They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This - Canyon Saint-Anne - is an example of why…read moreyou shouldn't.
The "cover" is all the leaflets you see at the entrance to lodging places ... that would be considered 3 stars or less. That said, if there's a leaflet, it must be tacky. Places rife with leaflets include venues in Niagara Falls, South Florida, San Diego, and the like. Clearly, they have to have some redeeming value. The view towers with elevators adjacent to Niagara Falls are enjoyable venues and, diagonally on the other side of the continent, so is the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.
I had seen Canyon Saint-Anne on leaflets for years. It seemed to fight for attention with its competition in racks of leaflets. Not only that, I thought it would be too far northeasterly along the Saint Lawerence Seaway from Quebec City.
Canyon Saint-Anne checks all the boxes. It is not that far from the Quebec City area, access to it is fairly straightforward and the drive features some scenery, there is an abundance of natural beauty in the canyon, it caters to many interests from picnicking to hiking to zip lines, and the price to get in is indeed fair. Its use is presumably seasonal, with a wider array of activities available in summer, but it features an incredible display of fall colors at the peak of that period. It is not comparable to Montmorency Falls, which is closer to the regional capital and is a much larger and wider wall of water.
The piece de resistance (hey, we're talking about la Nouvelle France) is the ribbon of falls coming through this canyon. As you approach the falls from the parking lot, you will see the zip line participants either taking off or returning right over you. Continuing along takes you to the top of the canyon and the falls. On both sides of the falls, and toward the base of the canyon, one could say that the circulation options form a rectangle. The broader bridge over the top is easy to deal with. So are the paths partway down each of the sides. However, descending further down is optional. Here, the trails get steeper and some of the staircases more precipitous. One of the bridges is a suspended bridge that wobbles and requires that you safeguard your phone or camera. Some of these passages may also be damp from the spray from the falls. The extent of the canyon, and the falls plunging downward into it, is impressive.
Sure, the old city in Quebec City is perceived to be the area's hub with its important historic center. It really delivers on that promise, with ornate buildings, historic venues, shops, restaurants, and postcard scenery from so many vantage points.
However, to the northeast of Quebec City, there is a "cluster" of things that also needs to be seen and warrant staying an extra day or two. This cluster would include Montmorency Falls, Ile d'Orleans with its small communities across its suspension bridge for vehicular traffic, the imposing Catholic basilica at Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre', and, this site, Canyon Saint-Anne and its thundering falls as well as all the things you can do there. Canyon Saint-Anne gets a strong 4 stars, but edges into 5-star territory for its "wow" factor after resisting going here during several previous trips to Quebec City!
