Tourist routes in Quebec | Discovering Beauce with the family

This summer, the Quebec City region will be the most visited destination in the province by Quebecers, according to a CAA-Quebec survey. Is your family one of these vacationers? What if you took the opportunity to discover, about twenty minutes south of the Old Capital, the Route de la Beauce, a tourist route that runs through the Chaudière River Valley and its bucolic landscapes? Suggestions for activities for a family getaway of a day – or more – among the Beaucerons.

Trip around the world

Woodooliparc is not only a funny name to pronounce, it is also a very fun theme park to visit. During the summer, 135 gigantic dinosaurs impress young and old alike. Tyrannosaurus, brachiosaurus and pterodactyls come to life in a forest that seems to come straight from the Jurassic World. Added to this is a brand new experience this year. In a summery atmosphere, passengers on the AirWoodooli flight are invited to take a seat in a real Boeing 737. Inside, 24 seats equipped with virtual reality headsets await travelers. It’s a takeoff to not one, but ten destinations around the world. Thanks to the movement of the seats, you really feel like you’re gaining altitude near the pyramids of Egypt or diving down to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty in New York. The experience, which is similar to a merry-go-round, lasts a little over five minutes and is aimed at an audience of 6 years and older. After landing, vacationers can enjoy, with their feet in the sand, the facilities around the plane, which include a Mexican canteen, a bar with signature cocktails, boats transformed into relaxation areas, giant board games and much more.

295 Drouin Street, Scott

Visit the Woodooliparc website

Country pizza

About ten minutes from Woodooliparc, a little off the Route de la Beauce, stop at Bleuetière Marland to stock up on delicious berries. While strawberries and haskap berries can be picked there at the beginning of summer, it is now the blueberries’ turn to be harvested. The element that sets this family business apart from other similar farms, however, is its famous Neapolitan-inspired pizza. The menu includes a dozen choices featuring local products that the team changes according to the harvests. To quench your thirst, we suggest the blueberry and basil lemonade, which we really loved. With its rooftop terrace, mini-farm, children’s playground and dairy bar, this is the perfect place to spend some quality time with the family.

2230, Saint-Louis road, Sainte-Marie

Visit the Bleuetière Marland website

To your sticks

In Beauceville, we leave the Route de la Beauce for an activity that is always popular with children: minigolf. Inaugurated a few weeks ago on the grounds of the Beauceville Golf Club, the 18-hole family course La mine d’or immerses players in a western atmosphere. Why this theme? It is a nod to the gold rush that the region experienced at the beginning of the 20th century.^e century, mainly in Saint-Simon-les-Mines, a neighboring municipality. On the site, there is also the La Cache du golf hotel, accommodation that is popular with families, particularly thanks to its large heated outdoor swimming pool.

721, Golf Road, Beauceville

Visit the golf club website

From one shore to the other

The Route de la Beauce runs along the Chaudière River, sometimes on its west bank, sometimes on its east bank. To cross the waterway, you take charming bridges, some of which have only one lane – be warned! Stop at Notre-Dame-des-Pins to explore the Perreault covered bridge on foot. Measuring over 150 metres, it is the longest bridge of its kind in Quebec. If the history of this structure built in 1929 does not interest your children, they can always have fun on the zip line erected nearby to illustrate the indestructible aspect of this “Beauceron miracle”.

3030, 1^D Avenue, Notre-Dame-des-Pins

Visit the Destination Beauce website

On a hike

To burn off some energy, head to Parc des Sept-Chutes in Saint-Georges. There are a few free hiking trails, including the Gorges de la rivière Pozer trail, which leads to a suspended footbridge over 25 metres high. This 2.6-kilometre loop offers several magnificent viewpoints of the falls. Near the parking lot, swings and slides await children. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., they even lend you a variety of games: pétanque, spikeball, Finnish bowling, etc. Bring a lunch and settle in at one of the many picnic tables.

Parking located at the end of Chemin du Parc, in Saint-Georges

Visit the website of the City of Saint-Georges

Open air museum

In the last 10 years, Saint-Georges has quietly transformed into an open-air museum thanks to Beauce Art: l’internationale de la sculpture, whose 10^e and last event was held in June. From this annual gathering of sculptors from here and elsewhere were born a hundred sculptures that passers-by can admire in different places, notably along the Chaudière River and on Pozer Island. For fun, children are invited to spot 10 objects hidden among the sculptures. The rally map is available on the Beauce Art website.

Pozer Island Park, 522, Chaudière Avenue, Saint-Georges

Visit the Beauce Art website