About Chute Montmorency
Chute Montmorency (or Montmorency Falls) was one of those waterfalls where we had to take the good with the bad to truly appreciate it.
It had to have been one of the more memorable waterfalls we’ve seen in Quebec with its very pleasing size at a reported 84m tall and 46m wide.
However, it also felt like an urban waterfall given its close proximity to Quebec City in its suburbian outskirts near the bridge to the l’Ile d’Orleans.
Chute Montmorency – A Waterfall with World Class Size
Its dimensions resulting in its thick, tapered, block type appearance reminded us of other large waterfalls of similar appearance around the world.
Specifically, we thought of Montmorency Falls as a more developed and smaller version of Kaieteur Falls in Guyana (said to be 226m tall and 100m wide).
It also seemed like a more tapered version of Skogafoss in Iceland (said to be 60m tall and 26m wide).
Heck, it even reminded us of a narrower version of the Huangguoshu Waterfall in China (said to be 78m tall and 101m wide).
In fact, we could even make the argument that the Chute Montmorency could be the largest urban waterfall in Canada after Niagara Falls!
Indications of an Urban Waterfall
We say Chute Montmorency felt urban because there was a dam just upstream from its top.
This infrastructure made it seem like the Montmorency River flowed over a man-made wall before making its huge plunge down the nearly vertical rock face.
There was also a busy highway a little further downstream of the falls, making it very easy to rubberneck while driving that highway (not recommended by the way given how fast you go there).
Plus, there was also a bare cliff flanked to east side of the river downstream of the falls.
We weren’t sure if that cliff became that way due to some man-made intervention.
For example, that cliff could have been made bare by quarrying or pollution in the mist killing off vegetation that was once there (or maybe something else we’re not aware of).
Given such contrast between natural beauty and man-made tamperings with Nature, we thought this waterfall had all the potential to score even higher to a 4.5 or maybe even a 5 on the scenic rating.
Experiencing the Chute Montmorency Waterfall
Even though Julie and I prefer waterfalls in their natural state, we did see some benefits to all this development.
For starters, we were able to appreciate Chute Montmorency from a variety of viewing angles.
The walking route was shaped like a large backwards “C” going over, around, and below the waterfall, before completing the loop by going up a cable car.
There were also some secondary waterfalls called the Bridal Veil Falls (Le Voile de la Mariee) that I was also able to add towards the end of the Chute Montmorency visit.
Then, the wide and developed walkways as well as some picnic areas and a playground really made it easy for our daughter to enjoy so it was very family friendly as far as we were concerned.
Detailed Route Description of the Chute Montmorency Walk – from Manoir Montmorency to the Bridge
Our visit began from Manoir Montmorency (see directions below), where there was a pretty modest and historical mansion fronted by a fountain situated next to a car park.
There was some kind of function (possibly a wedding) during our visit on a gorgeous day, which might have added to the parking pressure.
That said, we came late enough in the day that it didn’t seem to affect us too much.
Anyhow, there was a well-established overlook between the manor and the upper terminal of the cable car affording us our first partial views of Chute Montmorency.
We were also able to look further downstream in the direction of L’Ile d’Orleans.
Next, we walked along a well-established boardwalk going around the manor providing more views from the top of the cliff upon which the boardwalk and vistas were perched.
The walkway ultimately went to a sheltered overlook near the top of Chute Montmorency called the Baronness Lookout.
By the way, that’s the red structure you see to the topleft of the falls in the photo at the top of this page.
From this vantage point with the mid-afternoon sun, we were able to see rainbows in the mist of the falls as well as to better appreciate the Panoramic Stairs across the river and even parts of the suspension bridge above us.
Next, we walked across the wide suspension bridge where we could see the man-modified tier upstream from the Chute Montmorency.
Looking in the opposite direction, we peered right over the brink of wide waterfall as the Montmorency River would disappear over the precipice.
The fences on the sides of this bridge were tall and protective enough to be reasonably family friendly for toddlers.
The bridge was also sturdy enough to not be bouncing, especially given the amount of simultaneous foot traffic on it.
Detailed Route Description of the Chute Montmorency Walk – from Bridge to the Cable Car Station
On the other side of the bridge, we continued on the walkway, which was now more of a wide gravel path before giving way to a combination of grass and dirt.
As we rounded a corner where the trail curved downstream, I noticed there was a closed off spur trail (which I believe was the Via Ferrata) that I’d imagine would lead very close to the brink of Chute Montmorency on a technical cliff-hugging route.
After crossing over the fault bridge, the main path then opened up into a wide and rolling grassy hill area that seemed ideal for a picnic.
There were also some partial views of Chute Montmorency from a more frontal angle.
Further in the distance from this large lawn area, we saw structures further downstream that appeared to belong to the L’ile d’Orleans.
At the end of this flat open grassy stretch, we were then at the top of the Panoramic Stairs.
From the very top of the stairs to the bottom, there were overlooks along the way, which allowed us to get some of the more pleasing frontal views of the falls.
We chose to do this trail in a clockwise manner because we preferred going down all these steps instead of coming back up in the relentless sun.
Once we made it to the bottom, there was a concrete viewing area.
Even though the Chute Montmorency Waterfall was technically in lower flow during early October, it was still pretty misty at the base thereby rendering long exposure photos down there ineffective.
The concrete lookout platforms here seemed to be partitioned by low concrete walls, and we weren’t sure why they built it this way.
But in any case, the platform seemed to be disproportionately large compared to the other overlooks in the Parc de la Chute-Montmorency.
Next, we walked downstream along the Montmorency River.
When the trail turned to the right once again, Julie and Tahia noticed a playground that was situated in the corner here so they spent some time here before continuing on.
Meanwhile, I continued onto a bridge paralleling the noisy highway a little further downstream.
All across this walkway, we got more frontal (though distant) views of Chute Montmorency in full context.
As we eventually made it to the end of this bridge, we then had a choice of where to go next.
On the one hand, we could walk straight to the Lower Terminal, which had a snack bar, a souvenir shop, and a booth to buy tickets to ride the cable car back up to Manoir Montmorency.
On the other hand, we could’ve also walked along the railroad tracks to a rail stop.
Detailed Route Description of the Chute Montmorency Walk – Optional Spur to Bridal Veil
Beyond the rail stop, I was able to briefly follow the railroad tracks before the trail cut across back towards the road connecting the car park for the Lower Terminal to the entrance station.
I walked along this road for a few minutes towards the entrance station until I finally saw a blue sign saying “LE VOILE DE LA MARIEE” (i.e. The Bridal Veil).
That was when I saw this side waterfall on the Montmorency River system fronted by some power lines.
I followed a trail of use towards the railroad, then I crossed it to get right up to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls.
When I was done with Bridal Veil Falls, I then walked back to the Lower Terminal (noticing a smaller and more hidden waterfall en route).
This out-and-back detour to the Bridal Veil took from the Lower Terminal took me on the order of about a half-hour or so.
Detailed Route Description of the Chute Montmorency Walk – The Cable Car
After buying the tickets at the Lower Terminal, we were finally able to ride the cable car back up to the Manoir Montmorency to complete the loop.
As of our visit in October 2013, the cost of our cable car ride was $20 CAD.
During the cable car ride, we got to see an angled view of the Chute Montmorency, but we had to put up with the glare from the windows.
After another 30 minutes from the time we got the tickets, we ultimately returned to the Manoir Montmorency, then we made it back to our parked car.
Overall, this visit took us a very leisurely 3 hours (especially since I spent a good deal of time carrying our daughter in the carrier
I kept the difficulty at 2 since you don’t necessarily have to do the whole loop to experience Chute Montmorency.
However, I figured that if you don’t do the whole loop while taking your time, the experience here would not be as enjoyable.
Authorities
Chute Montmorency (Montmorency Falls) resides near Quebec City in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is currently adminstered by Sepaq on behalf of the government of Quebec. For information or inquiries as well as current conditions, visit their website.
To get to Chute Montmorency from Quebec City, we took the Autoroute 440 east towards the Autoroute 40.
Then while on the AUT-40, we took the next exit at Boul des Chutes and followed this road east (left) for about a mile (1.6km) towards the car park for Manoir Montmorency and the Upper Terminal on the right.
Without traffic (and without getting lost) this was probably about a 15-minute drive from Old Quebec.
We paid an $11 CAD vehicle fee to park during our October 2013 visit.
Coming from the east (heading west) from say Beaupre, we were supposed to exit the ramp near the front of the falls by the Pont de L’ile d’Orleans (Bridge of the Isle of Orleans).
However, there was road construction that closed off that ramp (which would’ve taken us right to the car park at the Lower Terminal).
Thus, we had to keep going on the freeway towards Highway 40.
Once on Hwy 40, we then took the next exit at Boul des Chutes and followed this road (as given above) to the car park for Manoir Montmorency and the Upper Terminal on our right.
There were more car parks (e.g. the one by the Boischatel Entrance), but we didn’t do the other ways so we can’t say more about them.
For context, Quebec City was 255km (about 3 hours drive) northeast of Montreal and 448km (4.5 hours drive) east of Ottawa.
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Bottom up sweep from a lookout just below the bridge showing the falls and rainbow before ending at the bridge and barrage
Left to right sweep of the barrage before crossing the bridge and examining the main drop from the top down
Zoomed in on Quebec City then following the St Lawrence River, then following the tributary along the trail before ending at the falls
Left to right sweep along the tributary from the misty lookout at the base of the falls before panning up to the top of the falls
Right to left semi-circular sweep from the bridge downstream of the falls with a zoomed-in sweep of the falls within the middle of the movie
Top down sweep of Bridal Veil Falls before panning further downsteram
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