Rivière-au-Tonnerre

Tiny North Shore fishing village named for waterfalls that roar like thunder.

Rivière-au-Tonnerre is a tiny fishing village on Québec's North Shore, far enough east that the road itself starts to feel like an expedition. It is not a polished destination, and that is the appeal: crab boats, rocky coves, big Gulf of St. Lawrence skies, and a river whose falls gave the village its thunderous name.

The two best stops are simple and strong. Saint-Hippolyte Church is an all-wood village church with a remarkable carved interior, built when there was no road connection. Inland, Manitou Falls gives the place its natural drama.

This is a Route 138 stop, not a city break. Come if you are driving the Minganie coast and want the North Shore at human scale: a boardwalk, a church, a waterfall trail, and the feeling of being a long way from the St. Lawrence corridor.

Guide

Getting There

Rivière-au-Tonnerre sits on Route 138 east of Sept-Îles and west of Havre-Saint-Pierre. Distances on the North Shore are long, fuel stops are worth planning, and public transport is limited, so most travellers arrive by car as part of a Minganie or Route des Baleines trip.

Guide

Things to Do

Rivière-au-Tonnerre is about short stops rather than a full menu of attractions: the church, the waterfall trails, the shoreline, and the village's fishing history.