Quebec Cycling Holiday Ideas

Quebec is a big place and a good cycling vacation in Quebec will visit quite a big geographic area.

Cycle Fun Montreal has been thinking about what we'd do if we decided to invite you for a week-long cycling vacation in Quebec. Answer: too many choices!

Montreal has several possibilities (it's a compact city easy to bike in):

• Lachine Canal/Sentier des Berges canal-and-riverside bike path loop, go out to very end of canal to parc levesque for huge outdoor sculpture art-park
• Olmstead road to top of Mont Royal - excellence includes deep forest road, beaver lake, The Mont Royal Chalet lookout over downtown, and Maison Smith, and don't forget the summit and of course the giant cross. Descend via Mont Royal cemetery for added scenic amazement
• The bikeable urban mecca of Plateau Mont Royal (Mont Royal, St-Denis, Parc Lafontaine, Rue St Hubert (south of Mont Royal), avenue du Parc, St-Viateur, Bernard and of course the legendary St-Laurent boulevard.
• To the public markets of Atwater or Jean Talon
• To Old Montreal and the Old (Vieux) Port and the island park of Parc Drapeau and Pont Jacques Cartier bridge for best view of the city

West / southwest of Montreal

• Pointe aux Cascades bike path -Anchor Museum/ Cedres Ferry/ St-Timothee - Lac St-Louis
• Chateauguay Valley: Road ride from Ormstown to Powerscourt (oldest covered bridge in Quebec) along the Chateauguay River

North of Montreal

• Petit Train du Nord (200 km trail, south 90 km is rockdust, northern 110 km is paved)
• Out favorite sections are:
• Val-David-to-or-from anywhere south like Ste-Adele, Prevost, or St-Jerome (south direction is downhill from Val David). Val David has 1001 pots exhibition/gallery in summer.
• Tremblant to Labelle (P'tit train du Nord museum in Labelle)
• The northern paved 110 km starting in Labelle. Pavement, your friend pavement...

East of Montreal/ Eastern Townships

• Chambly Canal (for added adventure, do it from Montreal)
• L'Estriade: Granby to Waterloo
• Les Grande Fourches (Sherbrooke/Rock Forest/North Hatley/Lennoxville)
• Tomifobia Nature Trail - Ayers CLiff to Stanstead - scenic, away from civilization, deep rural
• Road ride Sutton area - Sutton-Mansonville-Knowlton-Sutton

East of Montreal - between Montreal and Quebec City (north of river)

• Chemin du Roy (say Lanoraie to St-Barthelemy)
• Cycle Fun Montreal's Lanaudiere hill rides (a hill-climbing scenic paradise)
• Parc de la Mauricie - end to end loop - hardcore hills and few services, you earn it

Quebec City

• Loop Quebec City-Ferry-Levis-Pont du Quebec (bridge)-and back by brand new riverside bike path Route du Champlain
• local south shore ride: Levis to villages up to 50 east and back.
• Just take the ferry Quebec City to Levis for amazing scenic experience

East of Quebec City - North of River - Charlevoix

• Ile aux Coudres, easy scenic ride, leave car in St-Joseph de la Rive for easy ferry access
• Charlevoix hills - for the hardcore cyclists this is heaven

East of Quebec City - South of River - Cote de Sud, Bas St-Laurent, Les Basques

• Take the Route Verte anywhere to anywhere going east - you will usually have a big tailwind. And spectacular scenery. And tides. And pretty villages.
• Petit Temis 130 km trail from Riviere du Loup, south to Cabano, Degelis, and Edmonston, in the province of New Brunswick. A good shorter version is 100 km Degelis to Riviere du Loup.

Well that's a start... I know I missed a few, especially the flatter-land rides, but with 4000+ km of riding, this list offers you a good taste of Quebec.

If you want a Quebec cycling vacation a good place to start is Velo Quebec for bicycling info and Bonjour Quebec for other tourism info. There are excellent free cycling guides from every region of quebec. Translation: life just keeps getting better if you're a cyclist in Quebec!