Exploring Gentilly River Regional Park in Centre-du-Québec

After a trip to the Mauricie region to visit La Mauricie National Park for the first time, I crossed the St. Lawrence River and found myself in Centre-du-Québec, another region where I had never really stopped before. As I wanted to do some hiking before heading home, I decided to stop at the Gentilly River Regional Park.

Located near Sainte-Marie-de-Blandford, Parc Régional de la Rivière Gentilly highlights the winding Gentilly River. There are several hiking trails there, one of which is part of the 75S Challenge, which I am currently undertaken. And since I was a little tired from my hikes of the last few days, I told myself that an easier hike along a river was a good option.

I paid my access fee online, and when I arrived at the regional park, I crossed the campground there and parked my car in the parking lot near the trails. I set off on Trail 1, the trail that must be followed as part of the 75S challenge.

These lands along the Gentilly River were first exploited by the Thibodeau family at the end of the 19th century. They established a few mills and an ocher mine there. But over the decades that followed, members of the family gradually began to abandon the land, the ocher mine was closed, and only Omer Thibodeau continued to live on his land, as a hermit, until when he died.

The project to develop these lands along the Gentilly River began in the 1980s, with the help of Hydro-Québec. Over the years, the regional park has grown, with the addition of campsites and cabins, the creation of trails, as well as the construction of an equestrian campground.

And the first thing that struck me when I started my hike was that the trails were much less flat than I expected! It first started with a descent via stairs towards the river, where I could see the small Omer Falls.

Then the trail continued to follow the river, offering several views of it. The Gentilly River at this point is not very wide, and is rather calm, but with the sandy cliffs and the tall trees of the forest along it, the place seemed perfectly bucolic and peaceful to me.

As I wrote earlier, I was also really surprised by the fact that the trails were steep. I had chosen this hike because I was looking for something easier on my tired legs, so I was a little discouraged at times when I came to stairs or steep climbs along which there were ropes.

The hiking and fat bike trails intersect in several places, but fortunately, the trails are well marked so it is not difficult to navigate. There are also some interpretive signs, with information on the fauna and flora of the area.

At one point, I crossed Trail 5, a 5.5-kilometre trail that continues along the river. In other circumstances, I would have followed it completely, just to extend my hike. But I was tired and doubted I had the energy to complete the entire trail, so I only followed a small part of it to give myself a taste of it, before retracing my steps towards Trail 1.

Trail 5 is definitely the kind of trail I usually like: narrow and steep. It also seemed much less busy than Trail 1. I left it with regret, promising myself that I would return to hike it in full one day, when I had more energy.

Trail 1 runs afterwards alongside a stream, then offered some good final climbs to return to the top of the plateau and the parking lot.

Trail 1 is 2.1 kilometers in total. It’s a short trail, but it offers a good physical challenge, without being too difficult. Unfortunately, with my tired legs and my general fatigue, I feel like I was not able to fully appreciate the trails of this beautiful regional park. A good reason for me to come back one day!

But in the end, I’m glad I stopped there, and it was a good reminder that I need to visit more often the Centre-du-Québec region. And what’s more, this hike was my 20th in the 75S challenge! I’m getting closer to a third of the challenge hikes completed!

***Trail 1 loop in Parc Régional de la Rivière Gentilly is part of the 75S Challenge, a hiking challenge managed by Rando Québec. To learn more about the challenge or to follow my progress, visit this page.***