The further north I drove from the provincial capital Québec towards Miguasha, the more dramatic the scenery became: fast-flowing rivers for salmon fishing, dense forests, and the first ‘real’ mountains: the Appalachians. Kilometers before the exit from the highway, the Miguasha World Heritage Site is already signposted. Encountering a prominent sign like this always makes me happy, especially on this trip as ones with the UNESCO logo are quite rare among Canadian WHS.

I visited the park at the opening hour of 9 a.m. and at the visitor center they had to unlock the door for me. That center is of an impressive size by the way, compared to the relatively small site it covers. The girl at the reception started her enthusiastic explanations about what you can do here in Quebec-French. Fortunately, I kind of knew what I wanted to see and do already because most of this dialect completely passes me by.

I am first led to a separate room, where the Elpistostege watsoni ("the King of Miguasha") can be seen. This complete specimen of the only fish of its kind was found as recently in 2010 (long after WH inscription) and apparently deserves special treatment.

In the 'regular' museum, the story is told of how the fossils were discovered. A geologist in search of coal found the first specimens in 1832. Later on, much more extensive digging and searching were done. Especially Swedish scientists were very active and paid local treasure hunters to ship material to Stockholm. It was not until 1972 that the area (a coastal strip of 3 kilometers long) became protected by the Canadian government.

The fish from this era do not all look like we know them now. One of the first finds is what looked like a turtle, but turned out to be a primitive fish with bone armor over the head and rib cage.

Other reviewers have already commented negatively on the 3.6-kilometer-long hiking trail through the forest which comprises the outdoor part of the exhibition – it takes away the focus of the fossils. But I would advise you to at least start it (and turn back after a few hundred metres), as at the beginning there is a staircase down to the beach and the cliffs where the fossils were found (and that's where the core zone is). The cliff is composed of alternating layers of rock and silt. The beach is full of pieces of slate. Especially after just having seen the fossils in the museum, I always think that I see similar imprints in the stones. With that idea in mind, the beach is a nice place to walk around for a while, you never know what you might come across!

Overall, it may be an unspectacular site, but I found it well-presented (including a bit of social history as well) and a fun way to learn about "ancient" fish. I spent two hours there in total. Admission nowadays is 9.25 CAD for the park and 11.52 CAD for the museum (together 16 EUR), both can be paid at the visitor center.