International Appalachian Trail, Long-distance hiking trail in Gaspésie, Canada

The International Appalachian Trail is a long-distance hiking route stretching over 650 kilometers through Quebec's mountains, forests, and coastal areas from Matapédia to Cap-Gaspé. The path includes high ridges, wooded valleys, and sections with views of water, offering walkers a mix of terrain types and landscapes throughout the journey.

The trail was proposed in 1994 by Richard Anderson, a Maine fisheries biologist, to cross parts of the Appalachian Mountains in Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec that the Appalachian Trail did not cover. Construction followed route selection in the late 1990s. John Brinda of Washington State became the first thru-hiker of the IAT as it then existed in 1997, completing it as part of the Eastern Continental Trail from Key West to Cap Gaspé.

The trail's name comes from the Appalachian Mountains, whose rocks continue across the Atlantic. The Quebec section, SIA-QC / GR A1, was the first long-distance trail in America to receive the French GR (Grande Randonnée) certification. The plaque at Forillon National Park marks the eastern end at Cap Gaspé.

The Quebec section, marked SIA-QC / GR A1, begins at Matapédia and ends at Cap Gaspé in Forillon National Park, passing Amqui, the Matane wildlife reserve, Mont Logan, Mont Albert and Mont Jacques-Cartier. Beyond Quebec the route continues by bus or train to Sackville, New Brunswick, then over the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island and by ferry to Pictou, Nova Scotia.

The plaque at Forillon National Park marks the trail's eastern end at Cap Gaspé, showing a hiker with backpack and walking stick and the years "SIA / AT / 1998". The route was proposed in 1994 by Richard Anderson, a Maine fisheries biologist, and built through the late 1990s.