Guided quad excursions with Nord Expé in La Malbaie and 300 km of groomed trails from the local ATV club: a guide to Charlevoix's mountain backcountry.
There is a part of Charlevoix you will never see from Route 362 or from the hiking trails: the deep backcountry, that rolling expanse of mountains, lakes and logging roads stretching behind La Malbaie toward the edge of the taiga. To reach it without walking for three days, there is a machine for the job: the quad. The region maintains one of Quebec's most spectacular networks of federated ATV trails, and fall — when the maple stands glow gold and red beneath the ridgelines — is its high season. Here is how to get out there, whether you have never touched a handlebar or you tow your own machine on holiday.
Nord Expé: the guided excursion from La Malbaie
For a first experience, the simplest formula is called Nord Expé. Based at 181 rue Richelieu in La Malbaie, the outfitter rents quads with direct access to the federated trail network — no trailering, no logistics: you saddle up and climb. The guided excursions, two or three hours long, are contemplative rather than sporty: professional guides string together the viewpoints, from one mountain to the next, one lake to another, with the St. Lawrence reappearing between the ridges, each time from a different angle.
It is the ideal formula for visitors: the supervision is complete, the machine is provided, and the pace leaves time to actually look. The company operates year-round — the same trails are ridden by snowmobile in winter, as our guide to winter in Charlevoix recounts — but it is between late September and mid-October, in the colours, that the experience approaches perfection. Book early for that window: it is short and coveted. Our article on the fall colours details the peak calendar by altitude.
Club Quad Destination Charlevoix: 300 groomed kilometres
For riders travelling with their own vehicle, the local network is maintained by the Club Quad Destination Charlevoix, a member of Quebec's ATV federation. The club looks after some 300 kilometres of groomed, signposted trails weaving through the backcountry between Les Éboulements, Saint-Hilarion and Clermont — a playground where forest roads climb to lookouts few hikers ever reach.
Two departure points with parking simplify the logistics: one in Saint-Hilarion, the other at the Zec Lac-au-Sable, north of Clermont — a gateway to the backcountry lakes. From there the loops chain together according to appetite, from a few hours to full days in the saddle. The signage is well kept, and the club's trail map makes it easy to plan your stops.
What you see up there
It is worth pausing on what these trails actually show you, because that is what sets Charlevoix apart from Quebec's other ATV regions. The relief is exceptional: in an hour of trail you pass from the maple stands of the coast to the spruce forests of the interior, with sudden openings onto the St. Lawrence — some twenty kilometres wide at this latitude — or onto strings of nameless lakes. The roads genuinely climb into the high backcountry, and autumn arrives up there noticeably earlier than below. That layering is what makes the colour season so long on a quad: by the time the summits have gone russet, the coastline far below is only beginning to turn — which means a well-timed October ride crosses the entire spectrum in a single afternoon.
The rules of the game
ATV riding is regulated in Quebec, and everyone is better off for it. The essentials: a valid driver's licence is required to drive, helmets are mandatory, and riding the federated trails requires a trail pass — included or available through the rental outfitter, and worth confirming at booking time if you bring your own machine. Stay on the marked trails, for safety and out of respect for the land: the network crosses public forest but also private properties whose rights of way are negotiated by the club.
A word on seasons: the trails generally close during the spring thaw to protect the surfaces, and autumn offers dream conditions — firm ground, crisp air, hillsides in full colour. It is also hunting season in the backcountry: blaze orange is not reserved for hunters, and the guided excursions sidestep the question by keeping to the federated corridors.
If engines are not your language
Charlevoix serves up the same backcountry in every mode of travel. The same panoramas can be earned on foot — our guide to the essential hikes lays out the classics — or by mountain bike, mapped in our article on cycling in Charlevoix. And for vertical rather than horizontal adrenaline, the via ferrata and canyoning occupy the same storey of the mountains. The quad, for its part, remains the only way to link three lakes and two ridgelines before lunch — and to keep enough energy to do it all again after.
To rent a luxury chalet in La Malbaie (Cap-à-l'Aigle), Charlevoix, discover the Le Littoral chalet with heated pool, sauna and spa. Book your stay online or call 418-476-1442.