Summer has its classics. A quick tour of our photo archives allows you to revisit them. This week, we are taking the road to vacation in Quebec.
PHOTO MICHEL GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Quebecers love camping. Some spend there every weekend in the summer, often in trailers installed for the whole summer season, as can be seen in this photo taken in Pierrefonds in July 1983. In 2022, Quebec had 125,341 campsites , according to Tourisme Québec. Their occupancy rate was 76.2%.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Sainte-Madeleine campground, located along Highway 20 in Montérégie, is undoubtedly one of the best known in Quebec. Opened in 1967, the place is mainly frequented by 200 families of seasonal campers who are not afraid to pile in to enjoy the festive atmosphere that reigns there. The campsite offers evening entertainment, themed activities and shows. The famous Campers’ Christmas will be held there on July 22 this year.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
To amuse vacationers, some of the 1,061 campgrounds in Quebec rely heavily on aquatic facilities. On a beautiful day in June 2018, the slides at Domaine du rêve, in Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir, in Montérégie, certainly seemed to have made this young camper happy.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
When the sun is shining, bodies of water are popular summer destinations. Here is the municipal beach of Saint-Gédéon, on the shores of Lac Saint-Jean. This lake of more than 1000 km2 has kilometers of beaches, among the most beautiful in Quebec. “From the beach, you can walk into the lake by walking on a quay made of large rocks. Sitting quietly with dangling feet, we have plenty of time to watch those fishing in the distance,” wrote The Press following a visit in 2013, the year this photo was taken.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Swimming in the river also has its adepts, like here in La Mauricie National Park. The waterfalls of the Shewenegan sector, in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, attract crowds on beautiful summer days. Visitors access it by a 2 km path. At the start of the season, however, the flow of the river is often too high for this summer activity of choice.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Sailboats on Lac Tremblant, in the Laurentians, in the summer of 2020. The region is one of the first in Quebec to have focused on tourism. The arrival of the train, at the turn of the XXe century, favored vacationing in this territory of lakes and mountains not very favorable to agriculture. The P’tit Train du Nord has not run since 1981, but visitors continue to flock to the region in large numbers.
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Canoe trip on a lake in Notre-Dame-du-Laus, in the Laurentians, in 2019. Even if the lakes there are often invaded by chalets and motorboats of all kinds, the region still has little paradises where a great calm reigns, which delights nature lovers.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
The sun sets over the river at Parc national du Bic, in Bas-Saint-Laurent, in July 2018. The SEPAQ, which manages this park, now has 23 national parks, 1 marine park, 13 wildlife reserves as well as than tourist establishments. In its 2021-2022 annual report, the “largest nature and outdoor network in Quebec” says it recorded 12.1 million days/visit, a marked increase compared to the pre-pandemic period.