A Good Run for Skiers in Quebec’s Charlevoix

Tired of pricey lift tickets, $500 ski and apres -ski outfits that look like they’re plugged into a 120-volt outlet, and daunting slopes that would tax the technique and wits of all but the most advanced skier? If so, then the gorgeous region of Charlevoix on the north shore of eastern Quebec’s St. Lawrence River is the irrefutable answer to these and other vexing questions facing today’s skiers.

Or should you just be looking for a laid-back winter-summer resort with none of the usual glitzy trappings and lofty prices, then the Charlevoix coast is the absolute ultimate in a low-key vacation destination set in countryside so quiet and bucolic that you can hear pine needles drop.

Once a summer-holiday spot for social swells of the Eastern Establishment who sailed their yachts to summer “cabins” hidden in the lush forests of the Charlevoix coast, the region has retained a very low profile as a preferred summer-winter hideaway for Quebecois and other knowledgeable Canadians and New Englanders.

The coast’s keystone is the town of La Malbaie (Bad Bay), so named by Samuel de Champlain in 1608 when he anchored his small fleet there one night and awoke to the startling sight of being high and dry on a sand flat. Just around a bend in the bayside road is Pointe-au-Pic, one of a number of hamlets along the St. Lawrence or hidden in inland foothills that nest a clutch of small inns and auberges in the hush of their trees and gardens.

Pointe-au-Pic’s Manoir Richelieu is the nearest thing to a full-blown hotel one finds in these parts. It’s an enormous place, looking more like a fortress built to protect Quebec City and Montreal from any hostile navies sailing up the St. Lawrence. But the selection of delightful inns, all of which seem to have outstanding kitchens turning out marvelous Quebecois-French food, is, along with the region’s rural beauty, what gives the Charlevoix coast its genuine distinction and appeal.

How long/how much? This is a place to settle into for two days or two weeks, depending on your own agenda. We found lodging costs moderate, and dining on marvelous food only slightly higher.

Getting settled in: These four inns were chosen for their ineffable charm, seclusion and outstanding kitchens. Their double-room prices always include half-pension (breakfast and dinner) for two.

Auberge Les Trois Canards, owned and run with considerable flair by Christine and Pierre Marchand, has its namesake three ducks in brass over a stone fireplace in the cozy and beautifully furnished lounge downstairs. The bedrooms and popular dining room are equally elegant, with windows looking down on the sweep of the St. Lawrence.

Trois Canards has an outdoor pool, tennis court, putting green, croquet and shuffleboard for pleasant weather, and the gardens are lovely.

Auberge des Falaises, a member of the prestigious Romantik Hotels group, is an 1895 manor house that has reaped countless accolades for its ambience and the excellence of its dining room, all very much warranted. Views of the river and bay from its cliffside perch are breathtaking, and even the pool has a vista to reckon with.

Bedrooms, all done in Laura Ashley fashion and fabrics, have rocking chairs and their own superlative views, some with fireplaces and whirlpool baths. In the newer annex, all rooms are also furnished traditionally and have a fireplace, balcony and huge picture windows.

A once-private residence built in the 1920s, Auberge Sur la Cote has but seven bedrooms, plus two three-bedroom villas. It’s a vine-covered house on a hill with requisite views of the water and flowery gardens. Enormous bedrooms have that lived-in look, with fireplaces, original wooden floors and a mixture of white rattan and antique pine furniture. There’s also a convivial bar that’s very popular during ski season.

Last of the lot is Auberge des Peupliers, now in its third generation of Tremblay family ownership and an inn since 1935. This one is also a member of Romantik Hotels. There’s a grand piano in the downstairs lounge, chess set at the ready and a small bar in the corner with an espresso machine that is always busy.

Bedrooms here are tastefully decorated in traditional style, though on the small side, and there’s a sauna, whirlpool bath and, in summer, tennis and miniature golf. Ann Tremblay-Rochette is a most gracious, friendly and helpful hostess.

Regional food and drink: Charlevoix obviously has plenty of fresh seafood from the St. Lawrence and Atlantic: scallops, halibut, cod, bass and shrimp. But the most popular fish are the local smelt and its first cousin the capelin, both North Atlantic denizens.

Charlevoix lamb is much-prized, probably due to the salty grass, and the local veal is just as flavorful. Game is plentiful, and the tourtiere de Charlevoix is a meat pie made with venison layered with potatoes. Pate croche is another meat pie very popular on Ile aux Coudre, an island in the St. Lawrence named for its hazel trees.

GUIDEBOOK: Charlevoix, Canada

Getting there: Fly Air Canada to Quebec City. From there, a rental car is best for enjoying the 62-mile coastal road into the Charlevoix region, although a bus makes the run to La Malbaie for $14. An advance-purchase, round-trip air ticket from Los Angeles to Quebec City is about $450.

A few fast facts: Canada’s dollar recently sold for 92 cents, making ours worth $1.08 up there. Ski season runs from December until mid-April, while the best summer period is from May until late October, with some of the best whale-watching anywhere in the world in summer.

Accommodations: All of these prices include half-pension for two, and each place has attractive two- to five-day ski packages as well as summer programs. Les Trois Canards (49 Cote Bellevue, Pointe-au-Pic; $156 double); Auberge des Falaises (18 Chemin des Falaises, Pointe-au-Pic; $156 double); Auberge sur la Cote (205 Chemin des Falaises, La Malbaie; $118 double); Auberge des Peupliers (381 St. Raphael, Cap-a-l’Aigle; $123 double).

For more information: Call Tourisme Quebec toll free at (800) 363-7777, or write (C.P. 2000, Quebec, Canada G1K 7X2) for the Charlevoix Tourist Guide, an 80-page color booklet with sights and attractions, lodgings with costs, ski areas and thumbnail sketches of most villages and their activities.