Only a 20 minute drive from Quebec City, a day trip to Wendake is almost a no brainer.
Wendake Village is home to the Huron-Wendat, a first nations community, that’s been around for centuries.
I won’t lie, the town itself isn’t all that much to visit, but there are a few museums and worthwhile activities. A day trip to Wendake is all about supporting the community and educating yourself about their past and current struggles.
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Why Visit Wendake Village?
A lot of First-Nations communities no longer exist today, so the Huron-Wendat consider themselves lucky in the sense that they’re still around.
Although they did came close to dying out – with only a few hundred community members just a few years ago. They’ve been able to grow that number to close to 2 000 people today!
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As we learned from our visit, a huge part of their success is from tourism, and being able to sell their locally made products.
In fact, selling their crafts has actually been their model for centuries. Back in the day, it was selling snowshoes, today it’s jewellery and moccasins (but also snowshoes if you’re interested!).
The Huron-Wendat are a huge part of Canadian history and it’s important to not overlook it.
The Logistics: Planning A Day Trip To Quebec, Wendake
There are a few things to know about the logistics of planning a day trip to Wendake from Quebec City.
How To Get To Wendake From Quebec City
Like I said, Wendake is only about a 20 minute drive from Quebec City, it’s really not far.
If you don’t have a car, you might be able to take the shuttle from Quebec City. Unfortunately, the Wendake-Quebec City used to operate a shuttle from mid June until the beginning of October, but it hasn’t run since 2022.
They offered 3 packages to choose from depending on what you’re interested in. They offer museum tours, a traditional tasting or meal, and tickets to the Onhwa’ Lumina. Hopefully they’ll start offering this shuttle once again soon.
You can always take public transport from Quebec to Wendake, plan your route with RTC.
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How Long Do You Need In Quebec Wendake?
Wendake Quebec is a small town with only a few attractions, but important attractions none the less!
You can spend anywhere from a few hours to an entire day in Wendake. This all depends on the weather and what’s open when you’re visiting.
We spent an afternoon during a rainy low season day. The restaurants weren’t opened and it wasn’t nice enough to hang out outside and go on of their main nature walks.
So one day is more than enough time in Wendake Quebec.
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What To Do In Wendake Quebec?
There are a few things to do in Wendake Quebec.
Visit A Museum
There are two museums in Wendake, and they’re very similar to each other: The Huron-Wendat Museum and the Site Traditionnel Huron Onhoüa Chetek8e.
We ended up doing both, but really you just need to do one of them.
There’s quite a bit of overlap between the two museums and both have a traditional longhouse you can go inside.
They also both also have a restaurant serving traditional Wendat food, and a boutique for supporting local artisans.
The biggest difference between the two is the indoor vs. outdoor portions.
If it’s bad weather (like we had), you might not want to visit the Site Traditionnel Huron Onhoüa Chetek8e, as it’s mostly outdoors.
Musée Huron Wendat (Huron Wendat Museum)
The Huron-Wendat Museum is a more traditional museum (it’s 90% indoors!). You can walk around at your own pace or opt for an audio guide (which I recommend).
You’ll be able to learn about the history, their beliefs, and see traditional artifacts.
They also have a traditional longhouse that you can actually go inside (if you can find it… we walked around twice before finally finding it!). This is where I really recommend having the audio guide because there’s nothing to read once you’re here.
During high season, they offer their own shuttle package to their museum from Quebec City with a tour and tasting (2024 update: they no longer offer this tour).
P.S.S Want to sleep in the longhouse? During winter and summer, you can sign up for a night in the longhouse at the Huron Wendat Museum.
The first Sunday of every month used to be free! So if you’re visiting then, it may be worth seeing both museums – which is what we did!
Site Traditionnel Huron Onhoüa Chetek8e
As I mentioned, the Site Traditionnel Huron Onhoüa Chetek8e is mainly outside. There are covers for the most part to shield you if it’s raining, but it can be cold if you aren’t dressed properly.
The Traditional Site offers a guided tours of the ground, taking you from the past to the present.
They show how they lived and their traditions, but also what they’re struggling with today – which is even more important to learn about.
You’re in a traditional Huran-Wendat community here showing how they used to live, beyond the longhouse. You can see how they processed food, steaming huts, and dream catchers.
During high season (July and August) they also offer even more activities you can sign up for. For example, you can learn how to make a traditional canoe or something more simple like jewellery.
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Walk Along The River: Find The Water Fall, & Mill Ruins
Aside from the museums, you should walk along the Sentier des Rivieres in Wendake Quebec.
The Sentier des Rivieres is a 30 km beautifully kept path along the St. Charles River.
Fun fact: you can actually walk from Quebec City to Wendake following the St. Charles River. It goes all the way from Quebec City to the St. Charles Lake.
I wouldn’t exactly recommend walking all the way from Quebec City, it would probably take you close to 3 hours… but I would recommend walking along the path that’s in Wendake.
Make sure to see the Chutes de Kabir (the Kabir waterfalls) and the mill ruins on your route.
Sample Some Traditional First Nations Food
There are typically three restaurants to try traditional first nations cuisine in Wendake Quebec. But just a heads up, they aren’t cheap and the food doesn’t cater all that. well to vegetarian diets.
Unfortunately, they were also all closed when we were visiting so we were stuck eating at Tim Hortons for lunch… But hopefully you’ll have better luck.
I think the best place to eat would be at the Site Traditionnel Huron Onhoüa Chetek8e, NEK8ARRE, seeming to be the most authentic out of the three. But it’s been closed since 2022 for renovations… hopefully it will be open in time for the summer 2024 season.
Sagamité is the most popular place to eat in Wendake. It’s reopened after a fire in 2022 (why we weren’t able to visit). They do also have a location you can visit in Old Quebec.
La Traite (at the Huron-Wendat Museum) is more a gastronomic experience for first nations cuisine – which is a bit odd in my mind, but I’m sure the food is still very good.
Whichever restaurant you end up at, you’ll want to what they call the Three Sisters, which is corn, beans, and squash.
They’re known as the three sisters because they would protect each other and help the other grow.
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Shop For Local Crafts
Supporting local artisans is a big part of Huron-Wendat livelihood, so you’ll want to make a point to go shopping while in Wendake Quebec.
There are a few shops around town to pick up a locally crafted souvenir.
You can also always shop in the gift shops at the museums, they make sure to only stock locally made products.
Must Do Night Time Activity: Onhwa’ Lumina Wendake
A perfect way to end a day in Wendake is to go to Onhwa’ Lumina. This is a night time light show walk all about the myths and traditional life of the Huron-Wendat.
It’s expensive, but worth it.
The walk is about 45 minutes to an hour, so really try to take your time appreciating all the different light shows and their meanings.
Onhwa Lumina doesn’t run every night during low season, you can check the schedule in advance. P.S. make sure to add a ticket for parking.
Seasonal: Pow Wow Wendake
The Pow Wow Wendake is a three day festival of dance in June that they’ve opened up to the public. If you’re visiting Quebec City the last weekend of June, you should take some time to see the festival.
Find out more about the Pow Wow here.
And because this is such a special event, they do actually run a shuttle to and from Quebec City.
Seasonal: Snow Shoeing!
If you’re traveling during winter you can take part in snow shoeing in Wendake Quebec! You can rent snow shoes from the Huron-Wendat Museum and walk along the trail.
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Last update on 2024-05-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API