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Home > Quebec's Trans-Canada Highway > Quebec City to Riviere du Loup Itinerary

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 1700s) 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: :

• St-Michelle de Bellechasse
• St-Vallier de Bellechasse
• Montmagny
• L'Islet sur Mer
• La Poctiere
• Kamouraska
• Saint-Jean Port Joli
• St-Antoine de Tilly

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.

Use mouse to drag/move map. Click on "+" or "-" to zoom in or out. "Satellite" shows photo, "Hybrid" combines map & photo.

Next West: Montreal to Quebec City

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

Quebec Government road condition reports for this segment.

KM from Start		Highway Point Description	Municipality	GPS and Map Zoom
EB	WB
0	201	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	Charny (Levis)	Map Zoom
0	201	Railway overpass	Charny (Levis)	Map Zoom
1	200	Emergency U-turn	Charny (Levis)	Map Zoom
2	199	Exit #314 Truck weight station, WB exit for Chemin De Sault & Highway 73 (thru traffic stay in left lanes)		Map Zoom
3	198	passing through forested park both sides (webcam 14)		Map Zoom
4	197	Emergency cross-over lanes in median	Levis	Map Zoom
6	195	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	Map Zoom
7	194	crossing Riviere Etchernin, small rapids may be visible to south	Levis	Map Zoom
8	193	Chemin Des Iles, with St-Romuald refinery, Golf De L'Auberivière to north, water purification plant to south	Levis	Map Zoom
9	192	Emergency cross-over lanes in median	Levis	Map Zoom
13	188	Exit #325, 3/4 cloverleaf interchange, Route President Kennedy #173, N to Levis, all services & accommodation, golfing, and passenger ferry to Quebec City (5 km), south to community of Pintendre (3 km)	Levis	Map Zoom
14	187	Emergency cross-over lanes in median		Map Zoom
14	187	WB Exit #325 Boulevard Alphonse-Desjardins, N to Levis, all services & accommodation, golfing, and passenger ferry to Quebec City (5 km)	Levis	Map Zoom
15	186	Exit #327 half cloverleaf interchange, Route MRG-Bourget	Levis	Map Zoom
16	185	Emergency cross-over lanes in median		Map Zoom
18	183	Exit #330 Chemin St Roch (S) access to Camping Transit (4 km), and Route Lallemand (N) access to services, accommodation, camping		Map Zoom
20	181	Emergency cross-over lanes in median		Map Zoom
24	177	Emergency U-turn		Map Zoom
25	176	Exit #337 Rue de l'Anse S (N) and #279 S to town of St Charles (10 km)to accommodation, services and camping along #132 along St Lawrence River		Map Zoom
26	175	Emergency cross-over lanes in median		Map Zoom
29	172	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)		Map Zoom
34	167	EB Rest areas with bathrooms		Map Zoom
34	167	WB Rest area with restaurant with bathrooms		Map Zoom
34	167	Emergency U-turn		Map Zoom
36	165	Exit #348 to Route 281 N to St-Michel de Bellechasse (1 km)	St-Michel de Bellechasse	Map Zoom
40	162	Underpass 3E Range (no access) and Emergency U-turn		Map Zoom
44	157	Exit #356 Montee de la Station, N to Route 132 and town of Saint-Vallier		Map Zoom
51	150	Emergency U-turn		Map Zoom
52	149	Exit #364 Route de St-Francois N to Route 132 and town of Berthier-sur-Mer		Map Zoom
56	145	Emergency U-turn		Map Zoom
57	144	Exit #369, Route de St-Pierre N to route 132, Rue Principale S to Saint-Pierre Montagny (4 km)		Map Zoom
60	141	Exit #376, route 228 Chemin du Coteau N to Montmagny, all services & accommodation	Montmagny	Map Zoom
62	139	bridge over Riviere du Sud	Montmagny	Map Zoom
62	139	Exit #378, route #283 S to Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire. NW to community of Montmagny, all services, Point-Aux Campground (4 km)	Montmagny	Map Zoom
78	123	Overpass, Route Ballavance (no access)		Map Zoom
81	120	Exit #388 Route Petit-Cap to Route 132, N to community of Cap-Saint-Ignace, all services & accommodation		Map Zoom
83	118	Overpass Route Des Quatre-Chemins ("Four Ways")		Map Zoom
84	117	Crossing Riviere de Perdrix ("Partridge" River)		Map Zoom
87	115	WB Rest Area, North side of highway, Information, picnic tables, toilets telephone.		Map Zoom
87	114	EB Rest Area South side of highway, Information, picnic tables, toilets, telephone.		Map Zoom
85	116	Overpass Route Cendree-Lafeuille (no access)		Map Zoom
88	113	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	Map Zoom
90	111	overpass Chemin Morin (no access) east to L'Iletville		Map Zoom
95	106	overpass Chemin du Moulin (no access)		Map Zoom
99	102	Crossing the River Port-Joli		Map Zoom
101	100	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		Map Zoom
108	93	underpass Route Elgin (no access) campground 3km N		Map Zoom
114	87	Route De L'eglise (no access), Ste Louise 1 km N of hwy		Map Zoom
128	73	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	Map Zoom
133	68	Exit 436, 2E Rue Guimond, connecting to route #132, #230 SE to community of La Pocatiere (1 km) services	La Pocatiere	Map Zoom
137	64	Exit #439 SE to community of La Pointiere. Information Centre, North side of highway.		Map Zoom
139	62	Overpass: Toute Verbois (no access)		Map Zoom
146	55	Crossing Riviere Quelle		Map Zoom
147	54	Exit #450 Chemin du Haute-SR-la Riviere, NW to Riviere Quelle airport, services, SE to community of Saint-Pacome		Map Zoom
151	50	Wetlands and peat bogs to NE of highway		Map Zoom
154	47	Exit #456, route #287 S to Saint-Phillippe-de-Mer, N to Saint-Denis (5 km)		Map Zoom
157	44	Roadside Highway Turnout Rest Area Both sides of highway, picnic tables, toilets, telephone.		Map Zoom
163	38	Overpass Route du Pain de Sucre (no access)		Map Zoom
165	36	crossing small river with extensive waterfalls accessible from Saint Pascal	Saint-Pascal	Map Zoom
166	35	Exit #465 Route de Kamouraska (N) to Kamouraska (5 km) and Route Rochette (S) to community of Saint-Pascal (1 km), services	Saint-Pascal	Map Zoom
167	35	Climbing escarpment		Map Zoom
170	32	overpass: 2E Range / Route de St-Germain		Map Zoom
172	29	overpass: Route de St-Germain		Map Zoom
172	29	Exit #474 Route Mississipp N to community of Saint-Andre. Rue de l'Eglise S to community of Sainte-Helene (1 km)	Sainte-Helene	Map Zoom
179	22	Exit #480 Route de la Station, N to community of Saint-Andre (3 km). South to community of Saint-Joseph-de-Kamouraska (8 km)		Map Zoom
183	18	Exit #488 junction with route #289 South to community of Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska (3 km)		Map Zoom
194	7	Exit #496 North to Notre-Dame-du-Portage (1 km). Accommodation & services, S to access the Riviere-du-Loup airport (2 km)		Map Zoom
196	5	EB Rest area on south side of highway, picnic tables, toilets, telephone		Map Zoom
197	4	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. West to Town of Levis & Quebec City (188 km)	Riviere-du-Loup	Map Zoom
201	0	Exit #96 Rue Fraserville NE to community of Riviere-du-Loup	Riviere-du-Loup	Map Zoom
KM from Start		Highway Point Description	Municipality	GPS and Map Zoom
EB	WB