QUEBEC
Exploration Underway
We woke Monday for our second day of riding and were greeted with 5-degree temperatures when we walked out the door. It would climb to 15 by midday. Our plan was to ride 52 miles in the morning to Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc( White Lake) for lunch. This time, we took Trail 63 south out from the Auberge. The first 20 miles had just been groomed the night before, making the beautiful ride through the woods even better than normal.
We then headed down the mountain into the towns of Sainte-Emelie and Saint-Damien, where the trails ran mostly along the road and across fields. At this lower elevation, the snow is quite a bit thinner and we could feel the rocks beneath the skis at times. Then we plunged back into the woods on Trail 349, a narrow and winding path through patches of pines and hardwoods, before arriving at our destination.
When we pulled up to Lac Blanc, the entire lawn was full of snowmobiles. It is a large, beautiful lodge and resort with a bar and lounge downstairs and a restaurant upstairs as well as rooms and cabins to rent.
Before going inside, we took a walk to see the dog sled teams at the edge of the lake. Visitors can take a dog sled ride from here as well as a ski plane ride.
Cody made reservations for lunch, so our group of 12 sat at a long table upstairs. Lac Blanc has an extensive menu, including specialties like trout chowder served in a bread bowl, which quite a few folks in our group chose. Not being fans of chowders, we opted instead for club sandwiches and were very satisfied.
After lunch we visited the gift shop and took some pictures and then headed back to the Auberge. On this return trip, we took the northern route, which was slightly longer but not as narrow and winding. It also had more snow than the morning route.
Trail 345 led us to Trail 350, which eventually brought us to Trail 63, which pointed us south back toward our destination. This portion of Trail 63 was the same 13 miles we had started out on the day before. However, now it had been groomed and was beautiful. A freshly groomed trail is a great way to end the day’ s ride. Total miles for the day were 110. The day ended the same as the day before with fueling up, hot tubs, cocktails and dinner.
On Tuesday morning it was again 5 degrees in the morning with a high of about 15 degrees in the afternoon. Our destination for the day was Barrage du Lac Taureau, the dam at the top of the Taureau Reservoir. The reservoir was formed in 1931 by damming the Matawin River.
We started off once again heading north on Trail 63, this time for about 35 miles to Auberge Le Cabanon, a popular lodging location and gas and meal
Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc.
We visited the sled dogs at Lac Blanc.
FEBRUARY 2026 / SNOWGOER. COM / 37