This past weekend, my friends and I completed a three day and two night hike along the Sentier des Caps de Charlevoix. The trail leads you up and down mountain tops along the coast of the Saint Lawrence River. The hike is notable for its beautiful views, forest trails, and comfortable refuge. The refuges, or shelters, along the trail allow for a warm and cozy midday stop or overnight stay. I completed about 40km of the Sentier des Caps de Charlevoix in winter 2023 and was so excited to come back to see the last section of the 51km trail. We spent our weekend in the Charlevoix/Massif sector of the park which has both cross country ski and snowshoe trails. 

Itinerary: 

Day 1: 3km hike from Acceuil de Charlevoix to Refuge La Grande-Vue

Day 2: 7km hike from La Grande-Vue to Refuge L’Abbatis

Day 3: 5km hike from L’Abbatis to Acceuil de Charlevoix

Our itinerary allowed us to arrive in the evening Friday, just in time to make dinner, and return to Montreal on Sunday afternoon. While it was a large trip for the weekend, with about 4-5 hours of driving each way and about 15km of trails while carrying heavy backpacks, it was incredibly beautiful and restful to be in the woods. 

We arrived at the Acceuil de Charlevoix around 6pm on Friday to start our 3km hike. The hike was beautiful, with spots of golden sunlight peaking through the trees. As we reached the midway point of our hike, the sky turned pink and orange. With daylight savings time, we were able to arrive at our refuge before dark.

Our first night, we stayed in La Grande-Vue which is a refuge with space for 10 people. The refuge is accessible by both cross country ski and hiking. There was a beautiful view towards the east over the Saint Lawrence River. It truly lived up to its name. There was plenty of space for 10 people, with three dining tables available on the first floor, and bunk beds on the second floor. We prepared a dinner by Dunord, which is a Montreal company who makes plant-based camping meals. After dinner we played cards, had a few beers, and went to bed.

In the morning, there were incredible views of sunset from the front porch of the refuge. I woke up at 6:30am to see the sunrise peak over the mountains, then got back in bed to be warm and sleep a bit more.

We had a slow morning with oatmeal and coffee and packed our backpacks to get hiking again. Our trail was about 7km for the day, so we had plenty of time to get to our next refuge during the afternoon.

Our day was spent on a beautiful winding trail through the woods. Near our next refuge, there was a view point which provided beautiful views of the river. We stopped for snacks, before completing the last kilometers to get to Refuge L’Abbatis. 

Refuge L’Abbatis is quite a bit smaller than La Grande-Vue, however we had the whole place to ourselves. The refuge is one story, with a sleeping and dining area divided by a wall. The sleeping area had bunk beds with plenty of space to store our backpacks. When we arrived, we had lunch and set up our sleeping stations. We took advantage of the beautiful view from the balcony over the Saint Lawrence River to have an outdoor apéro and watch the sunset. For dinner, we cooked dandan noodles then played card games late into the night. As nice as it was to meet our bunkmates at La Grande-Vue, it was so lovely to have a full refuge to ourselves and not need to worry about making too much noise as we played card games and relaxed together.

The next morning, we had another slow morning with oatmeal and coffee and prepared for our final hike. There were about 5km to hike until we returned to the Acceuil Charlevoix. This day, our legs felt heavier, but luckily it was our warmest day of hiking at around 0$°$C. We arrived at the Acceuil just in time to load up the cars and drive closer to Quebec for lunch.

Overall, it was a beautiful weekend spent with friends and a perfect way to enjoy the end of winter.