Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: Gatineau Pkwy , North Loop, Gatineau Pkwy, Glide Wax: LF 10, Grip Wax: waxless (and rilling)

I skied from P8 to Mica and also checked out about half of the Doldrums. It wasn\'t exactly raining, and temperatures were about 1 to 2 degrees.

If you like to go fast and far, this wouldn\'t have suited you. I thought it was wonderful, though. Here\'s why:
-There were lots of parking spots (entire parking lots in fact)
-My waxless skis were made for these conditions, slow as they are.
-In a short period of time I got great exercise and came home tired after double poling down all the hills! It felt like I had skied twice as far!
-No sun, ice, thaws or refreezes to worry about. The snow was consistent from start to finish.
-The fog was so mysterious and beautiful: trails I have skied countless times looked new and strange.
-The drizzle hitting my face was very refreshing compared to hot sun.
-There were animal tracks, dog tracks, boot tracks and ski tracks everywhere because the grooming is kaput. The grooming stopped although there is still a lot of snow, and very few skiers skied since this morning\'s snow, so it was easy to see the tracks. There weren\'t enough boot tracks to be a problem and the snow was surprisingly skiable.
-The only sounds were the skis, poles and the roaring brooks.

I was curious to see the Doldrums since it was marked with a red x weeks ago. I skied about half of it and although some bare spots are developing now, the real problems are caused by the long-term lack of grooming and the number of walkers which have used 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