#laurentides

The view from Montagne Grise.

This hike is part of the trail system in Saint Donat. It’s an easy and relatively rewarding hike. Coming out in the other side of bug season (we don’t hike in bug season in QC) it’s rewarding to be back in the trails.

#valdeslac #laurentides

http://tourismesaint-donat.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Carte_Estivale_2018.jpg

Snowshoeing at Sommet Morin-Heights Heights.

Sommet Morin Heights boasts a lift ski area, the Aerobic Corridor - a linear year round trail, alpine touring and snowshoe trails.

(The alpine touring is rather limited)

This was our first time at this hill and would recommend it. Close to Montreal, hour-ish drive, nice trails through the woods. Fee access.

Morin Heights (the town and no just the ski area) has a lot of outdoor trails which you can find out more about here: https://www.morinheights.com/Cross-country-Snowshoe-Trails

#laurentides #sommetmorinheights #aerobiccorridor

@toesalad changing the wax on his skis. I have wax-less skis which have pros and cons. One pro: not having to fuss with wax. Con: I can’t adjust the “grip” or “glide” in my skis. I have to rely only on pressure and the scalloped etching. I won’t win any races but that’s not my jam anyway. I love the ease. Also, my preferred terrain is non-tracked woods in which I really love the functionality of my skis. I don't ski for speed but for experience. I'm not exactly a Birkebeiner.

Anyway.... back to skiing.

#laurentides #leptittraindunord

So excited to be on this trail. Can’t wait to see what it’s like.

#laurentides #leptittraindunord

Our first visit to the P’Tit Train du Nord.

This is a linear trail extending from St Jerome, in the south, to Mont Laurier, in the north.

It’s 200km long.

An old rail line, in the summer you can bicycle the whole thing, in the winter some sections are reserved for x-country skiing and the rest of it is for snowmobiles (stretch dream for me!)

The x-country ski section is groomed.

In non-pandemic years I think you have to pay to access the ski trails. That’s what my guide book says. But when we arrived it said it was free. Yay!

In previous years we have ventured further north into Lanaudiere region for our x-country skiing. But today we were looking for something within an hour of our home, which landed us at an access point near Sainte Adele.

It was a wonderful introduction to a trail we will definitely return to in the future.

The section we did is circled in green on the map.

#laurentides #leptittraindunord

For more info in English see linear-park.com

Breaking in the snow for tea and snacks. We got off track and realized we were not in the way to the refuge as we thought we were.

So we breaked for tea. But we did eventually make it to the refuge after back tracking and finding the path to the refuge.

#lantier #laurentides #troislacs

This is officially the cross country ski trail but it was well used as a multi-purpose trail before we arrived so we snowshoed on this to avoid the snowmobile track.

#lantier #laurentides #troislacs

I recommend this trail area in the Lantier municipality for winter day hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

@toesalad and I have been here a few times over the past couple winters.

Things I like about the area:

• free access
• not too well-known which means not too many people
• decent cross-country trails including good blue trails

I wouldn’t hike here in summer, not enough elevation for me but it’s great for winter sport.

Today I introduced my friend Kim to the area.

This is the first time I’ve snowshoed the trails here and I have to say I recommend the skiing more than the snowshoeing since a lot of the snowshoeing is on a multipurpose trails laid by snowmobile. However you can just tramp through the woods on your snowshoes if you like.

Best access for snowshoeing is parking lot on chemin Lac de la Montagne Noire (see map in this post: https://outsideways.com/journals/entries/3724/)

#laurentides #troislacs #lantier

One of my favorite things about winter in Quebec is going skiing in the woods and stopping in backcountry refuges to warm up. Usually we eat our lunch or at least have tea.

Most have wood burning stoves.

This Refuge de la Dame in the Lantier region.

#lantier #laurentides #troislacs

One of the highlights of paddling the Rivière Rouge are these sandy beaches along the way. Our chosen day was overcast and drizzly, not great for swimming. In the future a paddle down this river on a hot summer day would be divine.

The outfitters offer shuttles and rentals so you can start upstream and end downstream and get a ride back to your car. Which is ideal. This service is great for a group.

Paddling on our own with one car would be harder. We’d have to arrange and shuttle back to our car. Maybe in a non-pandemic year.#riviererouge #laurentides