Activities in Tremblant

Tremblant is a holiday resort in the Laurentian mountains with thousands of tourists visiting from nearby cities such as Montreal, Ottawa, New York and Toronto for a break in nature, away from city life. There are endless summer activities available, from walks to escape rooms to water skiing. Here are a few that I particularly enjoyed.

Le Petit Train du Nord

Originally a railway line, Le Petit Train du Nord is now a multiuse path running for more than 200km and passing through the old village of Mont Tremblant. It is fantastic for walking, cycling, roller blading and boarding (though unfortunately I haven't had the chance to try the latter two). An off-road, largely flat, tarmacked/grit track going through villages, forests and alongside lakes, makes for some wonderful expeditions. There are also mountain bike trails leading off the main piste. The path is very well used, especially at weekends, and serves everyone from holiday makers to Ironmen-in-training.

The path was extremely useful to me for travelling between the resort and St Jovite but on my days off my two favourite places to cycle to were Labelle and Saint Faustin. Labelle is a village about 20km from Tremblant with a small museum and tourist office and a farmers market every Sunday morning where you can buy local cheese, freshly baked bread, fruit and vegetables and walnut butter among other things. At Saint Faustin I enjoyed visiting the old fish farm which has been converted to an ecotourism park and has beautiful gardens, outdoor artwork and information on wetlands and aquatic ecosystems.

The Mountain

There are several different hiking trails to get to the top of Mont Tremblant. I went up by Grand Brulé which is the longest route and it took me approximately two hours. Views were well worth the exertion and the route is very scenic. However, I was glad to have a proper pair of walking boots as it is boggy in places and rough underfoot. This path allows you to see round the back of the mountain as well which was interesting. I went down by a different path on the opposite side of the mountain which takes you alongside the river for a while and there is a series of waterfalls there which are very pretty.

It is also possible to take the gondola to the top of the mountain if you don't want to walk it. This allows you to see the view from the top but you do miss out on the mid-way views, the tranquillity of the mountain, and the sense of achievement that the walk gives you!

The Lakes

The lakes are undoubtedly one of my favourite things about living here. The water doesn't have the chill factor of Scottish waters and you can sit outside any day of the summer without needing a jumper and a windproof jacket.

The beach at Lac Mercier is watched by a lifeguard during the day which means you have to pay to go on it. The beach is about 10mx5m and the swimming area not much bigger so I have not paid the $6 entry fee. Instead I swim from the small dock right next to the beach. If anything, it is better than swimming from the beach because you can jump in and the water is deeper. There is also a bit more space.

Aside from swimming, I also rented a paddle board on Lac Mercier and I'm very glad I did. Paddle boarding is extremely popular here and for good reason. I had never paddle boarded before but have been wanting to try it for a while so I figured the lakes here were a pretty ideal place - no waves to contend with, no risk of being swept out to sea, warm weather and warm water. Paddle boarding was easier than I thought it might be. I watched a couple of Youtube videos beforehand to get an idea of the basics but really the board was fairly easy to balance on and after that it was just a matter of working out the best paddling technique. It took me about an hour to do a full tour of the lake as Lac Mercier is not too big. The water was very peaceful and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

My favourite activity on Lac Tremblant was sailing. I rented a small topper with a friend who has some sailing experience. When we arrived we were warned that there wasn't enough wind for sailing but by the time we got out into the lake it was really starting to pick up and we were able to go pretty fast. It was a wonderful experience and the lake was a great place to start learning the ropes. Would highly recommend!

It is also possible to cycle alongside Lac Tremblant to reach the north-side marina. The road is small and quiet and takes you up a hill from where there are some really fantastic views of the lake.

Luge

Of course I couldn't write about things to do in Tremblant without mentioning the Luge where I have spent most of my time this summer, riding down at least three times a day five days a week for the past three months. The wonderful thing about the Luge is it really is for anyone: if you're old enough to stand then you're old enough to luge. Small children can go together with an adult, disabled people can ride in tandem with a supervisor and it's definitely not just fun for children. There are groups of teenagers, men in their 30s, bachelorette parties, multi-generational families and everything in between who come to the luge. People of every age, every nationality, every walk of life get to the bottom of the luge course with a smile on their face and tell me they had the best time ever and want to do it again. That's what makes it a great place to work.

Looking at it from the foot of the hill doesn't really show you what it's like - the course is 1.4km long and, if you want to, you can go fairly fast. I think it's a lot more fun than it looks. On the other hand, if you're not looking for the thrill, you also get a great view of the colourful resort and Lac Tremblant from the chairlift and the route down is very scenic if you want to take it slow.

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