The Véloroute des bleuets

The Véloroute des bleuets - the Blueberry Bicycle Path - is a new 256-km circuit going around Lake St-Jean, a majestic 40 by 30 km lake north of Quebec City. The flat landscape presents no real difficulty for any class of cyclist. Micheline and I wanted to make that circuit because it looked like a good place to start off the season. Because the official opening of the Véloroute was set for June 27 in Alma (on the eastern side of the lake), we decided to avoid the pack by riding ahead of it and one day earlier. We drove off from Montreal on Sunday, in the tail of the Second Flood. Fortunately, the weather cleared up, and, while we were going up the St-Maurice River, the oblique lighting in the valley was a good omen for the trip. We reached Chambord, on the southeastern side of the lake, where we easily found a campground.

Monday, June 26 - From Val-Jalbert to Albanel (87 km)
The next morning, under a cloudy sky, we drove some 10 km to the parking area of Val-Jalbert, our starting point. In retrospective, I think that the nearby Val-Jalbert campground, featuring gorges and impressive cascades running down the Ouiatchouane River, would have been a better choice to spend the night. Some time before noon, we were ready to leave. The first stretch of the trail, which is paved, was clogged with skaters (sigh!), but we soon reached the fine gravel trail passing through the Mashteuiatsh Montagnais Reserve (formerly called Pointe-Bleue), a decommissioned railroad running next to a still active one. At the Reservation tourist information office, we were told that the most interesting archeological sites were on the south side of the lake.
From Val-Jalbert to St-Prime, the trail stays close to the shore and the ride is fair, despite the lack of markings in Roberval. This situation, typical of new trails, will hopefully be corrected. In most towns (or anywhere else, for that matter), if you need information, you will appreciate the good-natured Jeannois, who love to talk with strangers. However, don't assume that everybody speaks English, like in Montreal. Just ask for somebody who does.
From St-Prime to Dolbeau, the pompously named Véloroute is a simple asphalted shoulder on both sides of busy Route 169. This is a downer, because the flat, rural landscape offers no special attraction. It is possible to skip the whole northwestern part (from St-Félicien to Dolbeau) by taking Route 373, which is shorter and closer to the north shore - except if you enjoy being passed by a steady stream of speeding cars and vans (The local people, and particularly truck drivers, ignore all speed limits whenever they feel that they can get away with it).

In St-Félicien, we finally found the trail: it was freshly paved and workers were painting the markings on it. We quickly moved on in the direction of Normandin, a pulp and paper town surrounded by vast company woodlands. Because there was no compelling reason to stop, we decided to push on to Albanel, which we reached by 8 p.m., in the warm light of a low sun bursting through the clouds, under a lead-gray overcast. We were greeted by a short period of rain, which cranked up our adrenaline level: the tent was up in less than 10 minutes. That night, the 169 was somewhat noisy, but we slept well, thanks to our hear plugs.

Tuesday, June 27 - From Albanel to Ste-Monique (76 km)
The next day, back on the asphalted shoulder, we were crossing nondescript agricultural landscapes and barren blueberry fields, devastated by a late frost event. After crossing the Mistassibi River past Dolbeau, we finally hit a genuine stretch of cyclable path, going down the majestic rapids and cascades. Some 20 km farther, the picturesque village of Ste-Jeanne-d'Arc, on the Péribonka River, features a well-preserved sawmill, converted into a museum (with a free guided tour). In the self-sufficient towns of early 20th century, that type of mill, like a one-man orchestra, was the center of a lot of different activities. In addition to wood sawing and flour grinding, it also served as a forge and a machine shop, and it powered a lot of home-made wooden machines too, used for wool carding, cloth weaving and even blueberry sorting. Later, in Péribonka, we were back on the lake shore (at last!) and we zipped through a long stretch, along the Pointe-Taillon Provincial Park, located on the other side of the Péribonka River. By 2:30, we reached the Ste-Monique campground, where I met Pierre Bégin, an old friend, doing the tour in the opposite direction. We decided to camp there, in a beautiful and quiet pine forest. We didn't know then that there was another campground on the shore of the lake, some 18 km farther, so we unwittingly missed our chance to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach.

Wednesday, June 28 - From Ste-Monique to St-Gédéon (71 km)
We had to get up real quick in the morning, because tiny midges passing through the coarse mosquito screen of the tent were eating us alive (Back in Montreal, changing that screen for a fine meshed one solved that problem for good). The trail passed through the pine-covered park, and soon enough, we reached the beautiful sandy beach. Campers told us that the midges were bad there, too. From there to Alma, we were back on the asphalt shoulder of Route 169. On the bridge going over the Grande Décharge Canyon, the mighty Saguenay River was kicking in every direction around the power dams that are supposed to harness it. In Alma, we crossed a block of ugly aluminum smelters near the river. But the best part was yet to come; just a few kilometers past Alma, the trail follows a decommissioned railway crossing all types of landscapes, going near the shore or deep in the fields or in the forest. Oddly enough, some stretches are paved and have to be shared with motorists but, all in all, you certainly won't miss the 169. By 4 p.m., we passed through St-Gédéon, a nice village by the lake. There are several campgrounds in that area; naturally, we chose the first nice-looking place, the municipal campground. The rain teased us again for a few minutes, but the sun came back for a beautiful sunset on the lake. On that side of the lake, you cannot see across and you have the uncanny impression of being on the sea shore.

Thursday, June 29 - From St-Gédéon to Val-Jalbert (36 km)
The rest of the trail was a superb experience. On a smooth gravel trail lined with wild flowers and hosting bunches of singing birds, running alternately trough the fields and along the shore, we crossed a few relatively well-preserved villages, like Métabetchouan. There, as the rain started pouring again, we took some time to visit the local museum, featuring a guided visit of a mock Hudson Bay Company trading post of the early 19th century. Even before the first settlers came more than a century ago, the Hudson Bay traders had to speak French to do business with the Montagnais Indians and the trappers living there. The next town is Desbiens. There is good reason to stop there too: the caves just 10 km east, up the Métabetchouan River. Just follow the sign "Caverne du Trou de la fée". These caves serve as a wintering habitat for bats; the entrance is located on the side of a small canyon that was flushed clean by the Great Flood of summer 1997. They had to rebuild some paths, stairs and structures on both sides of the dam. Don't miss the best part: a 1-hour visit to the "Trois chutes", where you can stroll in the wild along throbbing Metabetchouan River and see 3 different falls with a whole lot of connecting cascades – a great place for a picnic.
After a few more kilometers in the fields, we were back in Chambord, and we had to pedal an extra 16 km on the asphalted trail to complete the circuit – with our usual escort of skaters.

	The Véloroute des bleuets: Around Lake St-Jean in 3 days (June 2000)
Ste-Jeanne d'Arc, on Péribonka River


Micheline on Parc Taillon Beach		The Métabetchouane River


St-Gédéon Municipal Camping		Back to Chambord