Free
Plage des Cantons, Magog
A town beach and lakeside path at the top of Lake Memphremagog.
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Cantons-de-l'Est, Quebec
Eastern Townships (Magog and North Hatley)
Rolling hills and lake villages east of Montréal: Lake Memphremagog, Mont Orford, North Hatley on Lake Massawippi, the Coaticook gorge bridge and a monastery that makes cheese.
Photo: Lake Massawippi seen from North Hatley, Jean-Philippe Boulet, CC BY 3.0
The Eastern Townships (Cantons-de-l'Est) were settled by Loyalists, then became French-speaking farm country. Villages like North Hatley and Knowlton still have covered porches, steeples and English place names.
Magog sits at the top of Lake Memphremagog, below Mont Orford. South of Sherbrooke, the Gorge de Coaticook is crossed by one of the longest pedestrian suspension bridges in North America. Be adventurous and look down.
Outdoors and nature
Trails, lookouts, waterfalls, beaches and time on the water come first.
Free
Lake Massawippi at North Hatley
A lake village with a waterfront park and boats.
Cheap
Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook
A deep river gorge crossed by a long pedestrian suspension bridge.
Cheap
Parc national du Mont-Mégantic
Mountain trails and the ASTROLab in the world's first International Dark Sky Reserve. About 90 minutes east.
Sights and attractions
Museums, landmarks and the places people come here for.
Free
Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac
A Benedictine abbey above Lake Memphremagog, with a shop selling the monks' cheese and cider.
Free
Knowlton village
Lac-Brome's village of shops, cafés and a small waterfall by the dam.
Paid
Foresta Lumina
A lit-up night walk through the Coaticook gorge.
Season Summer night course; 2027 season starts in June (check before you go).
Markets, shops and festivals
Main streets, markets and the dates worth planning around.
Paid
Brome-Missisquoi Wine Route
Vineyards and tastings along a signed wine route.
Book a tour or activity
Cruises, tours and experiences people book here. Each one goes to the operator's official page, and you can still add it to your trip.
ASTROLab at Mont-Mégantic
Astronomy evenings in the dark sky reserve.
Also bookable, listed above
These are in the lists above, so we don't repeat them here.
- Foresta Lumina Tickets
- Granby Zoo Tickets
Part of our Eastern Townships guides.
Make it a weekend
Why stay the night
- Foresta Lumina's night walk in the Coaticook gorge only happens after dark.
- The wine route and lake villages make a slow second day.
- Mont-Mégantic's dark-sky reserve is an evening drive away.
Nearby and worth the drive
Suttonabout 45 min · Guide ↗
A mountain village of trails and a walkable main street.
Montréalabout 1 h 30 · Guide ↗The big city, by the bridges.
Burlington, VTabout 2 h · Guide ↗Across the border on Lake Champlain.
Ready-made trips with Eastern Townships (Magog and North Hatley)
3 days · Montréal → Eastern Townships (Magog and North Hatley)
Montréal and the Eastern Townships
Old Montréal, then lake villages, a monastery and the Coaticook gorge.
2 days · Eastern Townships (Magog and North Hatley) → Sutton
Townships lakes and ridges
Lake Memphremagog and North Hatley one day, Sutton's trails and village the next.
Good to know
- Tourism: easterntownships.org.
- Parks: Québec national parks (Sépaq) charge an access fee: sepaq.com.
- We list only places we can check against an official source. Hours, seasons and prices change, so confirm before you go.
Photos on this page
Photo: Lake Massawippi seen from North Hatley, Jean-Philippe Boulet, CC BY 3.0
Photo: The beach at Magog on Lake Memphremagog, Maxime Laterreur, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: The summit of Mont Orford in autumn, AmandinedeChanteloup, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: The suspension bridge over the Coaticook gorge, Erwan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: The dam and waterfall in Knowlton, Pjrsoap, CC BY-SA 4.0