Southwestern Quebec
33 FALL 2023 VOL . 05 / ISSUE 01 SNOWGOER . COM
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RICHÈRE DAVID @ TOURISME OUTAOUAIS
One Lasting Memory ...
Although I fished the High Gatineau as a teenager , I was introduced to riding the area by my late , great friend and area resident and tour guide Lawrence Langevin , also known as “ Captain Snow Cruise .” One of my cherished memories of “ The Captain ” was from a day when we stopped at a backwoods relais near Lac Marie . Lawrence found a guitar and was soon leading everyone in a rousing snowmobile adaptation of an old beer drinking song :
“ In heaven , there are no trails , That ’ s why we ride them here …”
So you want to ride somewhere new and don ’ t know where to start ? How about Québec ? There simply isn ’ t any other state or province that can match the combination of more than 20,000 miles of superior trails , fabulous scenery and outstanding support services found in our neighbor to the north .
The relais ( relay ) system is a unique guarantee of basic services at reasonable intervals along the entire Trans-Québec trail system , and the Service Guide to Québec Trails is a unique resource that works with the provincial trail map to provide information about all kinds of snowmobiling support , from lodging and dining to dealers , sled rentals and gas stations . And with the strength of the American dollar , travel in Canada is on sale again , making this the right time to go .
So if you ’ ve never been to Québec , where do you start ? The first thing to do is to pick an area to explore . Québec is a big place with thousands of miles of quality riding . Here are some of the places that I ’ d recommend considering for your first winter vacation north of the border .
Southwestern Quebec
Easily accessible for Americans , the Outaouais ( pronounced Oot-a-way ) and Laurentides ( Laurentian ) Tourism Regions offer easy , comfortable and enjoyable riding . This area is quite scenic and less intense than some other parts of eastern Canada , and has an excellent variety of trail types to savor . Once you get to know this part of Québec , it will beckon you back again and again .
The Gatineau River Valley runs directly north from Ottawa , Canada ’ s capital city . It includes a linear park trail , excellent lake running with portages between the many lakes , the superb and uncrowded trails of the Eagle Forest ( Fôret d ’ Aigle ) and the giant Baskatong Reservoir . The Haute ( High ) Gatineau is also home to the Black Rollway , one of my very favorite trails anywhere , and quality services help make this area a real favorite with discerning snow travelers .
Between the Baskatong and the vacation town of Mt . Laurier are the super-scenic Chute Windago ( Windago