Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, #1, #3, Glide Wax: yellow, Grip Wax:

Quick early morning ski. Radar showed the rain staying south of the Ottawa river so I opted to go for a ski and ignore the water drops hitting my face It was tough to ignore by the time I got back to the car as the rain got heavier. No grooming at P10 when I started - nor did I expect any on this gloomy wet day. Despite that the conditions were quite good with no ruts and a firm, fast base climbing the hill. Got to Burma and found the groomer had been down 3 and turned back to Gossip. Couldn't resist another run along 3 so skied up on fresh corduroy. Snow is getting dirty but there is still lots of base. Ony a few bare spots in predictable south facing spots. All but one were easy to avoid. A little muddy portage was shaping up near the junction of 3 and 20 (pictured). I managed to just sneak by on skis but it was probably minutes away from being a short 2 or 3 step walk. Ridge was in good shape as well. A few grey icy patches on the flat stretch from Shilly Shally to the parkway but no signs of gravel yet. Should be good into the weekend as there's still snow depth depth varying from a few inches to a few feet. All a question of how many and how large the portages will be as they open up.

Of note, the Meech lake road was showing some signs of erosion on the hill just past the downhill center. Crews were there when I drove in. When I drove out they had pushed the snow banks back to help with runoff and dumped a load or two of gravel on the shoulder to firm things up where the asphalt had been undercut. Hopefully the road won't wash out with this fast melt we've been having.













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