Hiking near Coaticook in October: Eastern Townships Guide

Hiking near Coaticook in October is the month on the postcards: red maples over the canyon, cold clear mornings, the cliff at Mont Pinacle lit up at sunset. It is also the busiest month on that cliff, and the month the big-game hunting seasons open. Both are easy to handle with a plan.

What hiking near Coaticook in October is like

Daylight shrinks from about eleven and a half hours on October 1 to ten by the 31st, and sunset slides from around 6:20 pm to 5:30 (the National Research Council's sun calculator has exact times). Mornings are frosty by mid-month and the first snow on the summits can come before Halloween. Carry a warm layer, a hat and a headlamp, and check Environment Canada before a long loop.

Colour moves from the ridges down to the valleys. Bonjour Québec's fall colours map is updated weekly and tracks Mont-Orford, Mont-Mégantic, Owl's Head and Sutton on a six-step scale. Thanksgiving weekend (October 10 to 12 in 2026) is the busiest of the year at every lookout. Our fall foliage guide covers timing; this page is about the trails.

Where to go

Mont Pinacle, booked ahead

The Parc Harold F. Baldwin, about 15 minutes from Coaticook (13 km, 8 miles), calls fall its busy season and says weekend time slots fill up; without a ticket you may be refused at the gate. Buy the $9.50 day ticket online (free for 16 and under), go on a weekday if you can, and be out by sunset. Dogs stay on a leash. The park closes for freeze-up some time between November and January, so October is the last month you can count on it.

The Gorge: last full month on the footbridge

The hiking season at the Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook, suspended footbridge included, ends in early November, so this is the last full month to see the canyon in colour. In 2026 the park was open daily from 9 am to 5 pm until October 12 (last entry 3:30 pm), then 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 5 pm on weekends, with the footbridge reached only from the St-Marc Street reception and last entry at 3 pm once the clocks change. The schedule page has the current year. Dogs on a leash are welcome.

Mont-Orford and the Flambée des couleurs

The Parc national du Mont-Orford, about 45 minutes from Coaticook (50 km, 31 miles), runs its hiking season to November 30, freeze permitting, with dogs on certain trails until then. Mont Chauve, 10.6 km with 310 m of climbing to a bare summit, is the classic colour hike. Next door, the ski area's Flambée des couleurs runs on weekends until October 18 in 2026, with the lift to the summit on set dates. Buy lift tickets online and expect traffic.

Hunting season: dates, closures and orange

This corner of the Townships is Québec hunting zone 6. The 2026 dates on the province's white-tailed deer and moose pages:

• Moose, bow or crossbow: October 3 to 9.
• Deer, bow or crossbow: October 3 to 16.
• Deer, shotgun or muzzleloader: October 17 to 21.
• Deer, novice weekend with firearms: October 31 and November 1.

Small game has been open since September 19, and the rifle season for deer comes in November. The dates shift by a day or so each year.

Hunters must wear a fluorescent orange bib of at least 2,580 square centimetres whenever firearms are allowed. Hikers are not required to, and should anyway on any trail outside a park: an orange hat or vest, and something bright on the dog.

Some trails simply close. The Forêt Hereford shuts its trails on October 3 to 9 and 17 to 21, 2026, and again November 7 to 22; only the Chute à Donat trails at East Hereford and the Centennial road stay open. Les Sentiers de l'Estrie closes sectors between September 30 and November 22. Tourism Eastern Townships' page on hiking during hunting season lists the Sépaq parks, the Gorge and Mont Pinacle among the places that stay open.

Ticks are still about: the health ministry says adults are most active in fall, so keep up the check.

Getting around

Drive times are approximate, from Coaticook. Winter roads and border waits change the math; in October, leaf traffic around Magog and Orford adds to them on peak weekends, and Canadian Thanksgiving shares its weekend with a U.S. holiday, which shows at the border.

Back at the house

La Villa Foresta is in the Coaticook area, among the trees with views toward Mont Pinacle, and in October some of the leaf-watching happens from the covered deck with a coffee. Evenings are for the fire pit and s'mores, then robes and a fondue when it gets properly cold. Dogs are welcome, with beds and treats of their own.

The fall outdoors guide covers the season. Neighbouring months: September and November.

Useful links

• Parc Harold F. Baldwin: tickets and reservations
• Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook: schedules
• Parc national du Mont-Orford (Sépaq)
• Bonjour Québec: fall colours map
• Québec: white-tailed deer hunting seasons
• Québec: moose hunting seasons
• Québec: the fluorescent orange bib
• Forêt Hereford: trails and fall closures
• Tourism Eastern Townships: hiking during hunting season