While many stay for many days (an average stay at Camping Griffon is 3-4 days), some of you are just quickly passing through. For some, it will be a scouting trip, during which they will identify their favorite part of the Gaspé and then come back and stay longer in that particular area. Others are overseas tourists trying to cover as much distance as they can during their Canada trip. Whichever category you fall into, here is my Guide to visiting the Gaspé-Forillon for those who have a need for speed!
The Jewel of the Area: Forillon National Park
I am relentlessly promoting the national park. It’s a place I know well, it was my workplace for 12 years as a guide. While I share information, I am sometimes noticing that for some visitors, the word park has a negative connotation. These people are often of limited mobility and associate the word park with a long physical effort to reap the rewards of a beautiful scenery. However, in there lies the absolute beauty of Forillon! It’s a park I like to label as ‘accessible’, a place where you can see magnificient landscapes such as the ones featured below, even without straying too far from the vehicle (all following photos were taken at most a few steps from the car) :
So, for those of you with limited time of mobility: even if you only have a little bit of time, take at least the opportunity to ride through the North and South areas of the park. Go to Cap-bon-Ami and take in the stunning landscape. Follow the 132 all the way to the South Area and drive to the end of the road. Even if your Forillon visit is fast, it will allow to discover at least some of the beauty of Forillon.
Time needed with a departure and return to camping Griffon with a few photo stops : 2 hours
Notes : The road to Cap-bon-Ami is quite steep. It may be best to not bring towed equipment. Entry fees are waived for the 2017 season, as a celebration of Canada’s 150th .
If you have more time, add some of these items to your visit:
Tell us how you maximized a short visit to Forillon. Did you come back later for a longer stay?