Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec

Executive summary by darmansjah

The 11,714-square-mile (30,340-square-kilometer) Gaspé (Gaspésie)Peninsula is Quebec’s wind-and-sea-sculpted continuation of the Appalachian range. Divided into five natural areas—the Coast, Land's End, the Bay of Chaleur, the Valley, and the Upper Gaspé—the peninsula contains six wildlife sanctuaries, 25 of Quebec’s highest peaks, and four national parks. Remote Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park are the summer nesting home of 250,000 birds and site of legendary Rocher-Percé, the haunting limestone arch rising from the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Summer (June-September) activities include kayaking, canyoning, hiking, sailing, and horseback riding. Winter on the Gaspé brings every imaginable cold weather adventure from downhill skiing and snowmobiling to ice climbing and dog sledding. Drive the 550-mile (885-kilometer) Grand Tour loop (north or south at the Route 132 split in Sainte-Flavie) for a coastal overview of the peninsula, or choose one of Gaspésie Tourism’scustom routes focused on specialty interests like gardens, lighthouses, or paleontology.