The Riviere Mistassibi Nord-Est is a whitewater canoe tripping river located north of Lac St-Jean, Quebec. It falls 1200ft over 108km and has long continuous sections of rapids. The number of rapids added to the stunning scenery makes this trip spectacular. I would say it's a 'medium' river in terms of difficulty. After leaving Dolbeau-Mistassini, the town on north end of the lake, it's another 250km north via logging road to get to the start. Information on the the river and how to get there can be found here. For reference, the river gauge was at 219 cms when we left cell range on July 28th, 2025, and when we returned August 4th, 2025 the level was at 143 cms.
Day 0 Monday July 28th, 2025
We travelled by truck 12 hours (~1000km) to get to the take-out area of the river. This doesn't include the extra 113km up to the put-in. When we arrived at the town of Dolbeau-Mistassini, we made sure to fuel up (including an extra jerry can) and ate a fast food dinner as it was raining and no one felt like cooking. We met our friends in a separate vehicle here in order to do our own shuttle. The logging road is very wide for the most part and is in good condition compared to most logging roads. They even mark the wash outs on the road so you know to slow down. We stayed in a make-shift campsite near the take-out and set up in the rain. Everyone was tired from long journeys, so we all headed to bed early around dusk.
Day 1 Tuesday July 29th, 2025
After packing up, we left one vehicle at the takeout and then loaded 6 people, 3 canoes and gear in the back of Mark's pick up truck. We left the take-out around 8:10 AM and travelled another 113km up to the put-in taking another 2 hours of travel. This put us at the 158km mark of the river. The put-in area has short trees (are we that far north?) and logs of boggy lichen. Trees are mainly black spruce and evidence of logging and wildfires were evident. We were on the water by 11 AM and noticed that the water levels looked low-ish. In many places you needed to follow where the most water is flowing, and there were many rocks to hit both in the whitewater and flatwater - a theme that would continue for the rest of the trip. Lots of boat scrapes and bumps. The first notable rapid was a class 3 rapid that had a big ledge that we all ran successfully. The next class 3 we lined the top and and ran the bottom. The last class 3 before the campsite our first canoe got caught and took on some water but quick action prevented it from getting worse. We decided to line it instead. The first group campsite on river right at the 144.5km mark was large, flat, and had multiple tentsites. It even had a thunderbox! The weather was sunny and warm and we noticed quite quickly that blackfly season wasn't over in this neck of the woods. The boggy ground was perfect for these creatures. Luckily we had brought a group sized bug shelter that came in handy all trip. We retreated to the tents at 9PM when the dampness set in and the bugs came out in hoards.
Day 0 Monday July 28th, 2025
We travelled by truck 12 hours (~1000km) to get to the take-out area of the river. This doesn't include the extra 113km up to the put-in. When we arrived at the town of Dolbeau-Mistassini, we made sure to fuel up (including an extra jerry can) and ate a fast food dinner as it was raining and no one felt like cooking. We met our friends in a separate vehicle here in order to do our own shuttle. The logging road is very wide for the most part and is in good condition compared to most logging roads. They even mark the wash outs on the road so you know to slow down. We stayed in a make-shift campsite near the take-out and set up in the rain. Everyone was tired from long journeys, so we all headed to bed early around dusk.
Day 1 Tuesday July 29th, 2025
After packing up, we left one vehicle at the takeout and then loaded 6 people, 3 canoes and gear in the back of Mark's pick up truck. We left the take-out around 8:10 AM and travelled another 113km up to the put-in taking another 2 hours of travel. This put us at the 158km mark of the river. The put-in area has short trees (are we that far north?) and logs of boggy lichen. Trees are mainly black spruce and evidence of logging and wildfires were evident. We were on the water by 11 AM and noticed that the water levels looked low-ish. In many places you needed to follow where the most water is flowing, and there were many rocks to hit both in the whitewater and flatwater - a theme that would continue for the rest of the trip. Lots of boat scrapes and bumps. The first notable rapid was a class 3 rapid that had a big ledge that we all ran successfully. The next class 3 we lined the top and and ran the bottom. The last class 3 before the campsite our first canoe got caught and took on some water but quick action prevented it from getting worse. We decided to line it instead. The first group campsite on river right at the 144.5km mark was large, flat, and had multiple tentsites. It even had a thunderbox! The weather was sunny and warm and we noticed quite quickly that blackfly season wasn't over in this neck of the woods. The boggy ground was perfect for these creatures. Luckily we had brought a group sized bug shelter that came in handy all trip. We retreated to the tents at 9PM when the dampness set in and the bugs came out in hoards.
Day 2 Wednesday July 30th, 2025
Woke up at 6:20AM after a damp night in the tent. There was some fog over the river as we woke, and it felt like late August not July. We were on the water by 9AM. Paddled down to check out the second group campsite when I saw something moving along the shore in the distance. Turned out it was a Woodland Caribou! She didn't seem to be bothered by us at all and tolerated us taking photos for a few minutes before running off. Very exciting to see! Started the day with a few class 1-2 warm up rapids before 4 long rapids. At the bottom of the first long set there was a maze of boulders and unfortunately Corrina and Rodney fell victim to one and pinned their boat. Luckily it was only knee deep water. Glenn quickly set up a rope to pull the boat off the rock while I collected the gear that we purposely threw out of the boat and sent downstream. Mark helped Corrina and Rodney and were able to tilt the edge of the boat enough to bail the water out of it. I took some photos and videos! Finally the boat was freed and brought to shore. Some repairs needed to be made to the seat and yoke - luckily Mark had some tools and hardware that is good to do the repair. It was here it started raining and we all got wet and cold. We got back on the water losing an hour for the rescue.
The next rapid was a twisty class 2 rapid in a canyon that went well but ends with a class 3 ledge without a safe line to paddle at the bottom which we lined on the left.
We decided to have lunch at the campsite on river left (note: campsite could maybe fit 2 tents) that has a trail on river left to scout the next long rapid that starts class 3, then goes class 2 then back to 3 at the bottom with a nasty ledge. We ran the tongues on the first 3 (more like a 2+) and continued down the class 2 part and took out on the left and scampered up a trail to look at the class 3 part. It didn't look runnable so we ferried across to the far shore and lined a few hundred meters on river right.
Next up was a nice class 2 rapid and then came to the mandatory class 4-5 falls that you can portage around on the rock on river left. Shortly after we cross under a bridge, a notable evac point if you need to exit the river. We may have needed that if the royalex didn't pop back into place and the yoke and seat couldn't have been fixed. Following the bridge we did a 12km continuous section of swifts which ended in flatwater and a group campsite on river left at kilometer 122. This site hand more wind and less bugs which was nice. There was room for 6 tents. No thunderbox here and it was evident that bathrooms were created everywhere - watch your step! It started to rain again - and the temperature was only 13C. A chilly day. In bed again at 9PM and this time I put on 4 layers to sleep in. The temperature went down to 4C. A far cry from the predicted forecast that I had screenshot in Dolbeau-Mistassini a couple days ago which had daily highs in the 20's and lows around 10C. I wasn't prepared for this level of cold, but make it through the night. Note: bring more cold weather camping gear and my cold weather paddling gear - that I had left at home thinking the weather would be more summerlike. Be warned!
Woke up at 6:20AM after a damp night in the tent. There was some fog over the river as we woke, and it felt like late August not July. We were on the water by 9AM. Paddled down to check out the second group campsite when I saw something moving along the shore in the distance. Turned out it was a Woodland Caribou! She didn't seem to be bothered by us at all and tolerated us taking photos for a few minutes before running off. Very exciting to see! Started the day with a few class 1-2 warm up rapids before 4 long rapids. At the bottom of the first long set there was a maze of boulders and unfortunately Corrina and Rodney fell victim to one and pinned their boat. Luckily it was only knee deep water. Glenn quickly set up a rope to pull the boat off the rock while I collected the gear that we purposely threw out of the boat and sent downstream. Mark helped Corrina and Rodney and were able to tilt the edge of the boat enough to bail the water out of it. I took some photos and videos! Finally the boat was freed and brought to shore. Some repairs needed to be made to the seat and yoke - luckily Mark had some tools and hardware that is good to do the repair. It was here it started raining and we all got wet and cold. We got back on the water losing an hour for the rescue.
The next rapid was a twisty class 2 rapid in a canyon that went well but ends with a class 3 ledge without a safe line to paddle at the bottom which we lined on the left.
We decided to have lunch at the campsite on river left (note: campsite could maybe fit 2 tents) that has a trail on river left to scout the next long rapid that starts class 3, then goes class 2 then back to 3 at the bottom with a nasty ledge. We ran the tongues on the first 3 (more like a 2+) and continued down the class 2 part and took out on the left and scampered up a trail to look at the class 3 part. It didn't look runnable so we ferried across to the far shore and lined a few hundred meters on river right.
Next up was a nice class 2 rapid and then came to the mandatory class 4-5 falls that you can portage around on the rock on river left. Shortly after we cross under a bridge, a notable evac point if you need to exit the river. We may have needed that if the royalex didn't pop back into place and the yoke and seat couldn't have been fixed. Following the bridge we did a 12km continuous section of swifts which ended in flatwater and a group campsite on river left at kilometer 122. This site hand more wind and less bugs which was nice. There was room for 6 tents. No thunderbox here and it was evident that bathrooms were created everywhere - watch your step! It started to rain again - and the temperature was only 13C. A chilly day. In bed again at 9PM and this time I put on 4 layers to sleep in. The temperature went down to 4C. A far cry from the predicted forecast that I had screenshot in Dolbeau-Mistassini a couple days ago which had daily highs in the 20's and lows around 10C. I wasn't prepared for this level of cold, but make it through the night. Note: bring more cold weather camping gear and my cold weather paddling gear - that I had left at home thinking the weather would be more summerlike. Be warned!
Day 3 Thursday July 31st 2025
Up at 6:20AM with my toque on with much inertia crawling out of the warm sleeping bag. I had gone to bed with most of my dry clothes on and survived the 4C damp temperatures. We did some more repair work on the damaged canoe before we left. Departed at 9AM and started with a 9km flatwater paddle across a long narrow lake with hills on both sides. The weather continued to be cold and rainy, and I was concerned about hypothermia today. We passed some beautiful cliffs and waterfalls and passed by Sylvain and Mario's cabin that looked like no one had been to in years. The cabin had no front door!
At the end of the lake we saw two guys in buffalo plaid shirts in a motorboat drive upstream through a rapid to get to the lake to fish. We ran the rapid and stopped at a bushy campsite on river left to eat lunch. A bit of sun peaked through the clouds I sat in the warmth and ate. As soon as the sun was blocked by clouds, it was apparent the daily temp was barely making double digits. I started shivering again and was glad to get back into the boat an get moving. Rain returned in the afternoon with the odd stretch of sunshine - a real mixed bag of weather. The difficulty of rapids picked up in the afternoon with 3 class 3 rapids in a row. We managed to paddle the first two and lined on river right the last one but ran the bottom after the ledge. The last part of the day was a 5km class 1 shallow section with lots of rocks to avoid. I joked at how this river should be called 'Painted Rock River' as every rock on the river has canoe paint on it. Don't expect your boat to look pristine after this river!
When the rapids end there is good fishing - we stopped for a few casts. Paddled some flatwater past a green cabin and then some swifts under a bridge and by some sand bars. We aimed to camp at a group camping spot on river right but it was full to the max with a group of 11. There aren't too many campsites and because they aren't pre-booked, if you don't get one it is hard to find a spot. We had to carry on to a campsite at beach front of a cabin owned by Jacques and Desneiges (at km 86). When we arrived at 6:30PM, we had paddled 36km on a freezing cold day. Jacques was very welcoming and offered us his beach to sleep on for the night. The scenery here was stunning and arguably I took the best photos of the trip here. That said, he said were were to expect a cold night again (he only speaks french). We camped 2m from the water on the beach and with the clear sky above we huddled beside the fire before heading to bed.
Up at 6:20AM with my toque on with much inertia crawling out of the warm sleeping bag. I had gone to bed with most of my dry clothes on and survived the 4C damp temperatures. We did some more repair work on the damaged canoe before we left. Departed at 9AM and started with a 9km flatwater paddle across a long narrow lake with hills on both sides. The weather continued to be cold and rainy, and I was concerned about hypothermia today. We passed some beautiful cliffs and waterfalls and passed by Sylvain and Mario's cabin that looked like no one had been to in years. The cabin had no front door!
At the end of the lake we saw two guys in buffalo plaid shirts in a motorboat drive upstream through a rapid to get to the lake to fish. We ran the rapid and stopped at a bushy campsite on river left to eat lunch. A bit of sun peaked through the clouds I sat in the warmth and ate. As soon as the sun was blocked by clouds, it was apparent the daily temp was barely making double digits. I started shivering again and was glad to get back into the boat an get moving. Rain returned in the afternoon with the odd stretch of sunshine - a real mixed bag of weather. The difficulty of rapids picked up in the afternoon with 3 class 3 rapids in a row. We managed to paddle the first two and lined on river right the last one but ran the bottom after the ledge. The last part of the day was a 5km class 1 shallow section with lots of rocks to avoid. I joked at how this river should be called 'Painted Rock River' as every rock on the river has canoe paint on it. Don't expect your boat to look pristine after this river!
When the rapids end there is good fishing - we stopped for a few casts. Paddled some flatwater past a green cabin and then some swifts under a bridge and by some sand bars. We aimed to camp at a group camping spot on river right but it was full to the max with a group of 11. There aren't too many campsites and because they aren't pre-booked, if you don't get one it is hard to find a spot. We had to carry on to a campsite at beach front of a cabin owned by Jacques and Desneiges (at km 86). When we arrived at 6:30PM, we had paddled 36km on a freezing cold day. Jacques was very welcoming and offered us his beach to sleep on for the night. The scenery here was stunning and arguably I took the best photos of the trip here. That said, he said were were to expect a cold night again (he only speaks french). We camped 2m from the water on the beach and with the clear sky above we huddled beside the fire before heading to bed.
Day 4 Friday August 1st, 2025
The night at Jacques' beach was the coldest and dampest of the trip. I had everything I brought on in bed plus my rain gear on (a first for me, kept a lot of warmth in) and my packdown inside my bag. I didn't sleep well, but it worked. In the morning, Jacques came down in his shorts and t-shirt (the cabin has heat) and said it was 3C when he checked the thermometer. We were up again at 6:20AM and it was very damp and foggy. We had a another fire and were moving slowly this morning nursing hot drinks and eating hot foods while waiting for the sun's power to kick in. I found I was eating more than normal as my furnace needed more fuel. We saw moose tracks on Jacques' beach, and left him the word 'Merci' made with sticks on the beach to show our appreciation. We packed up at left later at 9:26 just ahead of the large group of 11 coming down the lake behind us. Wearing rain gear and 3 layers underneath!
The first class 2 rapid had some big waves at the bottom followed by several class 1 or 1-2 rapids. Finally we paddled some swifts without any breaks to get ahead of the other group. We passed by a beautiful wide waterfall and some cliffs before getting to the large group campsite on river right at km 68km. This is a large flat site with room for 12 tents but again has no thunderbox so be careful walking off trails!. It has 2 campfire pits. We set up our group on one side and kept room for the other group. We arrive at 11:50 AM, just in time for lunch. Today's high was 16C and low was 7C. We had a long 4 hour period of sun that dried all our gear out until an afternoon shower made everything wet again. Mark did some fishing and caught a 10lb pike! 18km day.
The night at Jacques' beach was the coldest and dampest of the trip. I had everything I brought on in bed plus my rain gear on (a first for me, kept a lot of warmth in) and my packdown inside my bag. I didn't sleep well, but it worked. In the morning, Jacques came down in his shorts and t-shirt (the cabin has heat) and said it was 3C when he checked the thermometer. We were up again at 6:20AM and it was very damp and foggy. We had a another fire and were moving slowly this morning nursing hot drinks and eating hot foods while waiting for the sun's power to kick in. I found I was eating more than normal as my furnace needed more fuel. We saw moose tracks on Jacques' beach, and left him the word 'Merci' made with sticks on the beach to show our appreciation. We packed up at left later at 9:26 just ahead of the large group of 11 coming down the lake behind us. Wearing rain gear and 3 layers underneath!
The first class 2 rapid had some big waves at the bottom followed by several class 1 or 1-2 rapids. Finally we paddled some swifts without any breaks to get ahead of the other group. We passed by a beautiful wide waterfall and some cliffs before getting to the large group campsite on river right at km 68km. This is a large flat site with room for 12 tents but again has no thunderbox so be careful walking off trails!. It has 2 campfire pits. We set up our group on one side and kept room for the other group. We arrive at 11:50 AM, just in time for lunch. Today's high was 16C and low was 7C. We had a long 4 hour period of sun that dried all our gear out until an afternoon shower made everything wet again. Mark did some fishing and caught a 10lb pike! 18km day.
Day 5 Saturday August 2nd, 2025
Today we had a layover rest day. The boys went fishing a few times and Rodney and Mark caught more pike. The girls read and chatted. No swimming as it was too cold! Weather: 17C low 9C, cloudy with some sunny breaks and a few showers. Note: The water has a high amount of tannins and looks brown most of the time. It is hard on filters.
We had a fire and lingered this evening as the cold wasn't driving us into our tents. The cold meant that the bugs disappeared but they returned at this site - Glenn had about 50 bites just around his watch. In the evening some wildfire smoke became evident in the sky and into the next morning.
Today we had a layover rest day. The boys went fishing a few times and Rodney and Mark caught more pike. The girls read and chatted. No swimming as it was too cold! Weather: 17C low 9C, cloudy with some sunny breaks and a few showers. Note: The water has a high amount of tannins and looks brown most of the time. It is hard on filters.
We had a fire and lingered this evening as the cold wasn't driving us into our tents. The cold meant that the bugs disappeared but they returned at this site - Glenn had about 50 bites just around his watch. In the evening some wildfire smoke became evident in the sky and into the next morning.
Day 6 Sunday August 3rd, 2025
This day started early as a crack of thunder overnight at 2:40AM had everyone up for a hour as a thunderstorm moved through the area. The hard downpour disippated to a light shower by the morning and yes, we were in a rain gear again. The rain motivated us to pack up quickly and we were on the water by 8:40AM. 3 hours later, after pass by many large sand banks and hills we came to the sand bar at the bridge. There was a heavy downpour again just before we finished which seemed appropriate given the theme of the trip. The take out is on river left right at the bridge. We unloaded and brought our gear up to the road. Our shuttle drivers left at noon and returned by 3:13PM. It rained again as we waiting for the vehicles to return, but then got sunny again to dry out all our tents and tarps - very typical of this trip!
Day 7 Monday August 4th, 2025
Another 12 hour drive home!
This day started early as a crack of thunder overnight at 2:40AM had everyone up for a hour as a thunderstorm moved through the area. The hard downpour disippated to a light shower by the morning and yes, we were in a rain gear again. The rain motivated us to pack up quickly and we were on the water by 8:40AM. 3 hours later, after pass by many large sand banks and hills we came to the sand bar at the bridge. There was a heavy downpour again just before we finished which seemed appropriate given the theme of the trip. The take out is on river left right at the bridge. We unloaded and brought our gear up to the road. Our shuttle drivers left at noon and returned by 3:13PM. It rained again as we waiting for the vehicles to return, but then got sunny again to dry out all our tents and tarps - very typical of this trip!
Day 7 Monday August 4th, 2025
Another 12 hour drive home!
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