Well, I certainly remember it, and this next part of our journey is one I (hope I will) never forget.
When I left off, we were just leaving the mountains of Parc National des Grands-Jardins, but that's not to say we were leaving behind the rugged beauty of rocky landscapes. Traveling north to Saguenay, we stopped for supplies before striking east on the north shore of the Saguenay River to hit the Route du Fjord.
It's a really beautiful drive
Like REALLY beautiful
We had to go a little past our destination into Sacre Coeur, as we needed fuel and there's a rather long stretch without a gas station.
Arriving at the Baie Ste-Marguerite Secteur of Parc National du Fjord-du-Saguenay at last, we quickly put up our campsite in Le Bleuvet (The Whale) campground.
This was the first time we took the watercraft off the car other than to paddle - the Route du Fjord has some steep climbs, and we'd have to travel a LOT of it the next day.
With our accommodations comfortably set, we drove over to the Discovery Centre parking lot to hit the trail with our hopes high.
The Discovery Centre was closed by the time we got there, but it wasn't our destination anyway
Sentier Le Fjord itself is a gorgeous walk along the Ste-Marguerite River to where it meets the Saguenay, which in turn flows down into the St Lawrence.
Rough map is rough.
Looking out into Baie Ste-Marguerite with very low water levels
After a short stroll on well-groomed trail, you cross a sizeable footbridge over the Ste-Marguerite River.
It's kept in very good repair from what we've seen
It also offers a pretty nice view!
Now you're into the meat of the trail, which is quite lovely in its own right - the wall of rocks, moss, and other plant life rising to the side is a sight to behold, and goes on for quite a stretch.
So incredibly lush
There are some new measures to control erosion put in place since last we visited in 2016
As you progress downriver, the trail offers views over the Ste-Marguerite River and the fjords.
Glad we didn't expect to paddle - seems Quebec's spring & summer have been as dry as Ontario's!
There are also multiple plaques along the way with a huge amount of history of the region, from the original indigenous settlers through the industrial era that has left behind various rusting machinery on the river's shores. Being offered only in French, we had stopped to read them on our last visit, and with our later arrival and outset on the trail, we bypassed them this time - daylight was wasting, and I found my "I can hack along ok" level of proficiency severely taxed by trying to translate the information provided, which was time we didn't really have.
In order to keep the trail accessible, there is a section of boardwalk where either the local geography or soil erosion has made the gravel path impossible to maintain.
Again, very well maintained - Sepaq does a wonderful job of upkeep, in our experience.
You dive back into birch forest for a stretch, which passes by some cabins that are available for rent if you prefer not to sleep in a tent. There are also some vault toilets near the trail, but they are locked up - the patrons of the cabins are given keys, however us riffraff on the way out to do some whale watching are out of luck.
You can't blame them for wanting to keep the vaults nice for the folks paying the big bucks for the cabins.
The trail is quite bike-friendly as well, and passes by the Pointe du Moulin backcountry campsites as well - many people choose to cycle in to their campsite down on the water, and the Discovery Centre has small wagons for transporting your camping equipment along the trail. There are also some vault toilets that service those walk/cycle-in campsites, which are NOT locked. You know, just in case you might have over-hydrated.
Many people also cycle out to the Halte du Béluga itself, though the way out is definitely uphill, including one fairly sharp climb. You can't ride the whole way to the platform (the brown-and-yellow sign below is "no bicycles"), but they do provide a convenient rack where the narrower boardwalk to the platform begins.
Apart from the "no smoking" sign, the rest of the signage is pandemic related - maximum number of people, and warnings of two-direction traffic.
The boardwalks now turn into something that might have sent M.C. Escher home to have a quiet cup of tea and a lay down.
Ok not really, but they do switchback a bit.
They also offer your first real views of the Saguenay River, as the Ste-Marguerite meets it to mingle with its flow.
With the beach down below
About 3km from the Discovery Centre, you reach the whale watching platform itself.
With a shelter and informational plaques about commonly seen belugas, their habits, and their history
Reaching the platform and looking at the small bay to its left, we were faced with the starkest evidence of the reduced water levels as compared to our last voyage up the trail.
You can see the usual beach position - it's at least 50 metres further out now
Then, we started looking to see if we could spot any belugas. When we'd come to the park in 2016, it was late June - just before the whales typically appear, which is usually July into August. This time, with it being mid-July, we had high hopes of at least seeing one or two..
Though the view of the fjords is well worth the walk regardless!
We noticed some disturbances in the water that seemed to be coming downstream - toward us - and some rather odd noises.
Hmm..
As the nearest disturbed patch of water approached, we were suddenly able to see sleek white bodies surfacing!
Really?
Well, hot damn!
I'll be the first to admit this was not a particularly close encounter - the belugas never got within a few hundred metres of the platform that evening, but we were able to see them fairly clearly. What's more, with the way sound travels over water, we could hear all of their funny noises; clicks and squeaks and goofy fart-like sounds.
Tanker shot some video that shows them playing and feeding
They just kept on coming, too - pods of up to half a dozen, for a total of more than thirty (!) belugas visible swimming past, down the Saguenay toward the St. Lawrence.
I swear we'd only hoped to see a couple - there were DOZENS
I tried taking the wooden stairs down to the rock-bordered beach to see if I could get a better look.
Also just for the heck of it - why not?
It didn't look super inviting for a swim. I'd make a terrible beluga.
The view was beautiful, but offered no better vantage point on the whales.
So I meandered back up.
With it getting closer to sunset and 3km to walk back to the car (with no headlamps, because we're freakin' geniuses who forgot them in said car), we took one last look over the fjords as more pods of whales appeared in the distance.
I was so delighted to have this experience, and to be able to share it with my favourite person.
Au revoir, fjords!
With cloud cover rolling in even thicker in anticipation of soaking rain overnight, we turned away and started our journey back to our campsite.
Through the winding boardwalks in the pine forest of Pointe Moulin
Back across Riviere Ste-Marguerite on the footbridge - looking upstream
..and downstream, as some colour crept into the sky and the sun dipped below the horizon.
The whole business from start to finish - the walk out, watching enraptured as the whales swam past, and meandering back to the car - took 2h20m, about 50mins of which was spent at the platform. My Garmin data is here (if anyone actually cares), including all the time spent stopping to take pics and gaping at belugas.
Back to camp just as darkness truly began to fall, it was time to light a fire and get our dinner on, then try to get to bed as early as possible. We had ambitious plans for the next day, and the weather didn't look like it was going to let us do it the easy way..
..but that's a whole other story.
If you get the chance to visit this beautiful part of our country, definitely take the time to do the walk out to the Halte du Béluga. It's easily achievable by someone of any fitness level, and even if you don't see any whales you're certain to be treated to a series of stunning views of rugged shoreline and thriving forest. One of these days we'll go take advantage of a walk-in site and camp right on the water along that trail, and maybe net ourselves a closer beluga encounter!
