GNBR Day 10 - Mattawin to Lac aux Sables

 44.7 miles, 2881’ climbing

Sept 1, 2026

Lac aux Sables Campground

Moose sightings: 0

It was nice not to need to pack up a sopping camp first thing in the morning. Instead we had a restaurant breakfast, and we headed out on the smooth paved shoulder of the highway alongside the wide and calm Rivière Saint Maurice. Mist was rising off the water. There were some big trucks on the highway, but the shoulder was wide enough that it wasn’t disturbing. The river was beautiful. The amount of water here is mind boggling to a southern Arizonan.

After 10 miles, we turned away from the Saint Maurice onto a smaller paved road and started climbing, you guessed it, next to a creek. There were some farms and homes, few cars and no huge trucks. In 6 miles we came to Mekinac (Trois Rives), where we stopped at a friendly market to pick up sandwiches and drink a Coke. From there we turned off onto dirt roads, all of it a little loose, but the scenery made up for it: lakes and creeks with enough of an open forest to see them, a few houses here and there. 

We climbed and then descended on a road with quite a loose surface. When we caught up to the road grader, we knew why, though the road beyond it was very good. Why grade it? Some lakes had large docks and more homes with amazing views. 

Heading down a hill, we were suddenly met with a road closure. Below us we could see a giant backhoe and other large equipment, apparently replacing a bridge over a creek, and way too busy to stop work for a couple of cyclists. We consulted maps and saw no roads whatsoever to get past the closure, and we were 30 miles into our ride. We looked around but it was too steep to bushwhack. Finally we knocked on the door of an adjacent house to ask if they knew how to bypass it. The darling lady of the house immediately understood our predicament and showed us a small path on her property leading down to a small bridge across the creek, upstream from the closure, and getting us back on our way. Most of the people of Quebec with whom we’ve interacted have been similarly wonderful. We’ve spent a lot of time in the woods with just the two of us, but when meeting people they’ve been great: warm, friendly, more than willing to work with our fractured French.

Almost right away the feel of the countryside changed. Instead of dense forests, we were riding thru large farms. We saw corn and soy beans, some apple trees next to homes. In the distance in our next town we saw a striking pair of towers from the town church. We pedaled into the beautiful town of Saint Thècle and stopped in front of the church of the same name. We ate our sandwiches and read placards describing the history. A lady stopped to offer more history, and another passer by patted Sarah warmly on her shoulder.  A man on an e-bike stopped to chat with Ed.

Leaving Saint Thècle, there were a lot of historic homes. Farms were integrated right into the edge of town. A few more miles took us into Lac aux Sables, our destination for the night. We shopped at the market, then rode to our campground which mainly caters to people who have a year round RV spot. Many have elaborate decks and outdoor spaces. We have a shady picnic table wand fire ring tucked in next to a creek, an outlet of the lake with its sandy beachfront just a minute away. We bought fire wood, made camp, did laundry, lit a fire, made dinner… a great evening with a peculiar absence of mosquitos (much appreciated).

GNBR East Day 9 - Riverside Camp to Mattawin

37.5 miles, 2388’ climbing

August 31, 2026

Moose Sightings: 0

It was cool, damp, and foggy this morning as we broke camp before the mosquitos woke up. Whoever parked a truck and trailer at the other end of the camp site didn’t make an appearance last night, so we had the camp site to ourselves. A squirrel came out and started chittering at us as we brushed off our drive trains. Maybe we woke it up? A few minutes later we saw it next to a tree with a long green pinecone looking deliriously happy, so we were forgotten. During our ride we saw several more squirrels with green pinecones, all looking pretty pleased with themselves, including one that ran right in front of us, requiring an emergency stop.

It was cold as we headed out. We were damp and gritty and a bit sluggish starting. We are almost over our colds, so hoping to feel a little more energetic soon. Around 9:30am the fog lifted and the sun came out. We road along the beautiful Rivière Mattawin which we camped next to. At one point we heard a roar and made our way out to the riverside where there were some dramatic rapids. 

After some rolling climbs, we found ourselves at the exit from the Reserve Faunique du Saint Maurice where there was a gated entrance and a visitor center. It was right by the confluence where the Rivière Mattawin flows into the even larger Rivière Saint Maurice. After a short pedal on pavement we arrived early at our hotel. The entire “town” is our hotel & restaurant and a gas station / quick mart across the highway. There was a sunny balcony facing the Rivière Saint Maurice where we were able to hang out soggy clothes and camping gear. 

GNBR East Day 8 - Saint Michel des Saints to Riverside Camp

45.3 miles, 3815’ climbing 

August 30, 2026

Camped by Riviere Matawin

Moose sightings: 0

Mosquito sightings: 1,000,000

Our hotel turned out to be just what we needed. We were right across the street from the large supermarket, so last night we picked up supplies for the next two days as well as breakfast. We had coffee while packing up and heating breakfast in our kitchenette. There was a hose out back so we could clean our bikes using a squirt of the provided dish soap from our kitchenette.

We rode out of town on quiet streets. We turned a corner and crossed a bridge and found ourselves in a more upscale area with beautiful houses with large lawns and boat docks facing Lake Toreau. 

After a few miles we transitioned to a gravel road. After ~10 miles we stopped at the small visitor center at the Lac Bouteille entrance to the Reserve Faunique de Mastigauche, right beside the lake. This our 4th or 5th Reserve Faunique, and the desk lady told us that they are preserves with no private land within, intended for hunting or passage (we think this means recreation). We told her we wanted to see a moose, and she said it’s impossible but that a hunt starts next week. There’s a little lost in translation in these conversations as she spoke only French, but at the reserve yesterday we were told that hunting starts in 2 weeks and that moose were everywhere. So there’s still some mystery about how to see a moose. But she was friendly and patient with our French. We had a Pepsi and peeked at the lake. The desk lady wished us a good trip.

The road was wide with a layer of loose sand and a little gravel on top. The soft surface made us climb hills a bit slowly. After several miles we turned off onto a smaller forest road which had a firmer surface (mostly), and we pedaled thru beautiful forests with a fair amount of climbing. We’ve had a lot of wildflowers every day, and today was gorgeous. Some clearings from old wood cutting areas gave us good views. It felt a little mountainous at times though the elevation doesn’t really say “mountain” to us.

Eventually we descended on a soft road to a dam, crossed, and a rain storm hit. It rained hard for a while, and we put on both rain pants and jackets. The dirt has seemed sandy for this entire trip, and thankfully it doesn’t get slippery in the rain. Nor do we accumulate mud. We pedaled on as the rain continued. Finally we found a small, primitive campsite that was marked on our route. A truck and trailer are parked there, but no occupants. We took a space on the opposite side from them, set up camp, battled mosquitos, filtered water, and retreated to our tent soon after dinner for purposes of mosquito avoidance. We are right on the bank of a beautiful, wide, slow moving river.

 

GNBR East Day 7 - Lake Monroe to Saint Michel des Saints

 57.5 miles, 3677’ climbing

August 29, 2026

Hotel St. Michel

Moose sightings: 0

It was a slightly noisy night with people arriving to the campground for the weekend, but good noise, a lot of laughter. It’s the coldest night of our trip so far. We woke up early and headed out into some fog with temperature in the forties. Our fingers were cold. We saw deer as we wound around national park trails past amenities we didn’t partake of: beaches, playgrounds, kayak and paddle board rentals, an ice creamery. There must be nearly 30 campsites around Lake Monroe. 

After leaving the series of campgrounds on the north east side of the lake, we turned off onto a gravel road. We had a bit of climbing past forests and lakes. We finally came to a point where there was a barricade and a “Road Closed” sign. The exit part of the road was open. There was no indication of for how long or why. Since we were out of cell phone service all day, we opened our map apps to find an alternative route to our destination, but there was none. Finally we pedaled past the sign.

It was a wide gravel road. There were signs of a little recent road work, a lot of gravel in places, but nothing obvious for why it would be closed. With a lot of uphill pedaling, we proceeded for 18 miles. We were passed by two motorcyclists, but saw nobody else. Unlike many areas, there were no homes or cottages in this area, possible due to being in Mont Tremblant National Park part of the time. 

Finally we came to an exit gate where we would make a turn near the Reseve Faunique Rouge Mayawin. A couple from Montreal were on bikes there. They greeted us and asked about road conditions. Part of their conversation was hard to follow, but it seemed to be a seasonal road closure (in August??) which was inconvenient for local travel. The couple said their good byes, and we crossed the street to a Reserve headquarters where we had cokes and ice creams. The ranger told us that moose are everywhere and that hunting season starts in 2 weeks. We planned our trip to finish by mid September for that reason.

It looked like it would rain. Luckily we had an easy ride on smooth pavement to Saint Michel des Saints. We checked into our hotel, grabbed dinner, and picked up groceries for the next two days. It looks like we may be off the grid.

GNBR East Day 6 - La Concepcion to Lake Monroe

47.2 miles, 2230’ climbing

August 28, 2026

L’Ours Campground, Mont Tremblant National Park

After coffee in our room, we packed up quickly. That was by necessity since the mosquitos were voracious outside our Auberge. We headed out of town on a paved road. After several quiet miles, we had to cross a divided freeway with high speed traffic twice — no underpass or overpass. It was a little stressful since we couldn’t see very far down the road to judge how long a break in traffic was. Afterwards we road briefly on the freeway shoulder and on the access road as we came to the beautiful town(city?) of Mont Tremblant. The downtown area had cute shops, hanging baskets of flowers, all very attractive. We had a delicious breakfast at L’Arôme, a cafe on the Main Street. Then we shopped for supplies at the Metro supermarket. Since we are camping tonight, we needed food for today and tomorrow.

We left Mont Tremblant on separated bike paths and quickly found ourselves on Le P’tit Train du Nord, a paved multi-use trail that runs for a couple hundred kilometers. There were quite a few cyclists and e-bikers on the rail trail. We passed beautiful lakes with floating five platforms, docks with aiderondeck chairs, paddle boards and canoes laid out, motor boats. There were beautiful homes, too. It looked like a resort area with some interspersed farms. 

We glided along the rail trail for about 15 miles until we turned off onto a good gravel road. After another half dozen miles, we turned off onto a forest track in the Secteur Caché of Mont Tremblant National Park. We wound thru the woods around a lake, then took a small detour to a refuge on the edge of the lake that visitors can use. It had firewood, outdoor picnic tables and a fire ring, tables,a wood stove, and bunks inside. Perfect for a cross country ski trip or London hike. We had a snack, then continued along the forest track, cruising next to the stream that came from the lake, passing a small waterfall with a fish ladder, after a few miles we had a long, sometimes steep climb along another stream. The temperature was perfect with intermittent clouds and sun thru the trees. We were amazed that we didn’t see a single other person for the ten or so miles we followed the dirt track. 

After a short ride on pavement, we arrived at the Lake Monroe area which has at least a dozen campsites. We had booked a site in advance since it’s Friday night, but the sites seem half empty. We put up our tent, took showers, walked down to the lake shore. We think there are more amenities across the lake which we will ride past in the morning. We saw a turkey and some deer today, but still no moose. It was pretty easy cycling which we are glad of since we both have colds and yesterday was long and rainy.

GNBR East Day 5 - Duhamel to La Concepcion

58.6 miles, 4682’ climbing

August 27, 2026

Resto Pub Auberge 1939, La Concepcion

We packed up our camp site and headed to the nearby town of Duhamel for breakfast. The restaurant where we hoped for breakfast was closed, so we stopped at the general store. It had a mess of disorganized items around the store: cat toys, fishing lures, candy bars interspersed in half stocked aisles. We did our best to pick out supplies for the day. It gave an uninspiring first impression of Duhamel which later seemed charming and upscale. Almost immediately after leaving, we passed a little shop/bakery where we stopped for croissants, pastries, and coffee, staffed by a friendly pair of ladies.

We left town on a snowmobile/bike trail, and soon turned off onto a series of forest roads which wound around lakes, ponds, wetlands, and forests. We were in the Reserve Faunique de Papineau Labelle again, and on full moose watch all day, but we didn’t see a single mammal. The forest roads wound around, sometimes sandy or rocky, or with murky mud puddles. We probably were passing water bodies for 75% of the time, and it rained intermittently, too. It was a hilly day, a little tough.

We popped onto a stretch of pavement around mile 36, and we took a detour into a town of Vendée to stop for a snack and cokes at the local market. The sun came out just long enough for us to enjoy our break at an outdoor picnic table next to the market.

Returning to the route, we found ourselves on a good gravel road. Whenever we passed large lakes, there were lovely, large homes with decks leading down to docks. In towns, there are lovely homes but also some humble places.

About half a dozen miles before our destination, we came out onto a paved road. It rolled and climbs around a few lakes until we landed at our destination: a room above an upscale pub n the town of La Concepcion. Our space is small, but it is comfortable and conveniently located for a tasty dinner. We left our bikes locked up outside and carried our bags to our room.

GNBR East Day 4 - Notre Dame du Laus to Centre Touristique du Lac Simon

 51.4 miles, 3083’ climbing

August 26, 2026

Lac Simon Campground

The hostess at our B&B brought us a great breakfast at 7:30, all homemade and including tomato slices that tasted fresh from the garden. We pedaled out into the fog onto a paved country road that went past farms and forest. The fog lifted. After about 10 miles, the road turned to good gravel, and soon after that we turned up a smaller track into the Reserve Faunique de Papineau Labelle, an area known for its moose population.

Around mile 18, we turned onto a track so small and overgrown that we checked our route a couple times. Maybe it’s a quad track or snowmobile track? For the first two miles, we dismounted several times to push our bikes up rocky washouts. Bushes and trees were overhanging the route. After that, there were three-ish more miles of riding up a two track, over some thin fallen trees. Here there were signs that somebody had done a little trail work, but maybe not this year. The forest was pretty dark. We both noticed more pines and firs among the aspens and other trees today.

After five-ish miles on the small track, we came to a semi collapsed bridge. With a little teamwork, we got the bikes up the embankment, and we came out on a better forest road. The whole day we passed thru lakes, creeks, and wetlands, moose heaven, we thought. But we didn’t see any animals other than whitetail deer, turkeys, a hawk, some marmots, and some garter snakes.

One road led to another. About two miles before our intended destination, we stopped to walk to a small waterfall near a rail trail, remains of a steam powered locomotive that was used by the timber industry. There were pictures from 1985, so it wasn’t decommissioned so long ago. 

About half a mile from our destination, we came out onto a paved road. The campground is huge, like a national park, but only about half full tonight. They had some small stores with sundries, some washing machines, a huge beach and playgrounds for kids.  People were in the water, under umbrellas, kayaking around. The weather was good, and it was pretty idyllic.

We are only a mile or two from the town of Duhamel where we will pick up groceries and have breakfast in the morning.