 |
 The mainland portion of the Appalachian Mountains / Les Appalaches lie between the Gaspé Peninsula of Québec and Porter Gap, Alabama. Within the IAT portion are the spectacular cliffs of Forillon National Park,
where the mountains abruptly drop to the sea at the Gulf of St. Lawrence. To reach this spectacular view, the IAT/SIA links Mt. Katahdin, Mt. Carleton, and Mt. Jacques Cartier - the three highest peaks in Maine, New Brunswick and southern Québec, respectively.
The trail connects with the Appalachian Trail in Maine atop Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park, or alternatively at Baxter Park's southern border at Rainbow Bridge. After heading north and then east out of Matagamnon Gate, or east then north around the eastern border of Baxter State Park, it angles east in the direction of Mt. Chase and then continues north to Mars Hill Mountain. It does this primarily by following well-marked scenic roads until the vicinity of Mars Hill, where 22 miles of trail have been secured and built. It then follows the international boundary north for about 12 miles to Fort Fairfield, where it crosses into Perth-Andover, New Brunswick. Those wishing to begin or end their hike within Baxter State Park in Maine must make reservations with the park.
From there, the trail heads up the Tobique River, past Plaster Rock to Mt. Carleton, then proceeds northwest to St. Quentin. Following the Restigouche River northeast to Matapedia, it crosses into Québec and then north to Mt. Logan in the western portion of the Parc de la Gaspésie and then eastward to Mt. Jacques Cartier by the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The trail's final leg proceeds southeast along the St. Lawrence to Parc National Forillon where it ends at a lighthouse atop a rock face called "La Vieille."
While in a number of cases existing trails are being redesignated as multi-use trails in New Brunswick and Québec, nearly the entire Maine section will be new. To help with this effort in Maine, follow this link to join the Maine Chapter of the IAT/SIA. membership form
Reservations are required in the parks of Canada for camping/lodging. Please use the following contact information to obtain reservations:
Forillon National Park
Tel: (418) 368-6050
Address: 122 DeGaspé Boulevard
Gaspé Québec G4X 1A9
Canada
Parc national de la Gaspésie
Tel: (418) 763-7494
Address: 1981 route du Parc
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts
Quebec G4V 2E4
Canada
Mont Carleton Park
Tel: (506) 235-0793
Fax: (506) 235-0795
The following files are presented (mostly) in PDF format. If you do not have Acrobat Reader on your computer, you can download it for FREE at: http://www.adobe.com
| |
