It's not a country, it's winter! Under the poet's pen, the French-speaking province of Canada is nothing less than winter personified. In the hearts of the adventurers who fuel up in the extreme cold, Quebec is also an emblem. Out of the ordinary, it is so by its immensity and by the diversity of outdoor experiences to be lived during the long months of the reign of the white gold. More than abundant, it reinvents landscapes and the way of living them, redesigning the art of playing outside under the seal of a nordicity that is both spectacular and convivial. For Quebecers, "having fun" at -15°C is not only a tradition, but also a permanent pretext to innovate in order to surprise and diversify the pleasures.

Wide open spaces in direct contact

It's a special feature of the Quebec winter experience: nature XXL is everywhere within snowshoeing reach and you don't have to travel far from major urban centres to find exhilarating playgrounds like the national parks. The Sépaq and Parks Canada networks total twenty-seven of these vast settings, or 42,000 km² of preserved nature. Many of them are open in winter. This is the case in Lanaudière and Mauricie, two regions united under the name Québec Authentique, bordered to the south by the St. Lawrence River and stretching north towards the infinite boreal. Further east, as the river takes on the dimensions of an estuary, Charlevoix and its relief is another excellent destination for taming winter. In the southwestern part of the province, the Outaouais region also stands out with a wealth of ideas for living in a family or more sporty way, all less than 2 hours from Montreal. These three destinations combine all the assets to explore different facets of Quebec's winter

Playing outdoors à la Québécoise

Among the must-see activities are those inherited from Amerindian and Inuit traditions. Snowshoeing in the Parc régional de la Forêt Ouareau (Lanaudière) ; sledding through the rolling hills of the Outaouais region at chiens ; ice fishing in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade in the Mauricie region: these are all classics inspired by millennia-old Aboriginal lifestyles

The joys of downhill skiing are no less well represented in Québec, with superb ski areas such as Le Massif de Charlevoix, where a 7.5-km toboggan run winds its way down the St. Lawrence River. Cross-country skiing is also very popular and is practiced everywhere thanks to a generous network of trails maintained until the end of March - more than 80 km in La Mauricie National Park alone. In an area where there are thousands of lakes and rivers, ice skating is not to be forgotten... even in the woods, as offered by "Skating in the Forest", near Gatineau Park

Sensationally ill? Welcome to the cradle of snowmobiling. In addition to having invented this racing car, Quebec has one of the largest networks in the world: 33,000 km of marked, maintained and interconnected trails to conquer the most beautiful landscapes during guided raids or during an initiation. In Authentic Quebec alone, there are more than 4,800 km of trails to explore.

Multi-activity stays and more if affinity

A phenomenon that is diversifying, the winter outdoors in Quebec is conquering a public that is no longer limited to seasoned adventurers. Many resorts have expanded their activity card and offer packages that combine all kinds of adventures and tasty cocooning, such as the Auberge du Lac de Taureau (Lanaudière) or the Baluchon Éco-villégiature (Mauricie), where you can enjoy, among other things, beautiful horseback riding on the snow. The same trend is evident among forest innkeepers, such as outfitters, whose offers are no longer limited to hunting and fishing and are aimed at the whole family. The fun and the unusual are welcome. At Parc Oméga (Outaouais), you can sleep one-on-one with a pack of wolves. The Super Glissades St-Jean-de-Matha (Lanaudière) are ideal for finding your child's soul on a large inner tube, while the national and regional parks are competing for alternatives to leave their mark: fatbike (bike with oversized tires), Ski Hok (between snowshoeing and cross-country skiing), snow scooter, ice climbing, winter via ferrata or snow graphineige at La Mauricie National Park - or how to indulge in land art on the white coat..

Comfort commensurate with the effort

In addition to these trails to get off the beaten track, there is also an offer of accommodation that is literally at one with winter. The EXP or Écho cabins in the Sépaq network are examples of this, for example at Parc national des Grands-Jardins (Charlevoix), where you can enjoy the warmth of the fireplace without straying far from the northern hiking trail. Like the Nordic spas that alternate hot and cold to pamper you, Quebec winters are best experienced by cultivating this art of indoors and outdoors, magnified by the good humour and hospitality of Quebecers. The Hôtel Sacacomie in the Mauricie region and its GEOS Spa, La Source Bains Nordiques in Rawdon, in the Lanaudière region, and the Nordik Spa Nature in Chelsea (Outaouais), the largest spa in North America, are among the best addresses of their kind. Angry with the cold? The Quebec winter will do better than you'll make up... you'll fall in love!

Text by David Lang

Smart info

When? The best time to practice winter sports in the Quebec regions is from mid-December to mid-March.

Getting there. Head to Quebec City or Montreal to enjoy the great Canadian outdoors in winter

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Formalities. Valid passport and Electronic Travel Authority (ETA).

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