Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, Glide Wax: -5 to -10, Grip Wax:
SKATE: Very solid track with some loose and soft snow to make control easy. Very good glide up the parkways. Closer to Champlain Lookout there is a very icy base that comes to the surface often. This has softened up because of the warm temperatures, but there are significant ruts that will become more of an issue as the weather gets even warmer.
CLASSIC: The tracks appear to be getting worn down and are very icy. Lots of people were making good progress going uphill. Many people had one ski out of the track on the downhill, I assume because of the very fast conditions.
TRAFFIC: Easy commute from south Ottawa today. No slowdowns on Colonel By or Sussex. P10 was half full at 10 and people were starting to use the middle of the lot when I left around 11:15.
WEATHER: Warm, but still cool enough for the snow to retain its structure. It seemed quite humid with a bit of a mist in the air to icy up the glasses a bit.
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.
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).
