Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: #2 (blue), #1 (green) (#2 - #24), #2 (from #40 to #1), #24, #40, Glide Wax: , Grip Wax:

Skate ski from P12 to Wolf trail, up 2 and down 24/40. As expected, the snow is better there than on the parkways. Coverage is very good: only significant bare section is at the bench at 24, as usual. Climb to Wolf is still fully covered, except 2 small gravel patches which can be skied around - but will grow quickly. Usual small wash outs up 2. BUT, the real story are the unusual large wash outs: at the start, on 2 just after the first wooden bridge, the water has run over the snow, which is now covered with mud and gravel with a narrow band of clean snow on either side. I skied it on the way down, but not up. Can be done on classic. Worse, 50m of trail 40 have been washed out at the level of the second wooden bridge. Portage mandatory.
Other than that the snow is generally pleasant and, where clean, quite fast. The blue ice patches were soft at that time of day and quite skiable. Based on what I saw, the Fire Tower is still a very legitimate target.
All-in-all, other than these obstacles, good skiing.
Piece of advice: do not go blindly into a downhill, you might find a wash out where you do not expect it.













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