Montmorency Falls, our complete guide

This February, we decided to come back to this beautiful region of Quebec in the middle of winter, just like we did last year in the Laurentians. But this time, we wanted to head farther north, with a clear goal: discover Quebec City and its nearby surroundings, while spending most of our stay in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region for about two weeks.

After having some amazing experiences in that area, we came back the day before our flight and took the opportunity to go explore Montmorency Falls, located just outside Quebec City. Melanie had mentioned it to me in passing, but I have to admit I hadn’t really looked at photos: the discovery was therefore a real surprise for me.

If you’d like to discover some of the experiences we had in Saguenay, I truly invite you to read our article about the snowshoe hike in the Monts Valin, absolutely extraordinary in every way and ideal for families. And especially our dog sledding excursion in La Baie, unforgettable — even if, clearly, we weren’t exactly warm!

In this article, I’m going to share my impressions of these falls, tell you what we did during the visit, tell you whether it’s worth it or not, and give you, at the end of the article, all the practical information you need to plan your visit.

As I was saying, we leave our beautiful wooden house located in our village around the city of Alma for about a three-hour drive toward Quebec City, with the day’s final stop: Montmorency Falls. The weather is perfectly clear today, which is completely different from our trip there since we drove at night after visiting the famous Ice Hotel. Needless to say, we didn’t see any of the scenery at that time.

I have to admit we struggle a bit to find the access to the falls, because it’s ultimately not that well marked and the GPS kind of does whatever it wants… but anyway. We arrive around noon and find a spot fairly easily in one of the designated parking lots. To enter the site, we pay the access fee (mandatory anyway) and choose the package with the cable car, which lets you observe the falls from above. For all the practical information and visiting tips, I’ll let you refer to the end of the article.

Even though the sky is very clear when we arrive, it’s obviously not warm, and a wind strong enough to knock you over literally freezes our faces and hands. So we decide to head first to Manoir Montmorency, the main building located at the top of the falls. You can take a warm break there, drink a hot chocolate or coffee, and grab a quick bite before heading back out to face the cold.

As I was saying, the temperature is honestly not very pleasant and, with the wind, you really need to be well bundled up. We first decide to reach the suspension bridge via the Cliff Walk. In fact, from the main entrance and Manoir Montmorency, you can’t see the falls or the bridge at all: you first have to go down a few wooden steps before starting the walk on this developed path that runs along the cliff.

This wooden walkway is, during our visit, almost entirely frozen and honestly pretty treacherous. Melanie nearly ends up on the ground several times, which really amuses the kids. They fall several times too, without ever getting hurt, but it makes them laugh a lot anyway. The wind, meanwhile, is truly brutal in this spot and freezes your hands completely in just a few seconds. So Melanie and I take turns taking photos with the phone, just to warm our fingers up a bit.

After a few minutes walking on those famous planks, we reach a first viewpoint: the Baronne lookout, located just below the suspension bridge. It offers a very nice view of the panoramic staircase that goes down to the other side of the falls. Unfortunately, during our visit, that staircase is closed: right in the middle, the steps are completely encased in ice and access is considered far too dangerous.

We stop for a few minutes at the lookout to take photos, but it’s really not warm. We continue by climbing the wooden stairs toward the famous suspension bridge. The bridge is honestly pretty nice, despite the crowd today. You can easily imagine that in the middle of summer, there can be a lot more people, because today it’s clearly not warm. It’s a weekday, so maybe that limits it a bit more, but there are still quite a few large groups taking photos on this bridge. It has to be said: the bridge is pretty cool.

It gives you a great view on one side of the frozen section upstream of the falls, where you can see the water emerge and continue its path before dropping. And on the other side, you get a more open view, with Quebec City in the distance and the big bridge: the Île d’Orléans Bridge.

We make our way between the groups to take a few photos in the middle of the bridge, but the wind is honestly unbearable there. I almost even drop my phone over the railing… knowing that I later learned the falls are more than 83 meters (272 feet) high, so clearly not the time to drop anything.

Anyway, we cross the bridge and go down to the small area on the left, which lets you get closer to the upstream section of the falls. Everything is completely frozen, you really have to be careful not to slip, and several stairways have even been closed off because ice has fully built up there.

The kids, on the other hand, love it, because it looks like big natural slides, and they spend a good while playing there. This small viewpoint just upstream of the falls also offers another interesting perspective, with a view of the suspension bridge that’s pretty nice.

What’s quite surprising is that the whole area right before the drop is totally frozen, completely white, which creates a very particular visual effect. In one spot, you can see water bursting out from under the ice, as if it were gushing up from below, before passing under the bridge and plunging into the void. It’s really a different sight, because from the bridge you mostly have an impressive view down below, with the turbulence and spray rising up. You can even make out, far down at the bottom, a few people who look tiny and who are there to do ice climbing, an activity available on site that I’ll talk about later in the practical section.

We continue a bit farther past the bridge, but there’s nothing really exceptional on that side. However, we did see on the map that there’s a walk called the Four-à-Chaux Trail, which lets you do a loop through the woods. That could be a good opportunity to try it on a nice day, for example in the middle of summer.

In fact, after the bridge, if you continue in the summer season, you can access the famous panoramic staircase that you can see very clearly from the suspension bridge and that looks pretty impressive. You then end up right in front of the falls. As I said, unfortunately during our visit it was closed because of the ice and the danger it represents. But if you come at a time when the stairs aren’t icy, it will allow you to go down via this panoramic staircase, join the Chute Walk along the river, and reach the station located at the bottom, where the cable car arrives. That can be a really nice option.

On our side, we turn back, cross the suspension bridge and the Baronne lookout again, then return to Manoir Montmorency, at the site entrance. We then decide to take the cable car. Nothing complicated: there aren’t many people at the time we go, which is pretty pleasant, even though we’re still about ten of us a bit packed into the cabin, including Canadians from other regions — it’s mostly English being spoken — and even a few Americans.

The cable car ride is fairly short, maybe five minutes down, not even. It does, however, give you a nice overall view with more distance from the falls. What’s a bit of a shame is that the windows are slightly scratched and marked, which makes it a bit harder to take really sharp photos. But the experience is still nice and the kids are happy to do this little descent, which is really what matters most.

Once at the bottom, we step out into what they call the cable car station. There’s a large hall that presents the falls and the different activities available depending on the seasons, as well as a small cafeteria. We take the opportunity to grab a sandwich, because during our visit the dining area at Manoir Montmorency, up top, was closed. It would be worth checking whether that’s still the case in winter, but we had the impression it was.

So we have a quick bite, knowing that in the evening we had booked, for our last night, the restaurant Le Ciel! rotating Bistro-Bar in Quebec City, which was truly superb and that we 100% recommend if you have the chance. After eating, the kids of course want to go play on the playground located right in front of the station, in the full wind. Melanie gets the good role and spends fifteen to twenty minutes in the gift shop inside, while I watch the kids outside, freezing… but they don’t really seem bothered and they’re loving it.

And that’s it, the visit is already over for us. We of course go back up by cable car — we don’t really have a choice anyway — and our walk ends here. In total, we must have spent about a good two hours on site, meal included. If you take your time, like taking photos, and the panoramic staircase is open during your visit, you should plan more like two to three hours. In any case, it’s a great walk and a great experience around a truly impressive waterfall.
You can easily imagine that depending on the season, summer or winter, it must look completely different, but the photos we saw in summer also looked very pretty.

If you feel like stretching your legs and seeing a beautiful waterfall just outside Quebec City, Montmorency Falls is a really nice visit to do.

As usual, very often, here is everything you need to know to explore Montmorency Falls.

Montmorency Falls are located about 12 km northeast of Quebec City, on the Beaupré Coast, between the St. Lawrence River and the mouth of the Montmorency River. They are therefore just outside the city, in Parc de la Chute-Montmorency, and can very easily fit into a Quebec City vacation or a broader itinerary during a road trip, for example.

As is often the case on a trip to Canada, the easiest option is to be independent with a car so you can move freely between the different areas and cities. On our side, during this winter trip, we used the DiscoverCars comparison tool, which allowed us to find a very good rental rate. We clearly recommend comparing offers, because it will very often let you save a lot on this type of trip (and adjust your dates slightly if possible).

Montmorency Falls are easy to access, especially by car, since they’re only about fifteen minutes from downtown Quebec City by taking Route 138 toward the Beaupré Coast. The site has several designated parking lots, including one at the top near Manoir Montmorency (where we parked) and another at the foot of the falls, at the cable car arrival. It’s clearly the simplest and most logical option, especially if you continue afterward toward Île d’Orléans or the Beaupré Coast.

It’s also possible to get there from Quebec City without a car. In summer, buses from the RTC network (Route 800 with a transfer) serve the falls area, with a stop not far from the park. The trip takes about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the departure point. Taxis or ride-hailing services can also get you to the site from downtown without too much trouble, for around 25 to 40 CAD depending on traffic and the season.

Finally, there are also organized excursions departing from Quebec City that include a stop at Montmorency Falls, often combined with a visit to Île d’Orléans or the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. That can be an interesting solution if you haven’t rented a vehicle, even though you’ll obviously have much less time on site.

Visiting the falls can be done in several ways, depending on how much time you have and the season, haha. The cable car remains a very practical and pleasant option to connect the top and the bottom of the falls while enjoying a great overall view. We found it pretty nice to do, especially since the package combined with site access remains fairly reasonable. The suspension bridge, which lets you cross above the falls, is clearly a must-do during your visit.

If conditions allow, the panoramic staircase is also an experience not to miss, because it lets you descend facing the falls with a spectacular perspective. Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit because of the ice. Finally, if you want to extend the walk, several trails and lookouts let you explore the riverbanks and the surrounding park, which can be worth it if you have a bit more time on site.

Contrary to what you might think, visiting Montmorency Falls isn’t just about looking at the waterfall from the lookouts. Like us, you can already fully enjoy this beautiful panoramic walk, but know that it’s also possible to do several outdoor activities during your discovery, directly on site or right next door. Here are the ones that can really round out the experience.

In winter, the frozen wall of the falls becomes a real playground for ice climbing enthusiasts (you can see them when crossing the bridge, by the way). Guided outings let you try it out or practice safely right at the foot of the falls, with all equipment provided. The experience seems pretty wild and unique, because you climb directly on the frozen formations created by the waterfall. It’s an impressive activity to watch… and even more so to do for the most motivated.

The site also offers a via ferrata set into the rock wall along the falls, allowing you to move at height on walkways, ladders, and secured cables. The route offers great views of the waterfall and the St. Lawrence River, with different levels adapted to your experience. It’s a sporty but accessible activity that lets you discover the falls from a totally different angle. If via ferrata interests you in a wilder setting, we tried the one at Cap Jaseux in winter, an exceptional experience that we share in this article.

In the middle of summer, it’s possible to cross the falls on a zipline, an experience that’s certainly short but lets you fly over the waterfall with a steep view of the waters below. The start is up high and the descent lasts a few dozen seconds, with speeds that can exceed 50 km/h (31 mph). The activity is supervised and accessible without any particular experience. It’s clearly an original way to discover the site, even if the price remains relatively high for a fairly brief duration in my humble opinion. But afterward, why not?

Parc de la Chute-Montmorency includes many developed trails that let you walk along the river, through the forest, and to different viewpoints of the waterfall. Some routes connect the top and the bottom of the falls, or allow you to reach the Beaupré Coast. These walks remain accessible and can complement the main visit if you want to extend the outing in a calmer natural environment.

In winter, the site takes on a special dimension with the formation of the famous sugarloaf, this cone of ice that forms at the foot of the falls (we found it pretty impressive to see). Beyond ice climbing, you can simply enjoy the winter atmosphere to observe the frozen formations, walk in the snow, or photograph the icy landscapes. The experience is nice and it is clearly one of the most impressive times to discover the falls in a totally different way. In any case, we loved walking and hanging around the area with the kids.

You might tell me the question can seem a bit dumb, since we went in the middle of February… but in reality, many of you were asking it. So yes, obviously, the experience and the landscapes are not the same at all between summer and winter. Yet honestly, discovering Montmorency Falls in winter must be at least as impressive, or even more striking with all the ice and frozen formations. In any case, I think I preferred winter (even though I haven’t seen it in summer).

After that, as often, it all depends on you and what you want: with kids, for a short walk or for winter photos, it’s really great to do. On the other hand, some areas may be closed (like the panoramic staircase during our visit) and the cold might not be that funny for you (haha). Let’s say that if you like Nordic vibes and icy landscapes, winter is clearly worth it, even if summer offers a more complete discovery of the site.

As often, it’s going to depend on you, I feel like saying. You can absolutely spend 30 minutes there if you do a quick out-and-back to the bridge, but you can also spend 3 hours there like we did if you take the time to walk around, play with the kids, take the cable car, etc. I think 2 hours on site is pretty good.

Yes, it’s possible to eat on site, but the options vary a lot depending on the season. During our visit in the middle of winter, only the small cafeteria located in the cable car station (at the foot of the falls) was open, with a few quick options like sandwiches, soups, and hot drinks. The restaurant at Manoir Montmorency, at the top, was closed during our visit, which seems fairly “normal” in the low season.

On the other hand, in summer, the offering is more complete with the Manoir restaurant open, as well as lighter counter-style or fast-food options on site. There are also sometimes seasonal stands or food trucks near the busy areas. It’s still tourist-site food, though: if you want a real meal, it may be better to plan for Quebec City or nearby Île d’Orléans.

If you want to stay overnight near the area, the simplest option is to stay in Quebec City, located only about fifteen minutes away. The city offers a very wide choice of accommodations, for all budgets, and makes it easy to combine visiting the falls with exploring Old Quebec. It’s clearly the most practical option for the majority of travelers. The link above offers a great selection made by us to find the accommodation you need based on several preferences.

You can also stay on the Beaupré Coast or on Île d’Orléans, right across from the falls, for a more nature-focused and quieter setting. You’ll find B&Bs, inns, and accommodations with river views, often more peaceful than in the city. That can be a good idea if you then continue your itinerary toward Charlevoix or the Beaupré Coast.

Access to Parc de la Chute-Montmorency is paid for visitors, with a site entrance fee that can be combined with the cable car depending on the option you choose. To give you a recent ballpark (2025-2026 season), access to the park for an adult who is not a Quebec resident is around 9.50 CAD in low season and up to around 12.60 CAD in high season. The cable car, which connects the foot and the top of the falls, costs around 14.95 CAD round trip for an adult (2025-2026 rate), with reduced rates for children and families. That’s the option we chose with the combined package, which we found pretty consistent for the experience offered and the ease of visiting.

Hours and the opening of certain areas (panoramic staircase, trails, activities) vary a lot depending on the season and especially weather conditions, particularly in winter. Since prices change regularly and some facilities may be temporarily closed, the most reliable approach is to check the official Parc de la Chute-Montmorency website before your visit to confirm up-to-date information.

After that, I really recommend looking in detail at the official website before going, because things like this change all the time…

That’s it, I’ll stop here for this article about Montmorency Falls. Personally, we had a really good family time, very nice, even if it was clearly not warm for us, haha.

If you’d like to keep reading, I invite you to read our ice fishing experience in the Saguenay Fjord!

See you soon,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I had the opportunity to explore the beauty of this country I love on several different occasions and in different places (Canadian Rockies, the Island of Newfoundland for 1 month, Yukon and Québec)!

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