Hiking in Parc National D'anticosti: trails, map and practical info

Anticosti National Park (Parc national d'Anticosti) is managed by Sépaq and covers three non-contiguous areas in the centre of Anticosti Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Port-Menier is the closest community. The park covers 571.9 km² and was created by the Quebec government on April 26, 2001. Despite its name, it is a provincial park and is not part of Canada's national park system.

Fossils and World Heritage status

Anticosti Island was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on September 19, 2023, for its fossil record of the first global mass extinction, which took place 447 to 437 million years ago, at the end of the Ordovician period. More than 1,440 fossil species are known from the island. The botanist Marie-Victorin had already singled out the Vauréal River canyon in the 1920s as a remarkable sanctuary for ferns.

Trails and landmarks

The park has about 45 km of hiking trails of varying difficulty. The main natural sites are:

• Vauréal Falls and Canyon: the river drops 76 m and flows through a gorge 90 m deep. Tourisme Côte-Nord describes the canyon as more than 90 m deep and 3.2 km long.
• Observation Canyon: about 4 km long, with walls 30 to 50 m high, according to Tourisme Côte-Nord.
• Potato Cave (Grotte à la Patate): a 625 m cave, one of the longest in Quebec, named after a potato-shaped granite boulder at the mouth of the Potato River. Visitors must wear a helmet and carry a lamp, available at the reception desk of the Auberge McDonald.
• Tour Bay (Baie de la Tour): huge cliffs and good bird watching.

The Brick River Canyon is also among the park's canyons.

Sectors and services

The park is divided into six tourist sectors: Baie-de-la-Tour, Chicotte, Chute-Vauréal, Grotte-à-la-Patate, Observation and Vauréal-la-Mer, plus a central zone. There are two visitor centres, with a restaurant, gasoline and equipment rental, as well as accommodation in inns, cabins or campgrounds, and picnic areas. Sépaq Anticosti lists interpretation centres at McDonald and Chicotte, and notes that the island is home to more than 200 bird species and about 115,000 white-tailed deer.

Season and contact

Sépaq Anticosti is open from June to August, and reservations are required. The Tourisme Côte-Nord listing gives an active period of June 19 to August 29 and shows opening dates for 2025, so confirm the current dates before you plan your trip. You can reach Sépaq Anticosti toll-free at 1-800-463-0863; the office is at 25 Chemin des Forestiers, Port-Menier, Quebec.