Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: #52, #53, #57, Glide Wax: Blue, Grip Wax:

Waited a little late in the day to set out but still enjoyed a good ski. The weather turned on me a little bit but if it means more snow then I'm all for it.

Started at P17 which I haven't been able to squeeze into the parking lot this season so it was nice to see it only half full when I was driving by.

Started up 52 with a mindset that I was going to do the triangle. Made a quick detour into see Brown's cabin before heading for the bulk of the climbing. As I got to the base of the longest hill the storm arrived and I started to be blasted by ice pellets. Apart from hurting I decided this was a bad omen so I turned back... but quickly regretted my choice. By the time I was back to 53 the ice pellets had eased off and now it was either snowing or raining (or both!). Decided to salvage my ski by heading out 53 past 51 before I found myself getting pretty wet from the rain and decided to turn back. Did the short drop down to the Wakefield Mill before coming back to the car to call it a day.

Nice ski with rapidly changing weather. All the tracks were freshly groomed but - as the storm laid down some precip. the classic tracks were starting to fill. The skating was fast on a solid base. Hopefully things will cool down overnight to give this storm a little more snow than rain. Could be a tricky waxing day tomorrow if the temperature stays above zero.













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