La Tuque: Rivers, Trails and Culture
Accommodation in La Tuque
La Tuque combines river landscapes with a wide range of trails and insights into the region’s history. Whether you prefer paddling, walking, cycling or discovering the local culture, each experience can give your stay a different focus.
Explore Rivers and Marshes by Water
The Saint-Maurice River between the La Tuque and Beaumont dams, along with the connected Grande rivière Bostonnais and rivière Croche, are used for boating, personal watercraft, kayaking, canoeing, rowing and stand-up paddleboarding. The Fitzpatrick Marshes form a distinctive landscape: the delta was created where the Saint-Maurice and Croche rivers meet. From a canoe, kayak or stand-up paddleboard, you can watch muskrats and their lodges, ducks, great herons and other nesting birds in the marshes. The marshes and their boat launch are near the city centre, free to access and easy to navigate.
If you prefer to stay on land, the Parc des Chutes-de-la-Petite-Rivière-Bostonnais has an observation tower with views of the Saint-Maurice and Petite rivière Bostonnais. The tower is 21 metres (68 feet) tall. The park is open to walkers in every season, making it easy to include a stroll in your visit at any time of year.
Trails for Cycling, Hiking and Winter Activities
The 33-kilometre cycling path runs through La Tuque, partly through the urban area and partly through the forest, from the Parc des Chutes-de-la-Petite-Rivière-Bostonnais to Camping La Tuque. For mountain biking, Mauricycle maintains a network of 80 kilometres of trails near the city centre, suitable for beginners and experienced cyclists alike. Club volunteers maintain and mark the trails. One access point is behind the WestRock plant, near the footbridge to the west bank of the Saint-Maurice on chemin Bourassa. Parc des Érables in the airport district also has a free BMX track that is part of the Circuit de la Coupe du Québec.
More than 90 kilometres of maintained hiking and snowshoeing trails are available around the urban area. There are also various options in winter: the municipality has 825 kilometres of well-maintained snowmobile trails, looked after by Club Moto-Neige La Tuque and Club de Parent. Ski La Tuque is a municipal ski area with 18 runs and a vertical drop of 166 metres; nine runs are lit for night skiing. A snow park and several kilometres of snowshoeing trails in the mountain area add to the offerings. For cross-country skiing, Club de ski de fond La Tuque Rouge maintains 28 kilometres of classic trails and 12 kilometres for skate skiing.
Discover History and Nature
Nature and regional history come together at the Parc des Chutes-de-la-Petite-Rivière-Bostonnais. The Centre d’interprétation de la nature displays taxidermied animals from Québec and uses interpretive panels to explain the wildlife of the La Tuque forest. The park was once the site of a fur trading post. At the Centre Félix-Leclerc, photographs, stories and accounts introduce the early history of La Tuque; information panels also include excerpts from the book «Pieds nus dans l’aube».
Another way to discover the region’s culture and history is the Circuit découverte Atisoko. This walking route features 15 interactive information panels in French, Atikamekw and English and brings together a range of sensory and cultural experiences. At Lac St-Louis, it includes a multimedia show projected onto a water screen after dark. If you are particularly interested in the history of the Saint-Maurice, you can also take a self-guided tour of the Centre d’interprétation de la rivière Saint-Maurice: it focuses on the era of the log drivers and displays scale models of boats by regional artist Arnold Fay. Storytelling guides at the Centre d’interprétation de la traite des fourrures share insights into the fur trade.
The season can also shape your travel style: Les Jeudis centre-ville is a recurring summer event featuring six free Thursday evening concerts on consecutive weeks in July and August. For a quieter outdoor activity, there is also the nine-hole golf course at Club de golf et curling La Tuque, where you can play 18 holes from different tees. When choosing a vacation rental in La Tuque, it’s best to consider whether water, cycling and hiking trails, winter sports or culture will shape your stay. For more inspiration, see Obedjiwan.
For the main travel overview: Le Haut-Saint-Maurice.
