Hiking in Chute-à-Bull Regional Park in Lanaudière

I don’t often visit the Lanaudière region, but every time I go hiking there, I always really enjoy it. Last year, I had a great time exploring the Swaggin Falls Trail, as well as the Monte-à-Peine-et-des-Dalles Regional Park. This time, I decided to visit Chute-à-Bull Regional Park, near Saint-Côme.

Yes, I was going to see another waterfall! Chasing waterfalls in Lanaudière may be becoming a tradition for me, but what really interested me was that the regional park also has several kilometres of hiking trails.

After arriving and paying my access fee at the Welcome Centre, I set off on the trail. The scent of the pine trees that greeted me as I walked into the forest immediately reminded me why I love hiking so much.

Chute-à-Bull owes its name to logger Henry Bull, who, at the end of the 19th century, organized a large logging operation in the Saint-Côme region. Henry Bull started using the river (which first bore his name, before it was frenchified to become the Boule River) to transport the logs to the Assomption River, before reaching their final destination in Joliette.

This story is told through a few interpretive signs along the trail. It’s a great way to learn more about the history of the area while enjoying nature and the beauty of the forest.

The trail was covered with large roots in places, and was sometimes muddy, but overall, I found it fairly easy to follow. After less than a kilometre, I arrived at the Boule River.

The trail then runs alongside the river for a few metres, offering a few viewpoints of its rapids. Then, a few metres further on, I got my first glimpse of Bull Falls, and it took my breath away for a second. At 18 metres (60 feet) high, I found it quite impressive.

During the logging era, the falls were called “Slide Falls” because a slide had been built along it to allow logs to pass through and continue their journey down the river. Very little remains of this slide today, and given the beauty and the peacefulness of the surroundings, it’s easy to forget for a moment that the river was once used for logging.

There are stairs leading up to the top of the falls, but they were under construction when I visited. However, it’s possible to take another trail to continue hiking in the regional park, which is what I did.

I passed Draveur Shelter, then came across a pretty covered bridge over the river (a replica of similar bridges found in the Saint-Côme region). I continued my hike along Sentier de la Dam (Dam Trail), a trail named after one of the dams that held water on the river. A small bridge built on top of the dam led me to the other side of the river.

The Dam Trail continues on the other side of Boule River, where it loops through the forest. It then eventually returns to the covered bridge. From this point, I had the option of crossing the river again to return to the Welcome Centre, or continuing my hike along Sentier du Belvédère (Lookout Trail). I was curious to see that lookout, so I decided to continue my hike.

Sentier du Belvédère loops just under 2 kilometres and leads to a viewpoint overlooking the surrounding area. The view is partly obscured by trees, but the lookout and the shelter located right next to it made me want to slow down and enjoy the tranquility of the surrounding area.

I eventually completed the loop, crossed the covered bridge, and returned to the Welcome Centre. The trail continued to be a little muddy in places, and I had to wade through a few deep puddles a few times.

My hiking boots were soaking wet by the time I got back to the Welcome Centre, but I was still quite satisfied with my hike. In total, I covered 7.2 kilometres, with an elevation gain of 354 metres. It was another great hiking day in Lanaudière!