Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: #50, #54 (green), #55 (green - shared), #36 (blue), Glide Wax: CH7, Grip Wax:

It's been pointed out that my 50's Lake Tour has been missing an accessible lake, so today I set out to correct this oversight. I left P16 a bit after 9AM. I was the second car in the parking lot and I made the first tracks on the corduroy all the way from P16 to the campground on lac Phillippe. I was greeted by a screaming cold west wind drifting snow across the trail at P16, and this wind was a factor throughout the trip. Although the snow was cold and powdery glide was amazingly good since I was the first skier on the firm, freshly-groomed corduroy. I continued along 50 all the way to P19 and the shores of my missing lake, Lac Meunier (a mud puddle just west of the parking lot). I then backtracked to the intersection with 55 green, and continued along this trail to the shores of Taylor Lake where I was nearly blown backwards by the wind. I retreated to Renaud Cabin for a lunch stop, then followed 54 up to Lusk Lake. The hills on 54 were in excellent condition, with no icy patches. I then retraced my path on 50 along the Lac Phillippe shore. I now had a tailwind and soon I also had the intense March sun warming my back. The sun also noticeably softened the snow surface despite the low temperatures, giving better glide. After a quick break at Herridge I snuck down Trail 36 to the shore of Meech Lake. This is the only place the downhills were glazed- just slightly. I then returned to 50 and enjoyed the long descent to P16. The final hills had all been deeply tilled and were in excellent condition- edging and control were no problem. Lakes visited: Meech, Trudel (a beaver pond glimpsed through trees), Mouseau (Harrington), Phillippe, Meunier, Petit Renaud, Renaud, Taylor and Lusk. Despite the superb conditions I saw very few other skiers, even in the sunny afternoon. Get out and enjoy, there are probably only a couple of weeks left in the season!













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