L'Isle-aux-Coudres

Isle-aux-Coudres is a municipality of the regional county municipality (RCM) of Charlevoix, in the administrative region of the Capitale-Nationale, on the north shore of the Saint-Laurent river, in Quebec, Canada.

Accessible by ferry via the wharf in the village of Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive (now part of Les Éboulements), Île-aux-Coudres is a popular and distinctive tourist destination. This island paradise offers a real change of scenery with its island lodges, its maritime history, its water and windmills, its economuseums, its crossroads, its artisanal cider house, its snowmobile trails, its bicycle tours, as well as the warm welcome of residents and vacationers.

Understand
Isle-aux-Coudres is a pleasant holiday destination thanks to:
 * La route du Fleuve (route 362 linking La Malbaie to Baie-Saint-Paul) which runs along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. Note: Many tourists take the Route du Fleuve (because of its maritime, rural and ancestral character) instead of Route 138 (main road) which passes further inland via Saint-Hilarion and Clermont;
 * its location requiring the ferry to reach Île aux Coudres from Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive. Note: the excursion on the river to Île aux Coudres by means of the ferry allows you to contemplate the relief of the coast and the mountains of Charlevoix;
 * its recreational tourism activities (hiking, biking, kayaking, its mill (water and wind), snowmobile);
 * its reception infrastructure (resorts, accommodation in hotels, inns or lodges, restaurants).

History
The main villages and hamlets of Isle-aux-Coudres are Saint-Bernard-sur-Mer (main village, located opposite the passage of Île aux Coudres), Cap aux Pierres, La Baleine (south-east side, comprising Cap à la Baleine), Isle-aux-Coudres (southwest side, with two bays) and Cap-à-la-Branche (west end of the island).

Geography
The topography of the island results from the rise of the terrain immediately following the impact of an asteroid with an estimated diameter of up to nearly 400 million years ago. The point of impact is estimated to be the summit of Mont Les Éboulements. The distance between the summit of Mont Les Éboulements and the centre of Île aux-Coudres is. This impact created a vast crater whose residue today stretches over 54 km in diameter. The island is found in the southern part of this crater.

Île aux Coudres, like the part of the south shore of the St. Lawrence facing Charlevoix, is part of the Appalachian geological province. The current territory of the island is the residue of the first parts of the "Charlevoisinnes" Appalachians.

The island has a length of 11.2 km by (maximum width) at high tide; at low tide, the island is  by  with a large expanse of sandstone on its periphery, except in the ferry dock area. At low tide, the sandstone stretches up to to the southwest, from Pointe à Simon (southwest of the island). The Battures de la Baleine (on the southeast coast) clear up to at low tide. While the Grande Batture stretches over 1.2 km to the northwest of the island (between Cap Labranche and Pointe de la Prairie).

The maximum altitude is to the northwest; the territory of the island is generally flat. The most important watercourse on the island is the rivière Rouge which begins in the centre of the island and flows south-west to at Church Bay. The watermills were erected there near its mouth. The main coves are (clockwise from the ferry dock):
 * north shore: Anse à Mailloux, Buttemont, Ruisseau Rouge, Trois Épinettes;
 * south-east shore: Anse à Léon, waiting, boats, Grandes Mares;
 * west shore: Anse de l'Eglise, Le Havre, Petite Anse de l'Îlet;
 * northwest shore: La Prairie anchorage.

Cartier Beach is located at La Prairie anchorage (northwest of the island), opposite Jacques Cartier Park, between Pointe de la Prairie and Pointe des Roches.

By car

 * From Tadoussac (, 2 hr 30 min), take the Tadoussac-Baie Sainte-Catherine ferry (free); take route 138 (westbound), to the village of La Malbaie; after the bridge over the Malbaie River, take Route 362 along the river to the village of Les Éboulements; take rue Du Pont (south), cross the village of Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive to the ferry wharf; take the Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive-Isle-aux-Coudres ferry.
 * From Quebec City (, 2 hr 01 min), take Route 138 eastbound to the village of Baie-Saint-Paul; take Route 362 along the St. Lawrence River to the village of Les Éboulements; take rue Du Pont (south), cross the village of Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive to the ferry wharf; take the Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive-Isle-aux-Coudres ferry.

By boat
A ferry (free service) connects Île aux Coudres to Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive. The distance between the shores of Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive and Île aux Coudres is ; however, because of the location of the Saint-Bernard-sur-Mer wharf (île aux Coudres), the ferry travels. The river crossing offers a magnificent panorama of the Charlevoix and Coudrilois coastline. The two river ferry stations are located at: