A Winter Chalet Weekend in the Eastern Townships

Every group has them: the people who came for the chalet and not for the chairlift. This one is for them. A winter weekend around Coaticook fills up easily without downhill skis, as long as you know what is open, what is closed, and how early it gets dark.

The Gorge in winter

The famous suspended footbridge at the Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook is closed all winter, and the winter trails do not lead to it. If the bridge is the reason for your trip, come back between spring and fall.

What the park does offer in the cold months is a lot:

• Snowshoeing on more than 21 km (13 miles) of trails at five difficulty levels. Snowshoes and crampons can be rented on site.
• Winter hiking on three packed trails, 7.5 km in all, that you can walk in boots.
• A skating rink and a small sliding hill, included with any winter trail ticket. Bring your own skates and sleds, because the park does not rent them.
• Kicksleds, which the park calls snow scooters, rented by the hour and booked online. There are seats with supports for children aged 1 to 5, and you can rent a harness on site so your dog does the pulling.
• Fat biking on an 11 km route shared in part with snowshoers, helmets mandatory.
• The Legend of the Liéri, an outdoor escape game with five stations along the 3 km Mountain trail. You need a smartphone with a data connection.

Leashed dogs are allowed on the winter trails. Last season the park was open from December to mid-March, from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 4 pm on weekends with last entry at 3 pm. You register at the campground reception desk before heading out. The park posts a new winter schedule each season.

Cross-country skiing

Right in Coaticook, the Plein Air Coaticook network has 30 km of groomed cross-country trails, four short snowshoe trails and a rustic warming hut. Tourisme Coaticook's winter page (in French) says access is paid, a reservation is required, rentals are available and dogs are not allowed.

For a bigger day, the Parc national du Mont-Orford is about 45 minutes by car from Coaticook (50 km, 31 miles). Tourism Eastern Townships lists 50 km of cross-country trails there, 26 km of them groomed for skate skiing, plus close to 50 km of marked snowshoe trails.

For something free and flat, the Tomifobia Nature Trail from Ayer's Cliff, about 25 minutes away (25 km, 16 miles), allows cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on its 19 km of old rail bed.

Mont Pinacle, with a warning

The Parc Harold F. Baldwin on Mont Pinacle, about 15 minutes from Coaticook (13 km, 8 miles), is open in winter, and Tourisme Coaticook notes that crampons or snowshoes are mandatory. The park closes its trails while the ground freezes, some time between November and January, and again during the spring thaw, between March and May. Check the park's site the week you come.

Ice fishing and skating

The Parc Découverte Nature, less than 15 minutes from the Gorge, offers ice fishing in winter with the equipment provided, along with its indoor interactive game, Acoatica.

For skating, Tourisme Coaticook lists free outdoor rinks across the region. Parc Laurence in Coaticook is the one that rents skates, and it has a supervised chalet in the evenings and on weekends. Outdoor ice depends on the weather.

If some of the group does ski

Our ski guide compares Mont Orford, Owl's Head, Sutton and Bromont, with honest drive times and a word on who should stay slope-side instead.

The indoor half of the weekend

It is dark before five in December, which is an excellent excuse to stay in.

La Villa Foresta is set up for long evenings. There is a fondue set, and the Coaticook area is cheese country, so buy the cheese at the farm on Saturday afternoon (our local food guide says where). There are new and retro board games, puzzles and books, a popcorn maker for movie night and robes for afterwards. The fire pit with its s'mores supplies is outside, and a fire in the snow is worth putting your boots back on for. One honest note: the snowshoes on the den wall look like decoration to me. Rent real ones at the Gorge.

Winter driving

All the drive times on this page are approximate and from Coaticook, in good conditions. Winter roads change the math, and so do border waits for anyone coming up from the United States.

Québec requires winter tires from December 1 to March 15 on vehicles registered in the province, rental cars included. The rule does not apply to vehicles registered elsewhere, but the hills around here do not care where your plates are from. If you are driving up on all-season tires, watch the forecast and leave yourself daylight. Québec 511 has road conditions.

For the other seasons at the house, see the seasons.

Useful links

• Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook: winter activities
• Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook: winter schedules
• Tourisme Coaticook: snowshoeing and skiing (in French)
• Tourisme Coaticook: where to skate
• Parc national du Mont-Orford (Sépaq)
• Parc Harold F. Baldwin (Mont Pinacle)
• Parc Découverte Nature
• Québec: winter tire requirements
• Québec 511: road conditions