Lac Saint-Jean appears at Chambord after a long ride north, and it is a startling sight: a broad inland sea of fresh water, so wide the far shore is just a low line on the horizon. Route 155 ends here after its long run up the Saint-Maurice valley from La Tuque, through hundreds of kilometres of forest with few towns, and it joins the road that circles the lake. Chambord, a village of about seventeen hundred people, sits on the south shore, where farms and blueberry fields open up after the endless woods.
The great thing to see nearby is Val-Jalbert, a few kilometres west toward Roberval. In the early twentieth century it was a pulp-mill company town, built beside the Ouiatchouan Falls, which plunge from the plateau above the lake in a single long drop higher than Niagara. When the mill closed in the 1920s, the town was abandoned, and its houses, school and convent were left to decay. Today it is preserved as a historic village with restored buildings, a cable car and stairs to the top of the falls.
The Lac Saint-Jean region is famous for blueberries, so much so that its people are nicknamed bleuets. In August the roadside stands sell them by the basket, and pies, chocolates and wines made from them appear everywhere. The lake is also home to the ouananiche, a landlocked salmon prized by anglers, and the long sandy beaches around the shore are popular in summer, though the water is cool.
For riders, the 155 north of La Tuque is the main event: a winding road through forest and along the river, with long stretches of bends and very little traffic. It is a long way between towns, so plan fuel carefully. Around the lake, the road is flatter and more open, passing through farmland and villages with wide views over the water. There is also a long cycle route around the lake, so expect cyclists.
Chambord has a gas station and a few places to eat, but for full services Roberval, fifteen kilometres west, is the town. Summers are short and pleasant, autumn colour is excellent in late September, and from November the snow comes and stays.