If calm views of the water, heartwarming sunrises and sets and the possibility of green or white slops are your thing, then you’ll love Charlevoix, one of Quebec’s most pittoresque little pockets.  The perfect spot to spend a long weekend.

In the summer, you can camp out in the back country or rent une tente Huttopia, basically a ready made tent-for-city-dwellers complete with stove top and mini fridge, in one the region’s two national parks.  Eat s’mores until you can’t n’more and light a fire after a grueling but must-do 5 hour hike up Acropole des Draveurs dans le parc national des Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie. (A must I did a couple of years back) 

If you choose what seems like the never ending winter, go for a cottage instead.  The cost is steeper, yes, but a cozy home cooked meal and a shared bottle of wine by the moonlit fleuve is hard to beat.  For those who ski, le Massif is one of the area’s ski hills.  Le parc national des Grands-Jardins’ trails stay open if a winter hike or raquette (snowshoeing) is what you’re after.

Fill up on brunch before you head back. Head back just in time for dinner in Quebec City or Montreal. 

Société des établissements de plein air du Québec sepaq.com

Le Massif  lemassif.com