The Chemin du Roy (; French for "King's Highway" or "King's Road") is a historic road along the north shore of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The road begins in Repentigny and extends almost eastward towards

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, its eastern terminus. Most of the Chemin du Roy today follows along the present-day

Quebec Route 138 Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the St. Lawrence River past Montreal to the temporary eastern terminus in Kegashka on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The western terminus is in E ...

. The expressway that replaces both Route 138 and the Chemin du Roy through most of its course is

Quebec Autoroute 40 Autoroute 40, officially known as Autoroute Félix-Leclerc outside Montreal and Metropolitan Autoroute/Autoroute Métropolitaine within Montreal, is an Autoroutes of Quebec, Autoroute on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the Provinces ...

History

In 1706, the Conseil supérieur (Grand Council) of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

decreed that a road be built to connect the houses along the north shore of the

, between

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Work began in 1731, under the supervision of Grand Voyer (senior road surveyor) Eustache Lanouiller de Boisclerc, and was completed in 1737. Upon completion, the Chemin du Roy was wide, over long, and crossed 37 seignories. The Chemin du Roy was the longest road in existence at the time in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

north of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. In 1910, the portion of the Chemin du Roy on

Montreal Island The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelag ...

was renamed by the District and County of Montreal as Gouin Boulevard. It is no longer considered part of the historic route and does not feature the "Chemin du Roy" route markers that the tourist route now is signed with.

Gallery photos

Road

Est to West, at the foot of the Laurentians, an eye on the

Chemin du Roy Quebec City.JPG, Route marker,

Neuville 004 a.jpg, Neuville, Autumn harvest Image:Riviere du Moulin 013.jpg, Rivière du Moulin and Vieux moulin Hamelin, Grondines Peche 003 rivière Sainte-Anne 02.jpg, Ste-Anne-de-la-Perade, spring flood Batiscan 0014.jpg, Batiscan, sunrise Champlain, Chemin du Roy (route 138) - Rue Notre Dame 016.jpg, Champlain, Crossroads 931225 7 7a 3537 1427 Chemin Roy.jpg,

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, 1993

Flora

Wild plants in ditches and roadsides File:Cichorium intybus 025.jpg, ''Cichorium intybus'' L. ― Chicory. File:Typha latifolia 015.jpg, ''Typha latifolia'' L. — Broad-leaved cattail. File:Melilotus alba 019.jpg, ''Melilotus alba'' Desr. — White sweet-clover. File:Trifolium arvense 011.jpg, ''Trifolium arvense'' L. — Trèfle des champs. File:Iris versicolor.jpg, ''Iris versicolor'' L. — Iris versicolore.

Communities

;Modern signed route * Repentigny ''(western terminus)'' * Saint-Sulpice * L'Assomption * Lavaltrie * Lanoraie * Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier *

Berthierville Berthierville (; ) (also called Berthier-en-haut, and legally called Berthier before 1942) is a town located between Montreal and Trois-Rivières on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Berthierville is the seat of D'Aut ...

* Saint-Cuthbert * Saint-Barthélemy * Maskinongé *

Louiseville Louiseville () is a Types of municipalities in Quebec, town in the Mauricie Quebec region, region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. It is located near the mouth of the 'Rivière-du-Loup', on the north shor ...

* Yamachiche *

* Champlain * Batiscan * Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade * Deschambault-Grondines * Portneuf * Cap-Santé * Donnacona * Neuville *

Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures () is a city in central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River, adjacent to Quebec City. The town was founded in 1691 by three families (Desroches, Racette, Couture). It was merged with Quebec City on January 1, ...

''(eastern terminus)''

References

External links

Le Chemin du Roy (official site)
{{Authority control Roads in Capitale-Nationale New France Saint Lawrence River Historic trails and roads in Quebec 1737 works 1737 in transport Roads in Mauricie Roads in Lanaudière 1730s establishments in the French colonial empire