Hotels near Route 175 to Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier

The closest of the five and the most dramatic landform. Route 175 climbs from Quebec City over the Massif du Lac Jacques-Cartier, four-lane divided along most of its length since 2013, and the turn at exit 182 drops you into the Vallee de la Jacques-Cartier, a glacial valley cut 550 m into the plateau with over 100 km of trails. Daily access is the standard Sepaq rate of 10.30 dollars per adult in 2026, under-18s free. Peak colour is the first week of October, and the higher Reserve faunique des Laurentides plateau you cross to get there turns earlier than the valley floor.

Worth clearing up a confusion that trips people up: Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier is a Sepaq national park with a day fee, serviced facilities and a trail network, while the adjacent Reserve faunique des Laurentides is a much larger wildlife reserve, free to drive through on Route 175 and with minimal visitor infrastructure. Named trails in the park include Les Cascades, Le Draveur Sud, L'Apercu and L'Eperon.

This is the pick with real hazards, and they deserve stating plainly. Before four-laning, Route 175 recorded around 45 moose collisions a year, 90 percent of them between dusk and dawn, which is exactly when photographers want to be driving. The highway also closes periodically for weather or accidents with a long detour, and there are long stretches through the reserve with no fuel or food. Expect gaps in phone coverage. The park road itself is one way in and one way out, and the car parks fill on peak-colour weekends.

Pro Tip: Leave Quebec City after sunrise rather than before it, and be back on Route 175 southbound before dusk. Buy your daily access online the night before, since the valley has a single entrance and the queue there in the first week of October is the only real bottleneck on this route.