Two ferries across the ice in front of Quebec City and Lévis winter 2024
The photo above shows two ferries shuttling between Quebec and Lévis through the ice in winter 2024. It doesn’t take much to immobilize a ferry in ice, but this year the layer is fairly thin due to a very mild January.
Practicing for the canoe race at the Quebec City Carnival 2024
Ferry crossing the St.Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City in winter 2024
Above, the ships continue their work at dusk. The routes recently taken by the vessels can be seen. I took the photo from the Dufferin Terrace with a tripod-mounted Canon 5 DSr camera.
The photograph shows a view of the fertile land along the St. Lawrence River in the Kamouraska region. A public observatory allows visitors to admire the panorama.
Sea kayaking on the St.Lawrence Seaway near Rivière-du-Loup
In the evening, in Rivière-du-Loup, these two kayakers enjoy the tranquility of the St. Lawrence River as they indulge in their favorite sport.
The St.Lawrence Seaway seen from Rivière-du-Loup
This HDR shot of a unit at the Auberge de la Pointe in Rivière-du-Loup features seven superimposed photos, for a total of 354 megabytes of data. This ensures that the sky is correctly exposed and that the rooms in the foreground are not completely obscured.
Ferry towards St-Siméon in the province of Québec 2023
The journey takes us to Saint-Siméon on a calm seaway. A Canon EF 11-24mm F/4 USM wide-angle zoom lens captures the scene without exaggerated distortion.
Île-aux-Lièvres and the St. Lawrence river, Québec 2023.
Auberge la Châtelaine Saint-Laurent, La Malbaie 2023.
Here’s a shot of one of the corridors of the Auberge Châtelaine, in La Malbaie. One of the reasons to stop by is the excellent breakfast included after a good night’s rest. No fat bacon or greasy potatoes here: just homemade bread and jams.
Cycling around L’Îsle-aux-Coudres is a good exercise and even a photography project for landscape photography enthusiasts. The following information will therefore help you both for the exercise and for planning a photography trip …
The ferry is taken at St-Joseph-de-la-Rive, just down the Côte des Éboulements. Transportation is free, but make sure you’re in the queue thirty minutes before departure: if you make it at the last minute, you’ll have to take the next ferry, an hour later. The trip only takes about 15 minutes to L’Îsle-aux-Coudres.
Once you have reached the island with the car, you drive up the hill (no other choice) to the first intersection and you immediately see a church on the left: this is where motorists carrying bicycles park, free of charge.
Man relaxing at L’Isle-aux-Coudres in 2021.
Cycling around L’Îsle-aux-Coudres is not really difficult, as the distance to be covered is only 23 kilometers. There are only a few hills to climb and they can be walked up alongside the bike if the challenge is too great. Along the route you will find rest stops, small craft shops and a few restaurants.
Bank of L’Îsle-aux-Coudres 2021.
Driving around the island in the low season is ideal if you don’t enjoy driving in the presence of too many cars. I was there in September and really wasn’t bothered by traffic. The photo above shows the view in the fall, from the south side of the island. For several kilometers, the cyclist enjoys a perfect view of the St. Lawrence River and the road is directly on the edge of the banks.
The Îsle-aux-Coudres region in 2021.
There are some beautiful views along the way. Above, a view of the distant mountains that lie on the north shore of the St. Lawrence.
The MSC Annick vessel in front of l’Îsle-aux-Coudres in 2021.
Wind is the main factor to consider when traveling around the island. In the photo above, the wind is strong enough for the smoke from the MSC Annick ship’s chimney to flow in the same direction as the boat, rather than gradually drifting astern.
This means that on days with high winds, there is a side of the island where you will have to put more effort as a cyclist, but you will then be rewarded with a good tail wind in the second portion of the journey.
Effect of the wind on the cirrus clouds over Baie St-Paul in 2021.
One last photo taken on the return trip by ferry. Strong winds aloft visibly have an effect on cloud structure.
Have a good ride, and possibly a good photo shoot!
So far, this winter has been especially cold in Quebec City. There have been several weeks where the temperature stayed below -20 C. The STQ ferries, property of the Government of Quebec, must navigate the ice covered St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec City.
Government of Quebec ferry in the icy St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec. Winter 2018.
The ferries Alphonse-Desjardins and Lomer-Gouin, carrying cars and passengers between the two cities, must sometimes completely cancel the service. On three occasions so far, a ferry stayed stuck while trying to cross the ice covered seaway. The passengers had to wait patiently up to four hours for a crossing that normally takes ten minutes.
The picture below was taken from Old Quebec. In the foreground stands the “Le Vendôme” restaurant, which has been for sale for years now. In the distance, a ferry makes its way through ice towards Quebec City.
Ferry approaching Quebec during the winter in 2018
Ocean’s tugboats are also working on the seaway, regardless of the temperature. The picture below shows one of those tugboats enroute to the Jean-Gaulin refinery to help an oil tanker.
Ocean’s tugboat on the St. Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City. Winter 2018, by -20 C.
The pictures in this article were taken on January 7th 2018 with a Canon 5DSR equipped with a Canon EF 85 mm f/1.2L II USM. The temperature was -18 C.
The next day, a man who had fallen in the icy waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway was luckily spotted by one of the passengers who was standing on the Lomer-Gouin ferry heading to Quebec City. The man suffering from severe hypothermia was saved by the Government of Quebec STQ staff (Société des traversiers). Here is the link to TVA news (in French): Une personne tombe dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent à Québec.
The cold temperature and winds did not stop the Château Frontenac canoeists from training on the icy seaway in preparation for the Quebec Carnival competition. This year, the race will be held on February 4th. The Association des coureurs en canots à glace du Québec (Ice canoeists Association of Quebec) recently faced a tragedy went they lost one of their members in a training session during very harsh weather conditions.
Château Frontenac ice canoe team at work by -18 C on the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec.
