Cabano, Canada Summary

The area southeast of Rivière-du-Loup, along the Trans-Canada Highway towards New Brunswick, is saved from mediocrity by the graceful sweep of Lac Témiscouata, where a combination of lake, river, woods and hills is adorned by a dazzling display of wild flowers in spring. The Trans-Canada Highway offers glimpses of the lake, but it’s Hwy 232 that tracks along the prettiest stretches, leaving the main road at the sprawling lakeside village of CABANO. Aside from Fort Ingall (June-Sept daily 9.30am-6pm; $6.50), a restored British fortification dating from 1839, there’s little to do here except hang out by the lake. Built during a border dispute with the Americans, the fort was part of a series of schemes that strengthened the land link between the St Lawrence and the Bay of Fundy, protecting the area’s timber resources. Abandoned in 1842, having seen no action, Ingall has been painstakingly reconstructed, its high stockade surrounding a squat wooden barracks, blockhouse and officers’ quarters. Inside the officers’ quarters are enjoyable displays on the background to the fort’s construction, contemporaneous army life and local archeological finds. There’s also a section on Archie Belaney, aka Grey Owl, the British conservationist turned native, who settled in the area in the 1920s. From Cabano, Hwy 232 follows the shore of the lake before snaking back to the St Lawrence at Rimouski – or you can take the more direct Hwy 293 from the lake’s northern extremity to Trois-Pistoles.