Day 20 - Montmorency Falls

Our first tour for the day had two main stops - the first was Montmorency Falls (or as the French call it - Chute Montmorency). As you can see this is the first and only day we needed our heavy jackets. It showered a little and even that left by noon. It was a bit chilly - about 48 - 54 degrees.

From this angle the falls don't look very significant. They are actually 275 feet high and 150 feet wide. This makes them 98 feet higher than Niagra Falls, though they are short when compared with our Yosemite Falls in California.

The falls are situated in a park with this chateau as its headquarters. It was actually Manoir Montmorency, the home from 1791 to 1794 of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. The significance of the fall historically goes back to the French and Indian War when the French General Montcalm stopped the British and General Wolfe here at the Montmorency River. This spot is some 15 km east from the center of the old city of Quebec. Things remained at a stailmate until Wolfe took to the St. Lawrance and sailed above Quebec, climbed the cliffs and emerged to the west of Quebec. Montcalm chose to meet the English out on the Plains of Abraham where they were defeated and Quebec was lost to the French.

From the suspension bridge above the falls they do look more significant.

Also from the bridge you can see the stairway path leading down to the river from the far side. Lots of people like to start on the right side of the picture, cross the bridge, hike to the stairs, go down the stiars, cross the river at its mouth and ride a tram up to the right side of the picture and ending up where they started.

After our next stop we were able to stop and see the falls from below.

Here is some typical fall color from inside our bus looking through the window.