Gatineau Park
Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, Glide Wax: -7 to -12, Grip Wax:
ROUTE: Up Fortune Lake Parkway from P10 to Champlain Lookout and back by 1 to Huron and then back down the parkways.
SKATE: Because of the new snow both on groomed and ungroomed surfaces it was a bit of a slog but overall it was fairly fast. The new snow has covered any sign of the ice from just a few days ago. As you can imagine there was great control. Actually, overall, it was a really comfortable day. This is the first time this year that Champlain has been fully covered.
CLASSIC: This depends on if you are there before or after the grooming. Having said that, even without the grooming, the snow was still fast and the skied-in tracks were solid.
TRAFFIC: P10 was pretty much full by the time we left. There were a few cars around 8.
WEATHER: Not cold at all but not warm enough to slow the snow down. This will change as the day warms up.
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).
