Cap-Chat serves up basic amenities and access to great natural beauty on the GaspĂŠ Peninsula loop.
With a population of just over 2,600, Cap-Chat is a small town that offers a couple of reasons to stopâthe restaurant, cabins, and kayak tours set at the Valmont Outdoor resort, and the Ăole Cap-Chat windfarm and renewable energy museum. In the village itself are a few stores where you can pick up supplies for your trip, while several private campgrounds dot the area. Staying here puts you close to many activities in the surrounding national parks.
This stunning national park serves up the highest peaks of the Appalachians in Canada, and is a Mecca for backcountry campers and climbers who wish to conquer the parkâs various challenges, but thereâs plenty to entertain soft adventure types and front country campers too. Gaspesie has a large moose population and a caribou herd and is an excellent place to fish (Parks Canada runs fishing tours in the park). You can standup paddleboard or boat at Lac CascapĂŠdia, or canoe or kayak the waterways of the park (sometimes the best wildlife spotting is found from the water).
This sweet park offers a range of (mostly easy) well-maintained trails that meander through pretty forest to takes you to the fairy caves (thatâs what Grotte des FĂŠes translates as), an impressive 6.5-meter waterfall, and several ponds and lakes.
Step back in time at this national park, where reconstructed homes staffed by costumed actors explain how French settlers first settled the GaspĂŠ peninsular, explore underground fortifications, and the Cape GaspĂŠ lighthouse. Natural attractions at the park include whale-watching from the shores or by boat, and playing on the warm ocean beaches (kite-surfing here is popular). The park offers hiking along clifftops, boreal forest, and mountains filled with a range of flora and fauna.
Outside of the regular tourism season that spans June through October, there wonât be much open in Cap-Chat beyond the grocery store, gas station, and basic amenities. Weather-wise, you can best take advantage of the beaches and ocean activities from mid-July to late August (though of course, these are the busiest times, so book ahead to avoid disappointment at the only restaurant in town).