Quebec Trans-Canada Highway Route: along Highway #20 between Quebec City-Levis and Riviere du Loup

Here is the itinerary for the 201 km along Highway #20 between Quebec City-Levis and Riviere du Loup:

Just east of Levis is a series of overhead hydro lines connecting Northern Quebec power dams with Quebec City, Montreal and the US, with a span of 1.5 km over the river. From Quebec City eastwards, the St Lawrence River widens significantly. The river here is a tidal estuary, where freshwater mixes with Atlantic tidal saltwater. This is a major stopping-off point on the East Coast migratory route for birds. Montmagny is renowned for its snow geese which visit in October on their way south from Baffin Island.

The North Shore is characterized by forest and rugged mountains overlooking the river, the South Shore is characterized by gentle farmland plains. The St Lawrence Lowlands provide diverse range of hardwood trees including maple and birch, mixed in with white spruce, balsam fir in higher areas and black spruce and eastern white cedar in wetter areas. This attracts many species of song birds, and the area is rich in hawks (who feed on small rodents). Along the highway you may notice some orchards.

The next crossing of the river is by ferry connecting Riviere du Loup on the South Shore with St Simeon on the North Shore. The ferry takes 1:15. During the winter, the Trans-Canada is subject to Nor'Easter wind conditions, and there are gates to block this stretch of the highway at Levis and Riviere du Loup.

At La Pocatiere (Exit 439) you can get off the highway and observe the opposite shore, now 20 km away. You can observe two valleys with a hill in the middle, which marks the 40 km wide Charlevoix Crater caused by the impact of a 2 km meteor over 350 million years ago. The southern half of the crater, was eroded away by the creation of the St Lawrence River valley.

To discover the river by car, take one of the panoramic Route 132 that winds along the South Shore, and discover stunning scenery and a host of charming ancestral villages (many dating back to the 1600s and 1680s) await you! These villages were laid out on the French seigneural system, under the Anciens Regime (ie before the British) and have long narrow plots rising up from the river, used to provided transportation and the water supply. Roads connected farms to the seigneur's flour mill and the church. We have information on a number of the villages along this route:

The Trans-Canada Highway was built away from the St Lawrence to keep these historical villages in their pristine state. There is an industry association for these villages, Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec, though the good parts of their website are French-only.

Riviere du Loup is a seaside town of 15,000, roughly the opposite bank from where the massive Saguenay pours its nutrients into the St Lawrence. There are several variations on why the town was named, though the French word for seals, "Loup," seems the most plausible. There are some parks along the shoreline where you can observe the birds and sea mammals along the river. If you head about 10-15 km east of Riviere du Loup, to where the Saguenay River mouth is opposite, you can observe lots of whales, especially beluga whales. They prefer this area as a rich feeding ground, fed by two rivers.

Next West: Montreal to Quebec City

Next East: Riviere du Loup, Quebec to Grand Falls, NB

Quebec Government road condition reports for this segment.

Customize Your Trans-Canada Highway Itineraries Form
Direction: East to West West to East	Distance Scale: km \ miles	Elevation Scale: metres feet

Select Specific Features: (none selected= ALL selected)
Highway Street Boundary (mun'l/prov'l) Ferry Highway Feature Government Tourist Info Web Cams Bridge Tunnel	Railway crossing U-turn Viewpoint Highway plaque Passing lane Divided highway Speed test section Speed trap location Rest stop Body Of Water	Fauna Flora Structure First Nations Attraction Family Amusement Recreation-Sports Gas Lodging Retail	Transportation Food Emergency Neighbourhood Park Industrial Geology

KM From Start EAST \| WEST		HighWay Point & Feature Description	Municipality	Elevation (metres)	Map	Add Info
0	201	Exit #96 Rue Fraserville NE to community of Riviere-du-loup	Riviere-du-Loup	121
4	197	Exit #499 Highway #20 junction with Highway #185 (Trans Canada Highway) East to community of Riviere-du-Loup, all services. South east to Quebec / New Brunswick, border. South east city of Edmundston�	Riviere-du-Loup	91.1
5	196	EB Rest area on south side of highway, picnic tables, toilets, telephone		93.9
7	194	Exit #496 North to Notre-Dame-du-Portage (1 km). Accommodation & services. S to access the Riviere-du-Loup airport (2 km)		103.3
18	183	Exit #488 junction with route #289 South to community of Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska (3 km)		87.2
22	179	Exit #480 Route de la Station, N to community of Saint-Andre (3 km). South to community of Saint-Joseph-de-Kamouraska (8 km)		121
29	172	overpass: Route de St-Germain		90.5
29	172	Exit #474 Route Mississipp N to community of Saint-Andre. Rue de l'Eglise S to community of Sainte-Helene (1 km)	Sainte-Helene	107.9
31.5	169.5	overpass: 2E Range / Route de St-Germain		76.2
34.5	166.5	Climbing escarpment		68
35	166	Exit #465 Route de Kamouoraska (N) to Kamouraska (5 km) and Route Rochette (S) to community of Saint-Pascal (1 km), services	Saint-Pascal	29.6
36.2	164.8	crossing small river with extensive waterfalls accessible from Saint Pascal	Saint-Pascal	29
38	163	Overpass Route du Pain de Sucre (no access)		29.9
44	157	Roadside Highway Turnout Rest Area Both sides of highway, picnic tables, toilets, telephone.		47.5
47	154	Exit #456, route #287 S to Saint-Phillippe-de-Mer, N to Saint-Denis (5 km)		36.9
50	151	Wetlands and peat bogs to NE of highway		26.5
54	147	Exit #450 Chemin du Haute-SR-la Riviere, NW to Riviere Quelle airport, services, SE to community of Saint-Pacome		22.6
55	146	Crossing Riviere Quelle		18.3
62	139	Overpass: Toute Verbois (no access)		5.8
64	137	Exit #439 SE to community of La Pointiere. Information Centre, North side of highway.		3.4
68	133	Exit 436, 2E Rue Guimond, connecting to route #132, #230 SE to community of La Pocatiere (1 km) services	La Pocatiere	3.4
73	128	Exit #430, junction with route #132 Scenic route along south shore of St Lawrence. W to Village des Aulnaies (1km), Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies (4 km)	La Pocatiere	17.4
87	114	Route De L'elglise (no access), Ste Louise 1 km N of hwy		32.9
93	108	underpass Route Elgin (no access) campground 3km N		53.9
100	101	Exit #414, route # 204 S to community of Saint-Aubert, Saint-Damase-de-L'islet, La-Dene-Lieve campground . N to community of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, all services & accommodation, camping		52.4
102	99	Crossing the River Port-Joli		20.4
106	95	overpass Chemin du Moulin (no access)		29.3
111.3	89.7	overpass Chemin Morin (no access) east to L'Iletville		28.3
113	88	Exit #400 route #285 / Route De L'eglise, S to community of Saint-Eugene (2 km). North to community of L'Islet (1 km),services, and L'Islet sur Mer (3 km), services & accommodation	L'Islet	39.3
114.4	86.6	EB Rest Area South side of highway, Information, picnic tables, toilets, telephone.		55.5
114.5	86.5	WB Rest Area, North side of highway, Information, picnic tables, toilets telephone.		56.4
116	85	Overpass Route Cendree-Lafeuille (no access)		47.9
117	84	Crossing Riviere de Perdrix ("Partridge" River)		43.3
118	83	Overpass Route Des Quatre-Chemins ("Four Ways")		41.5
120	81	Exit #388 Route Petit-Cap to Route 132, N to community of Cap-Saint-Ignace, all services & accommodation		41.1
123	78	Overpass, Route Ballavance (no access)		23.2
139	62	Exit #378, route #283 S to Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire. NW to community of Montmagny, all services, Point-Aux Campground (4 km)	Montmagny	15.5
139.4	61.6	bridge over Riviere du Sud	Montmagny	14.9
141	60	Exit #376, route 228 Chemin du Coteau N to Montmagny, all services & accommodation	Montmagny	29.9
144	57	Exit #369, Route de St-Pierre N to route 132, Rue Principale S to Saint-Pierre Montagny (4 km)		29.9
149	52	Exit #364 Route de St-Francois N to Route 132 and town of Berthier-sur-Mer		32
149.6	51.4	Emergency U-turn		33.2
157	44	Exit #356 Montee de la Station, N to Route 132 and town of Saint-Vallier		42.4
161.5	39.5	Underpass 3E Range (no access) and Emergency U-turn		29.9
165	36	Exit #348 to Route 281 N to St-Michel de Bellechasse (1 km)	St-Michel de Bellechasse	61.6
166.9	34.1	WB Rest area with restaurant with bathrooms		82
166.9	34.1	Emergency U-turn		81.1
167	34	EB Rest areas with bathrooms		87.8
172	29	Exit #341 Route de Beaumont, S to town of Saint-Charles 97 km), N to Route 132, town of Beaumont (2 km), services and Camping Carol campground (2 km)		78.9
175	26	Emergency cross-over lanes in median		88.7
176	25	Exit #337 Rue de l'Anse S (N) and #279 S to town of St Charles (10 km)to accomodation, services and camping along #132 along St Lawrence River		71.6
177.3	23.7	Emergency U-turn		74.1
181.4	19.6	Emergency cross-over lanes in median		76.5
183	18	Exit #330 Chemin St Roch (S) access to Camping Transit (4 km), and Route Lallemand (N) access to services, accommodation, camping		86.9
185	16	Emergency cross-over lanes in median		80.2
186	15	Exit #327 half cloverleaf interchange, Route MRG-Bourget	Levis	82.9
187	14	WB Exit #325 Boulevard Alphonse-Desjardins, N to Levis, all services & accommodation, golfing, and passenger ferry to Quebec City (5 km)	Levis	67.4
187.4	13.6	Emergency cross-over lanes in median		64.3
188	13	Exit #325, 3/4 cloverleaf interchange, Route President Kennedy #173, N to Levis, all services & accomodation, golfing, and passenger ferry to Quebec City (5 km), south to community of Pintendre (3 km)	Levis	61.6
192	9	Emergency cross-over lanes in median	Levis	54.9
193.3	7.7	Chemin Des Iles, with St-Romuald refinery, Golf De L'Auberivi�re to north, water purification plant to south	Levis	53.6
194.3	6.7	crossing Riviere Etchernin, small rapids may be visible to south	Levis	27.7
195	6	Exit #318 half-cloverleaf interchange, services both sides, 4E Avenue (N) to community of Saint-Romuald (2 km), and Rue Commerciale (S) to Saint-Hen Chrysostome (3 km)	Levis	46.6
196.7	4.3	Emergency cross-over lanes in median	Levis	47.2
198	3	passing through forested park both sides (webcam 14)		44.5
199.3	1.7	Exit #314 Truck weight station, WB exit for Chemin De Sault & Highway 73 (thru traffic stay in left lanes)		48.5
200	1	Emergency U-turn	Charney (Levis)	47.5
200.6	0.4	Railway overpass	Charney (Levis)	46
201	0	Exit #312, major interchange with Autoroute #73 (webcam 8) North to Ste Foy and Quebec City Airport, south to town of Charny, east to Levis	Charney (Levis)	44.5
KM From Start EAST \| WEST		HighWay Point & Feature Description	Municipality	Elevation (metres)	Map	Add Info

Note to Businesses, and their Web Marketers

TransCanadaHighway.com itinerary links are included with no obligation, and no cost to businesses and community organizations considered important to travelers. They are, however, �nofollow� links (Your web designer, would be pleased to give you an explanation).

To improve the web marketing results, YOU MUST ADD your business to the corresponding FoundLocally site and then "Add Free Listing". There you can register to add your business, add a description, link to your website (this time, not a "nofollow" link), include a logo or photo, select appropriate categories for what your business does or sells, and also post news, events, savings (coupons, sales, discounts), as well as jobs. And yes, all FOR FREE (no catch!). We have lots of industry-specific web marketing tips on Blog.FoundLocally.com. All local businesses and community organizations are welcome on FoundLocally.com*

A last note to Web Marketers: See web marketing tips for web designers and SEO professionals on our blog.

* subject to our "family-friendly, office-friendly, school-friendly" listing policy.

Quebec: between Quebec City-Levis and Riviere du Loup via #20

Customize Your Trans-Canada Highway Itineraries Form

Note to Businesses, and their Web Marketers