Seasons
Foresta Lumina: Planning Your Night and Where to Stay
Updated
Foresta Lumina starts after dark, takes up to two hours, and ends in a parking lot in a small town two hours from Montréal. The walk itself is easy to love. The logistics around it are where evenings go wrong, so that is what this page is about.
What it is
Foresta Lumina is a 2.6 km lit trail through the forest of the Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook, created by the Montréal studio Moment Factory. You walk from one light and sound scene to the next and cross the park's long suspension footbridge at night. The organizers say to allow one to two hours. It is a hike, not a show with seats: the trail is partly levelled but not paved, with stairs, climbs and descents.
Season and start times
The season runs from late June to mid-October, on set dates. In 2026 it opened on June 19 and the last evening was October 11. The pattern is the useful part:
- Early summer: open most evenings (closed Sundays and Tuesdays in 2026), with first departures at 9 pm.
- August: first departures creep earlier, 8:30 pm and then 8 pm.
- September and October: Fridays and Saturdays, plus the holiday weekends, starting at 7:30 pm and then 7 pm.
Dates change every year, so check the official rates and schedule page before you build a trip around it.
For families: a 9 pm start in July means finishing around 10:30 or 11 pm. In late September the same walk starts at 7:30. If your kids are young, go in the fall.
Tickets
Tickets are timed, and the organizers strongly recommend booking online ahead of time so you get the slot you want. A few rules from the official FAQ that people learn the hard way:
- Your time is the start of a short entry window. You cannot go in early, and you can still get in if you are less than 30 minutes late.
- No refunds and no changes if you can't make it. They compare it to a concert ticket.
- Children 3 and under are free but still need a reserved ticket.
- Combined tickets with daytime hiking or mountain biking cost less than buying each separately.
Rain, cold and cancellations
The walk goes ahead in the rain. Bring a rain jacket and real shoes. If a major storm is coming, management decides at 3 pm whether to open, and posts a banner on the website and a notice on Facebook. It is on you to check. If an evening is cancelled, ticket holders get an email on how to rebook within the season.
Nights in the gorge are cooler than the afternoon suggested. Dress for standing still in a forest at night, because at each scene that is what you will be doing.
Kids, strollers, heights and dogs
- Strollers: not recommended, including the off-road kind, because of the stairs and the footbridge. The park recommends a baby carrier and rents them on site.
- Reduced mobility: the organizers say plainly that the trail is not recommended.
- Heights: there is no way to do the walk without crossing the suspension bridge. Staff stand at both ends, and if you tell the person at the start that you are nervous, they will try to limit how many people cross with you.
- Dogs: not allowed at Foresta Lumina. They are allowed on a leash in the park during the day.
- Washrooms: near the parking lot and at the halfway point. The shop sells snacks, not supper.
Parking is free at the Foresta Lumina entrance, 135 rue Michaud in Coaticook. The daytime trails close in late afternoon so the crew can set up, so plan to eat in town or at your rental in between. Tourisme Coaticook lists the restaurants.
Why staying nearby matters
Do the math from Montréal. About two hours each way (165 km, 103 miles), a 9 pm entry, two hours on the trail: you are home around 1 am, after dark country roads. From Sherbrooke it is a manageable 35 minutes (35 km, 22 miles). From anywhere farther, stay the night. Drive times are approximate: winter roads and border waits change the math, and so do rain and fog.
Your options near Coaticook:
- The park's campground is the closest bed, less than five minutes from the entrance, with 182 sites plus ready-to-camp tents and shelters.
- Hotels, motels and B&Bs in town are listed by Tourisme Coaticook. Good for a couple on a one-night trip.
- A chalet makes sense when there are many of you, or when Foresta Lumina is one evening in a longer stay.
La Villa Foresta is a chalet of that last sort: five bedrooms, two bathrooms, room for 12, in the Coaticook area. After the walk you come back to a fire pit with s'mores supplies and robes, and nobody drives to the city. The next day can be slow: Lac Lyster beach is less than five minutes from the house, and Coaticook has the dairy bar.
If you travel with a dog: the house welcomes dogs and Foresta Lumina does not, so check the house rules on the Airbnb listing about leaving a dog alone, or have one adult sit out the walk. Drive times are from Coaticook, since the exact address goes to confirmed guests only.
Useful links
Bringing a group?
La Villa Foresta sleeps twelve in five bedrooms near Coaticook, with a fire pit, a meadow and Mount Pinacle in the window. Dogs are welcome. It is new on Airbnb for 2026 and hosted by a Superhost.
See the house
