The Bean Explores Canyon St. Anne

Within 10 minutes from where we are staying in Beaupré, Quebec just happens to be an area attraction that tops EVERY list: Canyon St. Anne. At 74 metres high, Canyon St. Anne stands head and shoulders above Niagara Falls. The canyon boasts waterfalls, suspension-bridges, trails, a small playground rappelling & zip lining. Fortunately, the rapelling and zip-lining are closed as a part of the COVIDcautions, which means Grandpa is off the hook! He’d casually mentioned that he would be up for trying ziplining sometime and ever since I’d been trying to find the amount of money that would clinch the deal.

Unfortunately, another COVIDcaution happens to be the playground closure, which doesn’t work in our favour. When the playground wnters into the Bean’s sight line, Grandpa and I turn sideways, start singing and jumping up and down, waving our arms to prevent the Bean from spotting the playground and then having a meltdown when she isn’t allowed to play on it.

The attraction also offers an app called ‘The Legend of the Petraminis’, designed to gameify the history and origins of the Canyon. Here’s a blurb about the game from the Canyon St. Anne website:

Enter the world of the Petraminis and discover how such tiny creatures have shaped the history of the Canyon Sainte-Anne, this colossus of water and stone. Wander through the paths and help the Petraminis find the colours of the rainbow that was broken by the Giants.

The Bean has long been fascinated by waterfalls and this Region boasts a large number of them. Canyon St. Anne is among the most impressive. I’ve intentionally booked this vacation to coincide with the back to school date of the elementary and secondary schools in this Region. I was banking on this reducing the number of visitors to the site, which is super-important to me right now due to COVID and the fact that our little Espresso Bean is overstimulated by large crowds. I also looked up the attraction’s busiest times of day, for the weekday we planned to visit, online so as to avoid line-ups and crowds. As anticipated, when we pulled into the parking lot at 10:30am, the other cars were few and far between. As Canyon St. Anne didn’t offer an online ticket purchasing option, we line up, encouraged to space ourselves appropriately from the one and only family in front of ours, by a large red dot marked with the 2 metre social distancing rule icon in white. The staffer at the gate greets us and asks whether we’d prefer she speak in French or English. She explains that we’re expected to remain 2 metres apart from other visitors to the site. She also encourages everyone to wear a face mask while visiting the ticket area or restaurant and when passing by other groups or families. We are also informed that there are signs indicating the maximum number of visitors allowed on each observation deck. Additionally the path that basically is one large loop around the canyon has been designated as a one-way path. Another COVID related precaution is the closure of washrooms along the path throughout the Canyon. Washrooms at the front entrance were open, though. We were asked to use hand sanitizer upon entering and I purchased our tickets at the gate.

We paid:

Adults: $12.60

Children 0-5: Free

Parking is on-site and free.

If we were able to purchase tickets online in advance, I couldn’t find that information on the Canyon St. Anne website.

Once we passed through the ticket booth we were met with a smooth, wide concrete path. There are few things the Bean loves more than a flat, wide path opening up in front of her, no obstacles blocking her way, no vehicles, barely any people even! She loves it so much, in fact, that she passes 4 of the gorgeously carved animal statues (pictured below) without even giving them a second glance. I do manage to catch her and have her pose with Hubs, albeit begrudgingly for this pic:

She let loose, running, skipping and hopping down the path until other visitors approached and we had to encourage the Bean to social distance. On first attempt, she slapped my hand away, but I grasp her hand firmly, pull her off to the side of the path, kneel down, make eye contact, sign and say ‘no hitting!’ We resume and the Bean throws her usual high level of caution to the wind and runs down the long hill. At the bottom of the hill is our first glimpse of the canyon.

The Bean pops her usual squat:

I sit down next to her, curious to see what she sees from her vantage point. I look through the chain-link fence and see this:

(You may agree that the chain link fence takes away somehow, from the overall view.)

I mentally berate myself for not having tried harder and more often to try to see things from Bean’s perspective.

We quickly hoist her in to her Evenflo backpack.

Note: I believe this particular child carrier/backpack has been discontinued. However, Phil & Teds make some that I’ve been eyeing! Some of their models are designed for a child up to 40 pounds! They are super-compact; even those pesky backpack straps and always-in-the-way clips tuck in to zippered pockets, perfect for plane travel (if we ever fly again, sigh). With details like footrests and a rain hood, Phil & Ted (bless ‘em both) have thought of everything! Other outdoor and backpack brands, like Thule, Deuter and Kelty have joined the child backpack/carrier game. Just look for a wide waist belt to redistribute the weight from resting only on your shoulders and make sure that the kickstand or freestanding base is sturdy and will lock securely in place. Remember: the more comfortable your backpack, the longer that daytrip to the aquarium or hike through the woods can last!

Now, not only does the Bean have a much better view of the Canyon and waterfalls, but also and, much more importantly, the backpack prevents her from switching directions on the trail on a whim (Bean, we’re losing ground!), slowing down our group and those behind us down, and most importantly, it prevents our tiny runner from running.

Note: we generally alternate between the backpack and having the Bean walk and run.

Once the Bean is comfortable perched atop Hubs’ back, we start off across the bridge. Just a few steps from Bean’s view through the chain link fence and now she can see the view that we see:

We proceed along the trail and stop at each of the 6 Observation Pavillions. The Canyon truly is breathtaking. While I feel that, overall, Canyon St. Anne has done a good job of laying out the appropriate COVID safety policies, I am dismayed to see an almost complete lack of directional arrows on the trail and only spot maximum capacity signs on 2 of at least 6 observation decks. Additionally, there are bridges and staircases throughout the Canyon where it is not possible to allow for an appropriate amount of social distancing. In these areas, I wondered why staff had not been stationed at either end of a staircase or bridge with walkie-talkies to facilitate one-way traffic flow. In fact, I didn’t see any staff during our entire hike throughout the canyon. I have to admit feeling a bit disillusioned at the number of visitors to the site who walk in the middle of pathways or the wrong way on a one-way trail. Not to mention those who crowd their way onto observation decks, making social distancing impossible or refuse to don masks when encountering others in close proximity. It certainly seems like these are the actions of folks who have had the luxury of enjoying good health over the course of their life and can’t quite imagine ever being seriously ill. Overall though, we’re outside, which is where I feel we’re safest.

It is a beautiful sunny day, but not too hot. I feel lucky to be breathing (not through a mask, unless we’re passing another group), to be outdoors and to have the opportunity to watch as my daughter is, not only completely focused and interested in something, but also visibly delighted.

There was a day, in the not too distant past, when I worried whether anything would ever hold her interest. So, she likes waterfalls right now? We’ll visit 3 this week! I’ll plan hiking excursions, camping weekends and international trip itineraries around waterfalls. If I can give her more of what she loves (assuming it’s not harmful to her or anyone else), why wouldn’t I do that? If I can give her the opportunity to see this:

and that leaves her feeling overjoyed, then that’s what I’ll do.