This Canadian Ghost Town is the Coolest Family Haunt!

Val-Jalbert Ghost Town:  Family Exploration

My love for abandoned buildings and ghost towns always brings me to the most beautiful places to explore. There is just something about the history, the feeling of adventure and exploration, and the photo ops (see the photo gallery below for what I`m talking about!)

 Val-Jalbert had been on my urbex radar for years. Located about 249km/155 miles north of Quebec City, I had seen it online on a few urbex databases for being a really cool place to explore. 

To my delight, in 2010, they turned it into a historical park. They preserved some buildings, refurbished others, and added a 4D movie experience in the mill, a cable car up the mountain side. To complete the atmosphere, they have actors in period garb walking around and acting just like the real civilians that did back in the 1920s. One of my favorite parts, of course, was the railroad still visible in the camp grounds - at one point with a giant tree growing right in the middle of it! 

While some houses are not structurally sound, there are others that have been preserved for tourists to wander through with some antique and vintage relics still on site to see. 

We traveled there when our little ones were 6 and 22 months. The trails were well maintained with some boardwalk so it was so easy to get around by foot and with a wagon that we were able to rent at the main entrance. There is also a trolley car that travels from one end of the park to the other - from the main entrance to the mill at the back of the town.

Accommodations

Since this ghost town is pretty much in the sticks in the middle of nowhere, there are various quaint locations to stay the night on site.

Being campers, we made it a family affair and camped out in Val-Jalpert's park with Grandma and Grandpa in their trailer. Tent sites are also available here, as well as mini cottages to rent if you don't have camping gear.

Looking to immerse yourself into this experience even more?

Val-Jalbert has renovated period houses and the general store with modern amenities for guests to rent.