Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.
The walk
From car park P2 La Vallée at the discovery and services centre, walk south past the cabins and cross the Rivière Sainte-Anne on the Passerelle aux Saumons footbridge. The trail climbs south-west through forest to the Belvédère de la Saillie, a lookout, then steeply and steadily west up the north slope of Mont Albert to the summit shelter on its open plateau. Return the same way: the Tour du Mont-Albert loop, open only from 1 July to 30 September, is closed until next year.
It is 12.3 km there and back with 837 m of ascent; allow about 6 hours. The grade is Hard: a long, steep climb to a treeless plateau. SÉPAQ rates it expert.
The trail is open only from the second Saturday of June to Thanksgiving: it closes after Monday 12 October 2026 and reopens in June 2027, expected on 12 June. The plateau is range for the endangered Gaspésie caribou, so keep to the trail and well away from them. The top is exposed to wind, fog and early snow. Adults pay a daily access fee; under-18s go free with a free access authorisation.
The centre is beside route 299, the paved highway from Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, about 40 km inland. It is open daily from 8:30 am to 5 pm until 12 October 2026.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- Mont Albert is a vast flat-topped massif of serpentine rock whose plateau holds plants found almost nowhere else
- The plateau and nearby summits are home to the last caribou herd south of the St Lawrence, now only a few dozen animals
- The climb gains about 860 m from the Sainte-Anne valley, and SÉPAQ rates it expert
- The park's discovery and services centre is on route 299, about 40 km inland from Sainte-Anne-des-Monts
Getting there
Start: Discovery and services centre car park, route 299. 48.94902, -66.12370
Directions to the start
Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.