Fly, Ride, Eat and Enjoy: An Ultimate Snowmobile Experience Near Mt Tremblant, Quebec
by Scott A. Sumner
The sport of snowmobiling has an exciting new destination coming on board this year near Mt Tremblant, Quebec. Mt Tremblant has long been known as a world-class ski and golf destination with over 4000 beds available in a full range of accommodations including 5 stars. Local entrepreneurs, Isabel and Serge Proulx who own the Mt Tremblant airport have been instrumental in bringing more air service to the region with Porter Airlines.
Now with such excellent connections to Tremblant the dynamic couple came up with the idea of arriving at the airport, changing into your snowmobile gear and hopping on a brand new Ski Doo sled to begin a beautiful adventure into some of the prettiest country you will find anywhere on the planet. The local Ski Doo dealer, Constantineau Mont Laurier can provide the sleds and then several excellent lodges came on board to complete the package and offer the snowmobiler a great experience.
The lodges are 4 stars and offer very nice quality accommodations in either a hotel type room setting or your own cabin with several bathrooms. There are also jacuzzis, fireplaces and other feature snowmobiler’s love. They offer gas on site and are right on the trail system.
Alain Dufour is in charge of the development for the Laurentian region and specifically the airport operations. The best example of his work has been with Porter now offering direct flights from Toronto and New York to Tremblant, as well as all the connections including Thunder Bay, Timmins, Sault Ste Marie and so on.
“ For us those are all big markets. Isabel and Serge Proulx of the Mt Tremblant Airport are very involved in the development of tourism in the large community of Tremblant. We meet with airlines and try to interest the airlines to come here,” said Alain Dufour. “ Serge had the idea to develop the company, www.northernescape.ca to use the terminal as the main hub for airlines and for all adventure. We are the backcountry of Mt Tremblant. Snowmobiling is a good adventure example for us. We start with a route from the airport going to the lodges and Constantineau Mont Laurier to rent the machines.”
“ People arrive here and 1/2 hour later are already on their brand new Ski Doo sled of their choice ready for an adventure. You land, get your bags change into your suit in the terminal and the sleds are ready right at the front of the terminal building. You just complete the rental form for the sled, are given a demonstration of the snowmobile and then are ready to go,” states Alain Dufour. “
According to the availability of the lodging the Northern Escapes organization can arrange a tour of 2, 3 or 4 days or more.
Also really unique about Mt Tremblant riding is the fact you can arrive at the airport early enough to comfortably ride for hours that day. Also you can ride up to the time of you return flight which makes it a very jam packed fun trip to Mt Tremblant.”
My snowmobile adventure would begin with a great ride beginning shortly after our flight arrival at 12 noon with the beautiful Rabaska Lodge as our first destination. My sled would be a 2012 Ski Doo Renegade 600 ETEC, which was a fun snowmobile to ride. It was cool day but the snow conditions were great and early into the evening we arrived at Rabaska after about a 150 km ride. The cool conditions that day caused us to change two of our sleds to the 2012 Ski Doo Grand Touring 600 ETEC at Constantineau Mont Laurier which was easily accommodated on the route we had taken.
“ We have a good trail system and just love this new package for snowmobilers because it is unique in the world. You can just land and jump on the snowmobile. When you market something that hasn't existed before it is very exciting. We are deep in the woods but offer good service, good food and lodging,” said Martin Gamache, owner of Rabaska along with his wife Dominique. “ We are sure we will interest many people to try it. You can be a good snowmobiler already or a beginner and have fun here. We can get you a guide if you want. You can choose a big sled or smaller one, ride on groomed trail or off trail, we are ready for that. I think we have a totally complete package.”
Rabaska is a 4 star resort with very nice cabins where each bedroom has it’s own bathroom. The food was very high quality and delicious. Martin and Dominique owners of Rabaska are snowmobilers themselves and know people want when they do a trip like this- good food, a good bed as well as smiles from the staff.
The weather is very good in the Mt Tremblant area for snowmobiling. The snowmobile winter operation can start in mid December with snow and go to the end of March. The average temperature is -10 to -12.
If you want the experience of a guide very familiar with the trails in the area the northern escapes team can easily arrange this for you. On our trip we had Serge Kingsbury, guide and avid snowmobiler who started riding at a very young age. He loves the sport and was in the financial services industry most of his career. “ My goal is to keep the riders safe first and foremost and to show the riders our great area.” said Serge Kingsbury.
There is also the possibility to load the trials into a GPS system. “ We can modify it according to the current trails. We also have the SPOT system you can rent which is linked with the airport and the lodgers. If you have any problems we will bring people to help you. There is cellular service in some areas but you can use a satellite phone everywhere. The SPOT system is a great safety system.” said Alain Dufour.
One interesting stop we had on my trip was the restaurant overlooking Mt Laurier, which is at approx. 3000 feet elevation. There was also the beautiful falls neat Mt Laurier, which was very fun to see. The range of riding experiences for the snowmobilers is just excellent here. You have great conditioned trails through winding valleys, long straight stretches through farmer’s fields all of which are very well signed to make you feel comfortable you are on your way to the right destination.
Also very exciting in the location in the ability to do off trail riding in some excellent powder snow conditions.
Our second night stay was at Le Club Meekos. After a great day of trail riding in excellent snow conditions we arrived a Meekos and quickly changed from our 2012 Ski Doo Grand Touring sleds to Ski Doo Summit machines and were off with Sebastien Dumoulin, co owner of Meekos for an exciting off trail experience in 2 to 3 feet of new snow. This riding was as challenging as I have experienced before in Revelstoke, BC or Big Sky, Montana in the past and let me know the Mt
Tremblant area can offer a snowmobile experience for all skill levels of riders. Our day at Meekos saw a group of 8 riders arrive directly from France who where going to ride off trail 6 days straight in the massive backcountry of the area. They had been coming back to Meekos for the last 10 years and are huge fans of snowmobiling and riding in this area.
After a great dinner at Le Club Meekos it was a great nights rest and the next morning after a nice breakfast we were off on our last ride back to the Mt Tremblant Airport to change clothing and board the Porter Q 400 for the trip back to Toronto and then Thunder Bay.
The cost for the snowmobile trips are on the website www.northernescape.ca and include airfare with Porter. The guide cost if you go that route, could be $250 to $300 per day and includes his
lodging, sled and meals as well. You can see pictures and video on the site as well as the northern escapes face book page.
I would like to thank Alain Dufour, Isabel and Serge Proulx of Mt Tremblant Airport for inviting me on one of my best snowmobile experiences ever. Also special thanks to Ski doo dealer Constantineau Mont Laurier, Rabaska Lodge, Le Club Meekos and Porter Airlines for their help.
www.northernescape.ca
