This is not a story for anyone with a fear of heights. A recently-installed walkway and lookout at the end of a Quebec hiking trail offers sweeping views of the surrounding landscape.
The 350-metre wooden path allows visitors to walk along the steep edge of the Pic-de-la-Tête-de-Chien, a 575-meter summit in the Parc national des Monts-Valin.
Sépaq constructed the walkway to protect the fragile alpine vegetation below. Until its opening in April 2022, the society had blocked off the end of the trail.
The walkway has the added benefit of, as Sépaq put it in a news release, giving hikers the "impression of being suspended from [the] walls" of the Pic-de-la-Tête-de-Chien escarpment. Visitors will also find a little shelter and picnic tables.
Walkway and lookout atop the Pic-de-la-Tête-de-Chien in Quebec's Parc national des Monts-Valin.Courtesy of Sépaq
The experience is really not for the faint of heart. In addition to the heights, hikers have to contend with a 340-metre climb just to get to the lookout. Roundtrip, it's an eight-kilometre trek that Sépaq estimates will take two and a half hours. It rates the hike as "difficult" on its online directory.
The Parc national des Monts-Valin is an approximately five-and-a-half-hour drive from Montreal and a three-hour drive from Quebec City.
But if you're planning a summer road trip to Quebec's Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region — and not grappling with a paralyzing fear of heights — this might be a worthwhile bucket list addition.
Get the details below.
Mountaintop Lookout in Quebec's Parc national des Monts-Valin
Walkway and lookout atop the Pic-de-la-Tête-de-Chien in Quebec's Parc national des Monts-Valin.
Price: $8.05/adult for a day pass
Where: Pic-de-la-Tête-de-Chien, Parc national des Monts-Valin, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean; the trailhead is located at the park's Centre de découverte et de services.
Why You Need To Go: For a challenging hike with a big payoff: you'll feel like you're soaring above the landscape.
Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your trip.
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