Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, #1, #1B, Champlain Pkwy, MacKenzie-King Rd , #3, Glide Wax: Vauhti blue, Grip Wax:

Just reiterating Andy and Dev's comments - A beauty ski day and tomorrow should be much the same so get out there. Skied from P6 up to the lookouts - 1B and Ridge before jumping off to crust cruise some of the ponds on the now abandoned "Hidden Valley" trail. Probably the last weekend for any of that with the warm temperatures predicted this week. Lots of beaver activity in the back ponds and the ice will probably open up in the warmer temperatures next week.

From there I jumped onto Burma which hadn't been groomed but was still quite nice. A couple of icy patches to watch out for but for the most part an excellent cruise down to the parkway. The final descent was a little sketchy (icy) but enough texture on the surface to remain in control. One gravel patch at the top of that steep descent but there was enough snow on each side to ski around it.

I would also comment that the classic tracks on the parkways looked really nice for the most part but they did occasionally turn to glare ice in spots so stay alert.

I found that, even though the temperature didn't get above zero, the sun had enough strength to soften the top layer of the snow so even the icy patches were quite skiable later in the day. Again - Get out and ski tomorrow!!













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