Go to Fort-Coulonge for a 92-kilometre bike path, a glimpse of history and spectacular waterfalls
What did you do?
I put my bike on the back of the car and drove up to Fort-Coulonge, where I spent an absolutely wonderful day.
That sounds pretty nice, though I’m not sure exactly where Fort-Coulonge is. It’s up the valley, isn’t it?
Yes, it is—a couple of hours upriver from Ottawa, on the Quebec side. The region, which is ruggedly beautiful, is known as the Pontiac, famous for a heritage that includes logging, hockey and vibrant Celtic roots. You can get there by driving up Highways 417 and 17 to just beyond Renfrew and then, taking Storyland Road, crossing into Quebec to meet up with Highway 148. Or you can take the 148 all the way from Gatineau, going by such towns as Quyon, Shawville and Campbell’s Bay, the county seat. Fort-Coulonge is about 15 minutes beyond Campbell’s Bay, just off the 148.
What drew you to Fort-Coulonge?
My friend and cycling buddy Susan Riley and her friend Ann were heading up there to check out the new-ish bike trail built over the area’s old railway line. They’d heard about it from Jeanne Boicey, a retired teacher they’d met on their Wheel Women tour earlier this summer. Jeanne and her husband have a cottage on the river in the area, and Jeanne invited Susan and Ann to come and try out the bikepath. I tagged along.
No offence, but it sounds as if you were in the company of three accomplished cyclists. How did you, um, fit in?
Thanks for asking, but pretty well, actually. For one thing, bike paths built on old railway beds have a blessed absence of hills, my least favourite part of cycling. For another, my three cycling companions seemed quite content to just pedal along at a relaxed pace, enjoying the chitchat, the scenery and an absolutely magnificent day. In fact, we cycled a mere 20 kilometres—because we had something else on our agenda—so it was not even close to a challenge.
How did you like the path?
I loved it. The Cycloparc PPJ (named for the “Pontiac Pacific Junction” railway, though locals often referred to the old steam train as the “Push Pull and Jerk”) is 92 kilometres of flat or gently graded terrain with a stone-dust surface. It runs from Wyman, just west of Quyon, to Isle-aux-Allumettes. We hopped on just outside Fort-Coulonge, following it through fields and forests, over the railway bridge spanning the Coulonge River, through the sawmill town of Davidson and along the Ottawa River, where there were easy places to stop and enjoy the lovely view.
You said your day’s agenda had something else on it. What was that?
Our day was really divided into two parts. Besides cycling, we went off to the Chutes Coulonge, one of the area’s more spectacular attractions, and immersed ourselves in history, heritage and awe-inspiring scenery.
That sounds intriguing.
It was fantastic. The Pontiac, which has felt the footprint of humans for centuries—aboriginal communities, early explorers like Champlain, settlers from Britain, Ireland and Europe—is rich in natural resources. Especially lumber. The Chutes Coulonge, an eco-sensitive heritage park built around waterfalls and an old logging chute, is testament to that fact. Twelve kilometres outside the village of Fort-Coulonge, the park’s central feature is the sequence of three 48-metre waterfalls and a whitewater torrent rushing through a steep canyon. Paths, footbridges and observation decks give you a range of breathtaking views and perspectives—none more thrilling (at least for timid souls) than the one from the little see-through platform of metal mesh over the top of the chute where, in earlier times, logs were sent hurtling down to the rushing Coulonge River below. But there’s more than just spectacle to the scenery.
There is?
Yes, the people who built the park have made it a tribute to the lumbermen and log drivers of old. Along the pathways, there are displays of equipment and interpretive signs in both languages. Combined with the powerful surrounding landscape, they give a real sense of what the lumber industry once was in the area and, more poignantly, what the hardy and courageous souls were like who worked in it. There are also interpretive tours available at the reception centre.
Biking and waterfalls. Anything else for the Fort-Coulonge daytripper?
Well, there’s a magnificent covered wooden bridge, painted red, that has spanned the Coulonge River for 110 years. Just off Route 148, it’s 129 metres long and said to be the third-longest covered bridge in Canada. And for those who appreciate history, there’s Bryson House, built in 1854 by George Bryson, the Scottish-born lumber baron who developed much of the area. Part of it has been turned into a museum that’s open to the public, though on weekends only. It’s right outside Fort-Coulonge, also on Route 148. With its Victorian attitude and distinctive widow’s walk, you can’t miss it. In the village itself, you can appreciate other traces of the magnate, including Spruceholme Inn, the lovely old residence that was once one of the Bryson family homes.
You haven’t mentioned lunch. Where did you eat?
Important question. But I’m afraid my answer is going to seem like a weaselling out. There are places in the village, I believe, but there are also so many gorgeous outdoor spots—both along the bikepath and at Chutes Coulonge—that I can’t help suggesting that you pack a picnic.
Really?
Really. As you gaze out over the broad Ottawa River—or listen to the waters of the Coulonge, still rushing with the same whitewater pace they did back in the loggers’ day—you realize there could be no finer ambience. For lunch, or for a daylong getaway.
Janice Kennedy is a Sunday Citizen columnist and frequent daytripper.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008