Road Trip Abitibi – Rouyn-Noranda to Pikogan, Anicinape Land

Rouyn-Noranda Pikogan

105

1h24

drive

All seasons

season

The Itinerary

Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 600 km northwest of Montreal, is a land of mines, lakes and boreal forest. Rouyn-Noranda, regional capital born of the 1920s mining rush, still hosts the Horne smelter — one of Canada's largest metallurgical complexes — and a heritage workers' district around the Ukrainian Orthodox church.

Route 117 runs east through a succession of mining villages and boreal forest: Cadillac, Malartic (open-pit gold mine visible from a lookout), Val-d'Or and its Cité de l'Or — former headframe and underground gallery open to visitors.

In Amos, the Sainte-Thérèse-d'Avila Cathedral (1923), unique in Quebec for its Byzantine style and blue dome, is worth the detour. Pikogan, an Anicinape (Algonquin) community 5 km north, offers a museum and cultural immersion programs in Algonquin tradition.

Points of Interest

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Cité de l'Or (Val-d'Or)

Historic mine headframe, underground tour, museum.
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Canadian Malartic Mine

Canada's largest open-pit gold mine, public lookout.
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Amos Cathedral

Byzantine-style 1923 cathedral with blue dome, unique in Quebec.
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Pikogan

Anicinape (Algonquin) community, museum and living culture.