La Route du Fjord: Day 1 - North Shore of the Saguenay River

Dawn over Tadoussac

 The weather was almost perfect for our first day driving la Route du Fjord. Rte 172 along the north shore of the Saguenay River combined with Rte 170 on the south shore creates a 235 km winding  route cutting through the Canadian Shield.

Rte 172 follows the  Sainte-Marguerite River .
We had one frustrating delay for construction, more than ½ hour before stopping for lunch in the village of Sainte-Rose-du-Nord.

We continued to Chicoutimi, one of three boroughs making up  the city of Saguenay located at the confluence of the Chicoutimi and Saguenay rivers. We visited two attractions. 

In July 1996 a flood hit the city of Saguenay. La Maison Blanche survived with devastation all around it.

The house is now a museum and the grounds around turned into  a park.



La Pulperie de Chicoutimi was designated a National Historic site in 1983. It comprises five buildings constructed between 1898 and 1923.

Now on the south shore, Rte 170 we stopped in La Baie, a major port on the river and natural harbour.  We checked in at Camping au Jardin de Mon Père, another campground Jean and I stayed at in1999.

It was our hottest day reaching 29º as we travelled 166 km. It was not an easy drive with many twists and turns, climbs and descents. But the scenery was great.