Charlevoix, nature and festivity!

Marie-Ève, her partner and her 2 children, aged 5 and 8, have just bought a class C motorhome. In their quest to explore Quebec this summer, this "Adventure Family" were intrigued by the concept of Terego.  They tell us about their experiences with various producers across the province throughout the summer on our blog.  Ready to go?

Our camping trip to Charlevoix started with nature, in the Parc national des Grands-Jardins. Just 30 minutes from Baie-St-Paul, or an hour and a half from Quebec City, the park is administrated by Sepaq, and offers a range of hikes for all levels, through different landscapes. Since we were with our two children, aged 5 and 8, we settled on an intermediate hike, a little under 5km and with around 250m of elevation: the La Chouenne Trail. Just next to Mont-du-Lac-des-Cygnes, the trail is well-maintained. The open, rocky summit offers a stunning 360-degree view of the mountains and steep valley around it. A great ratio of effort-landscape, made even better by the fact that the view remained with us on our return journey through the young trees of the forest.

We finished our day with a short, flat walk on a path through the Arthabaska area, 20 minutes away. This route, called Pinède Trail, took us to a taiga that was quintessentially part of the Great Canadian North. We admired the pale lichen, which is surprisingly hard to the touch, and we were fortunate enough to encounter some caribou, for whom the lichen is their preferred food source. Watch out, the flies are ravenous – we were glad we brought mosquito protection.

After our day of hiking, we headed for our first Terego, the Marie-Noëlle Beaulieu farm in Baie-St-Paul. The lovely owner greeted us personally with her 14-year-old son William.

We arranged a guided tour of the farm for the following morning, then we went straight to sleep in our RV, under the apple trees.

The next day, William showed us the animals of the farm; over 30 different species, including an alpaca, peacocks and zebus! They also take in animals who are no longer wanted, either because they’re injured, or their wool isn’t good enough. They sell eggs and chicks, and everything you need to keep chickens at home.

William loves the animals, and he taught us so much about them. The animals themselves are sweet and affectionate, especially Anatole, the donkey who followed us everywhere, and the little goats who are always looking for strokes. The baby rabbits and chicks are so cute. Our eldest wants to start horse riding, so she loved the horses. We left with a dozen fresh eggs and two peacock feathers. For our daughter, who loves animals, this was one of her favourite parts of the trip.

We spent the afternoon in downtown Baie-St-Paul, where Le Festif! – an intimate, slightly over-the-top festival of original music – was in full swing. The vibe was very cool, but our children didn’t enjoy the loud music and the heat was overbearing, so we cut our visit short.

We headed to our second Terego in the same town: Omerto. In this farm, over 7000 organic tomato plants are harvested to make...wine! Surprisingly, this unique beverage doesn’t taste like tomatoes, but more like wine with an original touch. Pascal, the Belgian owner, provided us with a generous tasting.

We particularly enjoyed the cocktails made with syrups of rosemary, ginger and aniseed. Cocktails which were served to world leaders in La Malbaie during the summer 2018 G7. Next we relaxed on the benches outside, admiring the field and the plant sculpture that overlooks it, which we nicknamed the Goddess of Tomatoes. We went to sleep in the shade of the forest which overlooked our lawn parking space on the other side of the road.

The next day, we decided to say a last goodbye to this marvelous region of river and mountains. We visited the Baie-St-Paul beach, at the end of the rue Ste-Anne. The kids played in the sand and the river while the parents relaxed and enjoyed the countryside. With hearts full of memories of our amazing time, we sadly headed home. Charlevoix, we’ll be back, we promise!

To learn more about this "Adventure Family", please check out their Facebook, Instagram or their website (in French)!

Click here to subscribe now and book free camping sites with Terego.