Chartierville, Quebec Camping & Hiking 9/22–9/25/2026

This year, our annual Quebec camping trip brought us to the small village of Chartierville.

 

On Tuesday, after getting groceries in La Patrie, we went for our first hike of the trip on the Sentiers Frontaliers network of trails. This short hike on Sentier principal vers le Mont Mégantic brought us to a massive old white pine. Along the way, we passed through a sugarbush and had to ford a small river. After reaching the tree, we had lunch beside the river, before heading back.

Starting our hike to the huge pine tree

The river that we forded

The massive white pine

We then drove to Camping du Ruisseau in Chartierville. This municipal campground has 8 RV sites and 6 tent sites, and when we arrived, none of them were occupied! We chose Site 3, the most secluded and private site tucked into the dense forest. After setting up camp, we played the municipal miniature golf course, located next to the campground, and walked around the village. We found it to be a picturesque Quebecoise village, and the near peak foliage made the mountain scenery especially stunning.

Sign for the campground

Frosty Wednesday morning

We awoke Wednesday morning to a heavy frost blanketing the landscape. Sierra opted to spend the day at the campsite, while Sampson and I went for a hike. We returned to the extensive Sentiers Frontaliers trail system to hike to two peaks on the Canada/United States border. We started our hike on Le sentier des 40 colons which brought us through a basin between the mountains. The trail was well built and marked, but seemed lightly trafficked and had a wild and remote feel to it—I loved it! After a short stretch on Le sentier du Mont Trumbell, we reached Sentier principal and a lean-to for backpackers.

Staionnment Mario Dostie

View ahead towards Mont Trumbell

Lean-to near the base of  Mont Trumbell

Past the lean-to, we started the steep ascent up Mont Trumbell (Snag Pond Peak). We reached the border swath shortly before making it to the summit. There were some good views near the summit from the swath. We then descended into the saddle between Mont Trumbell and Mont D'Urban, before climbing the latter. We reached the forest summit of Mont D'Urban on the swath, and then turned around, eating lunch at a good viewpoint towards Mont Trumbell a little while later.

View towards Mont Salmon from the border swath on Mont Trumbell

Border marker

Heading towards Mont D'Urban

After ascending much of the way back up Mont Trumbell, we turned right onto Le sentier du Mont Trumbell and made our way back to where we parked. The total hike distance was 10.7 miles and we didn't see anyone else the entire way.

View back towards Mont Trumbell from Mont D'Urban

View towards Chartierville from Mont D'Urban

At the summit of Mont D'Urban

After a second night of having the campground completely to ourselves, we awoke to another cold, frosty morning on Thursday. After breakfast in camp, we headed back to the Sentiers Frontaliers for another hike.

 

Starting again from Staionnment Mario Dostie, we began hiking on Sentier principal. At the first trail junction, Sampson and I continued up Mont Salmon, while Sierra turned onto Le sentier des 40 colons to head directly to Mont Trumbell (Snag Pond Peak). The ascent up Mont Salmon was gradual at first and then became moderately steep. After reaching the border swath, the trail followed the swath along the summit ridge of the mountain. Because the true summit is located in New Hampshire, we only went as high as the trail did.

On the border swath on Mont Salmon

Hiking along the swath

One of many hunting shacks along the border

After the highpoint on Mont Salmon, we descended to the backpacking shelter, before climbing Mont Trumbell for the second day in a row. On the climb, we met up with Sierra, shortly before reaching the border swath again. We also made a short detour off of the trail to the true summit of the mountain. We ate lunch at the viewpoint towards Mont Mégantic, enjoying the peak foliage, before heading back down Le sentier du Mont Trumbell and Le sentier des 40 colons back to the car. Yet again, we had the trails completely to ourselves!

At the summit of Mont Trumbell

Summit canister on Mont Trumbell (Snag Pond Peak in the US)

View of the Mégantic Massif from Mont Trumbell

After another, slightly warmer, night at the still empty campground, we packed up on Friday morning and headed south into New Hampshire. After a slightly delayed border crossing (One of the customs officers was late for work!), we went for a short hike at Garfield Falls on the East Branch of the Dead Diamond River. The waterfall was a beautiful spot to climb around and enjoy the scenery.

Viewpoint on the highway south of Chartierville

Garfield Falls

Garfield Falls

Further along, we went for another short hike up The Roost in Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge. This short hike provided excellent cliff-top views of the Magalloway River and to the Mahoosuc Mountains. After the hike, we ate lunch in Errol before driving back to Maine. We had an excellent trip, and we especially enjoyed the solitude in both the campground and on the Sentiers Frontaliers!

Start of the trail up The Roost

View from The Roost

The Mahoosuc Range

Androscoggin River Paddling 9/9/2026

Today, we continued our exploration of the Androscoggin River Trail on the section of river in Jay between Riley Dam and Pine Island. We put-in our canoe at the Snoopy Site launch, so named after the Snoopy cartoon which used to be painted on a water tank at the launch. From the launch, we started by paddling downstream a short distance to Pine Island, before turning around and making our way upstream.

Snoopy Site Launch

On the river

We paddled upstream which wasn't difficult on this part of the river, due to the downstream dam. The current only became noticeable as we approached Riley Dam. We paddled to the south bank of the river next to the dam and then ferried across the river under the dam to the opposite bank. The strong currents coming off of the dam made this especially challenging and fun!

At Riley Dam

Riley Dam

As we made our way back downstream, we stopped at a small sandy island to eat lunch. We also paddled down narrower channels to river left of a couple of larger islands. This was a great section of river to paddle in both directions, and we only saw one other boat out on the river today.

This inscription was apparently made by workers as a joke about their boss when the dam's concrete was rehabilitated.

We ate lunch on this small sandy island.

Mosher Hill Falls & Walrath Woods 8/12/2026

Our short outing today brought us to two pieces of land which were recently conserved by the High Peaks Alliance, Mosher Hill Falls in Farmington and Walrath Woods in Strong.

Mosher Hill Falls has long been a popular destination for Farmington locals with a small informal network of trails. Since their acquisition of the property, the High Peaks Alliance has formalized the trail network, creating a short blue-blazed lollipop loop around the falls and gorge. They have also constructed two sturdy aluminum bridges across the stream. Although there wasn't much water going over the waterfall today, it was still a nice little walk to check out the newly improved trails!

New signage at Mosher Hill Falls

One of the new bridges

In the gorge

Mosher Hill Falls

Located on Route 149 in Strong, Walrath Woods protects over a mile of the Sandy River's eastern bank, and it is now home to the only official non-motorized recreational trail in Strong. We started from the northern trailhead, and followed the trail south. It first passed through a red pine forest on an old woods road, before narrowing as it approached the riverbank. The southern half of the trail closely followed the river, below a steep slope. Just before its end at the southern trailhead, we took a small spur leading to a rock ledge beside the river. At just 0.8 mile long each way and with no steep slopes, a walk on this trail to the ledge is a great outing for hikers of any ability!

The northern trailhead at Walrath Woods

Passing through the red pine forest

Sandy River

Sandy River

Magic Falls Trail 7/5/2026

We spent the night of July 4th camped at MacDougall Pond Camp Sites in Caratunk. This first-come-first-served campground is rather basic, but it is affordable, the sites are large, and it has waterfronts on both MacDougall Pond and Wyman Lake. We got the last site available in the campground (Site 3), and spent the afternoon relaxing and swimming in MacDougall Pond.

Our campsite at MacDougall Pond Camp Sites

MacDougall Pond

Wyman Lake

On the morning of the 5th, we headed up to the Magic Falls Trail in Moxie Gore. This mostly easy trail runs from Take Out Road to the rapid called Magic Falls, which is one of the largest rapids on the Kennebec River. The unmarked and lightly used trail alternates between logged areas and more mature forests as it follows the rim of the Kennebec River Gorge upstream. At the rapids, the trail makes a steep descent into the gorge.

Magic Falls Trail

Magic Falls Trail

Magic Falls

We ended up timing our hike perfectly, and, when we arrived at the rapids, we watched numerous groups of rafters and kayakers run it. It was fun to watch, and we enjoyed the entertainment as we ate lunch beside the river. After lunch, we returned the way that we came along the trail. This trail definitely seems to get overlooked, and it is a nice hike with a unique destination!

Rafters running the rapid

Kayakers running the rapid

Rafters running the rapid

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