L'Auberge Refuge du Trappeur Inn

The inn sits right by the entrance to Mauricie national park, and the two owners were friendly and welcoming. Our room was clean and comfortable, with a fan and microwave but no fridge. I’d come back. One thing we hadn’t been told ahead of time was that the tap water wasn’t potable. The nearest store is about a 25-minute drive, so we had to go buy water there. It would’ve helped to know in advance. Dinner isn’t offered, so it’s best to eat in the village or bring something along. Breakfast was continental: coffee, fruit salad, bread, a pastry, jam, and butter. Enough to get by, though nothing special.

We only stayed a night in one of the tipies, and it was a bit run-down, but the host was lovely and clearly doing her best. The fire that evening was great. It wasn’t crowded, and we had a really good time even though not everything was perfect or up to a high standard. We’d come back agan.

We’d already settled the full amount through Airbnb before arriving, but at checkout the next day, a woman came rushing out as we loaded the car and yelled that we owed taxes. We said we’d paid through Airbnb, and she insisted there were extra taxes it didn’t cover. We paid because we wanted to leave quickly after a disappointing stay. Looking at the complete Airbnb invoice later, it seemed those taxes had already been included. We also raised concerns about appropriation of indigenous culture. The owners have ignored ours and other reviewers’ concerns, which is ignorant given their French-European background. That feels especially troubling after the recent discoveries of unmarked graves at several residential schools.

The canoeing was enjoyable, the sunrise was lovely, and our guide André was cool. Those are the reasons I’m not giving this 1/5, even though we didn’t see any animals. My friend and I came hoping to observe moose and beaver. I’d seen positive comments about the activity, but I found it really overrated. They say it lasts five hours, though the actual observation trip is 2.5 hours. The rest is spent getting to the right place and putting the canoes in the water. Don’t expect a very wild expedition, since the description doesn’t match what it’s like. They advertise an 80% chance of seeing moose. The guide said this season has been really bad compared with previous ones: no moose yesterday or today, and the often cold, rainy summer doesn’t help. Still, at $100 per person, I expected a really good chance to see the animals. The promised small breakfast was just two cookies and the cheapest supermarket coffee or juice. After reading the recent comments, I get the sense they care about making easy money that hasn’t been earned.