Hotels near The Ile d'Orleans Loop on Route 368

The Ile d'Orleans loop is the easiest of the five and the one with the most to stop for. Route 368, the Chemin Royal, was completed in 1744 and rings the island through six villages: Sainte-Petronille, Saint-Laurent, Saint-Jean, Saint-Francois, Sainte-Famille and Saint-Pierre. The colour here is agricultural rather than forest canopy, meaning apple orchards, maples along farm lanes, cideries and blackcurrant producers, with the St Lawrence on both sides. Peak is the first week of October 2026.

Pick up a map at the tourist office on cote du Pont as you come off the bridge, because the island's producers keep their own hours and many close for the season in mid to late October. The Maison de nos Aieux at 2485 chemin Royal, Sainte-Famille-de-l'Ile-d'Orleans, QC G0A 3P0, is the heritage stop worth booking into if you want context on the families who cleared these farms.

The structural weakness of this drive is that there is exactly one road. A collision or a slow tractor blocks everyone, the bridge is a genuine bottleneck on Thanksgiving weekend, and there is almost no shoulder for photo stops, so you have to use the village pull-offs and church car parks rather than stopping where the view is. Set expectations too: this is a pretty farmed island, not the blazing hardwood forest of Charlevoix.

Pro Tip: Drive the loop clockwise, turning right at the end of the bridge toward Sainte-Petronille, so you finish on the north shore in the late afternoon with Mont-Sainte-Anne lit up across the water. Cross back before 17:00 on any weekend day to miss the bridge queue.