Canyon Sainte-Anne, Natural canyon in Beaupré, Canada.
Canyon Sainte-Anne is a gorge in Beaupré, Quebec, carved by a river flowing through ancient rock formations and crossed by suspension bridges. The rocky walls display layered stone formations while the river continuously flows through the narrow passage.
The Sainte-Anne-du-Nord River was used for log driving in the early 20th century. In summer 1965 a former logger told Jean-Marie McNicoll how to reach the falls; with no road, McNicoll went through the woods. Two years later the McNicoll brothers leased the riverbanks from Hydro-Québec and bought the wooded lots between Route 138 and the shore. The site opened to visitors on 14 July 1973.
The canyon's falls were painted by Canadian artist Cornelius Krieghoff and described by Henry David Thoreau in his book A Yankee in Canada. In 1999 the site served as a filming location for John Travolta's Battlefield Earth. Since 2017, the Air Canyon attraction has carried visitors 90 metres above the gorge at speeds near 50 km/h.
The site is open from May to October and lies 6 km east of Beaupré, about 25 to 30 minutes from Quebec City off Route 138. Three suspension footbridges cross the gorge, one 60 m above the river, and the wooden plank decks have open gaps between the boards. Rock-climbing, rappelling and the via ferrata are allowed only with supervision.
The site hosts Canada's first via ferrata installation, a system of ladders and cables fixed to the rock face for climbing. This allows visitors to choose a more challenging route instead of only following standard walking paths.
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