Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: #2 (blue), #1 (green) (#2 - #24), #2 (from #40 to #1), #3, #9, #24, #33, #40, #18, #20, #21, Glide Wax: blue, Grip Wax: blue

Beautiful ski on mostly backcountry trails but a few of the groomers as well (to link me to the next BC trail!). Skied up from P12 on 40 and 2 before heading into the woods at the top on 21. Proceeded to ski in "circles" on the various back country trails for a couple of hours, giving them all a bit of a go. Really nice soft snow with a reasonably skied in track to follow made for some great skiing.

On the groomed trails my wax (blue) seemed to work fine with plenty of grip in the tracks. On the powdery backcountry trails I was slipping a bit more than I liked so I added some extra blue which helped (still not perfect). I was able to make good progress so no complaints.

On the groomed trails things seemed pretty much perfect. Solid track and good skate lanes. First time up trail 33 this season and it was a little soft in the center of the trail. I don't think its been groomed too many times this season so it still seems a little soft. The classic tracks were fine as they line up with the tracks of the groomer so get well packed with each pass.

Driving past P8 and P9, the lots looked almost at capacity but P11 and P12 were maybe 1/2 - 2/3 full so plenty of room. Saw lots of people skiing on Ridge road but on the backcountry trails I (almost) had them to myself. Beautiful day out.Even (almost) got some blue sky for a few minutes which seems to have been a rarity (for me) this year.













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