Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, #1, #1 (blue), Glide Wax: Swix LF8, Grip Wax:

Don’t worry about the snow depth in town - winter still reigns supreme in the park. Pretty well everything has been trackset and is in wonderful shape. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of snow loss - it’s just a little more compact off track. I skated the following route:
P10 => FP => CP => Huron => #1 => wolf ridge => #1 (east)
=> pond by #24 where I spent 1 hr. communing with nature => back to #1
=> Huron => CP => FP => P10
Skating was effortless: it was fast in the freshly tilled cold snow but was even faster in the sun-softened snow. In classic: people with waxless skis did not seem to be doing at that well; however, I heard good reports about klister - both universal and violet. It’s still too early for crust cruising - the skis sink in a bit and the poles go right to the bottom of powder under the crust. Bushwacking would be good if you stick to a fairly level route - the crust will support skis in classic but going downhill the crust would exhibit a hunger for turning skis.













Gatineau park map


Gatineau Park is ski paradise! The network of ski trails offer machine groomed skate skiing and classic skiing as well as little groomed backcountry trails. Multiple access points allow skiers to access a variety of terrain and scenery. The NCC offers season or daily pay rates.

Gatineau park map

For suggestions on where to ski, excellent trail descriptions, photos and maps checkout Michael McGoldrick`s website about recreational xc-skiing in Canada`s National Capital Region (with an emphasis on the Gatineau Park).

Gatineau park map