifers who love nothing more than sharing the river experience with people. Often these guides travel around the world to work on the best rivers, which ultimately brings them back to the Rouge every spring and summer.
I met up with Derek Klapka, a lifelong river guide and kayaker who knows the river as well as anyone. As Derek and I spent the day paddling through the Rouge’s high volume rapids, it became obvious that Derek, like me, loves being on the water. So much so that we spent over 7 hours on a section that usually takes only 1.5 hours to paddle because we kept running back up to run rapids over and over again thanks in large part to great water levels.
After a great day back on the Rouge, it was hard to get in my truck and head off to my next destination. But more adventures await me in Québec!
Special Thanks To:
Aventure Écotourisme Québec | Sépaq | Tourisme Laurentides
