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Frozen Experiences of a Lifetime: Go Ice Canoeing on the Saint Lawrence (Quebec City, Quebec)

The ultimate North American winter bucket list

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Imagine, if you will, a sport that combines canoeing and bobsledding—the grit-your-teeth-and-push part, not the wild, high-speed ride. Add in an unpredictable mixture of floating sea ice and open water, and you start to get the picture. Quebec City’s annual ice canoe race, part of its famous winter carnival, sees racers pushing and paddling their canoes across the half-frozen, tidal Saint Lawrence River. When there’s ice to walk on, they push, and when the water opens up, they hop in and paddle. Sometimes, they muddle through the slush doing a bit of both. Death trap? Maybe. But it sure looks like fun. This year’s race takes place on the second weekend in February.

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