The Beautiful Montmorency Falls

 

Montmorency Falls

Parc de la Chute-Montmorency is about 12 km from the heart of old Quebec City. The falls are at the mouth of the Montmorency River where it drops and flows into the Saint Lawrence River, just opposite Île d'Orleans. As you cross Pont de l'Île from Île d'Orleans, you can see the majestic falls which are 83 m (272') tall--a full 30m (99') higher than Niagara Falls. It was such a beautiful view that we decided to visit the falls.

We paid for parking for about $21 by the bottom of the falls and that gave us access to the other parking area at the top. We walked along the boardwalk and did about a third of the 487 steps of the panoramic staircase.

Panoramic Staircase at Montmorency Falls

We then took the car to the other parking lot at the top of the falls. There you have the Manoir Montmorency which has a gift shop and a restaurant with amazing views of the falls and the river.

There are several attractions within the park which has its own fees. Folks can take the cable car to the top. The adventurous can do the Via Ferrata which has three routes of hiking/rock climbing that involves traversing the rock wall using metal holds and a steel cable. Or, you can also do the zipline across the falls. The less brave (and the tired ones) have several spots to have a nice picnic.

suspension bridge across the Grand Sault, Montmorency Falls

There are supposed to be three falls, the largest being the Grand Sault. We went across the suspension bridge to see the view of the falls from the top. The power of the falls was just spellbinding. As seen in some lovely paintings from the 1870s, the falls are even lovelier in winter. The refreshing mist from the falls (which was great on the hot summer day we went) freezes in winter, accumulating on the cliffs and at the foot of the falls, where it forms what is known as the “Le pain de sucre” (sugar loaf), a natural ice cone.

All in all, a nice place to spend a few hours.