Dolbeau-Mistassini: Mistassibi North West (5 days / 114 km)

The Mistassibi is a beautiful northern river that flows through the boreal forest of Quebec. This route is fairly accessible for kids if they are paddling with moderately experienced adult paddlers. The river has many features from massive cliff sides, beautiful waterfalls, sand cliffs, massive sand dunes and great white water.

Trip Completed: July 2022

Trip Summary

Starting Point: km 183 of the road | km 210 of the river.

Ending Point: Riviere Banc de Sable Take Out | km 96 of the river

Total Distance: 114 km

Duration: 5 days

Difficulty: Intermediate

Location

Dolbeau-Mistassini, Crown Land

Traditional Territory: This route takes place on the traditional territory of Nitassinan (Innu) (source).

Maps & Resources

Map: cartespleinair.org

Campsite Reservations: All Crown Land. First come first serve

Permits: No

Know Before You Go

Season: We did the trip in July, ran it at a medium water level and it was great.

Cell Reception: None

Water: You will have to process your water.

Wildlife: Nothing out of the ordinary. Bear and Moose are probably what you are more likely to see.

Waste: You have to dig your own cat holes to go to the bathroom and you will have to pack out your garbage.

Outfitters & Shuttles

Shuttle: OrganiseAction - Le Quebec Hors Circuits

Trip Report

Day 1: km 210 to km 187 (23 km)

We woke up at the motel in Dolbeau-Mistassini at 6 am and were on the road by 6:30 because we did not want to miss the shuttle that was taking us up. The shuttle was planned for 10:30 am and we still had about 2 hours. Make sure to fill up your car in this town because you won’t come across any other fuel stations until you return to this town.

We met the shuttle service at Riviere Banc De Sable. The road up was very well maintained. The shuttle was a 15-passenger van with a trailer for the canoes and the barrels. Once all packed up we hit the road to road km 183.

The shuttle took a...