An incredible old rail trail converted to one of the nicest bikepacking routes around, complete with amenities for cyclists the whole way through.
Quebec, Canada | 200KM (124 Miles) | 1,875ft elevation gain
This old railway is an incredible way to travel between the villages and towns of Quebec while seeing breathtaking scenery, enjoying the gastronomie of the region, and staying at quaint B&B’s. While a luggage transportation service exists, we highly recommend bikepacking which allows you to keep a flexible schedule. Plus, it’s just more fun! Due to it being an old railway, there are many old train stations along the way that have been converted into cafes, rest stops, bike shops, and more. All rest stops have bathrooms, water stations, bike pumps, and basic bike tools available.
We have classified this trail as ‘leisurely’ due to the fact that the uphills are very gradual, technically there is nothing challenging for a beginner cyclist, and being off of the roadways means no traffic to contend with. However, if you make this into a bikepacking trip and split up the route into two days, the distance might bump it up to ‘intermediate!’ It all depends on how you’d like to approach it. Though we would have loved to do the whole trail, we could only take so many days off work and so we only did the first 100km. Here’s how we split it up:
DAY 1: Arrived in Saint Jerome in the evening, had a carbo-loaded dinner at Le Soleo (www.lesoleo.ca) and stayed at The Comfort Inn Suites (www.comfortinnstjerome.com). There’s not too much else on offer when it comes to accommodations in this town so we suggest making this your starting off point.
DAY 2: Started from the Place De La Gare (train station) in the center of town which was lively and bustling with cyclists. From here, we covered 46KM/29miles in total and chose Val David as our stopping point for the day. Along the way, we highly recommend stopping at Cafe De La Gare/Espresso Sports at the 25KM mark. Excellent drinks and sandwiches, and next door there is a fully functioning bike shop for any needs you may have along the way.
Once in Val David, we got lucky by picking an amazing bed and breakfast called Les Passionnes (www.passionnes.ca). Not only were the rooms tastefully decorated and comfortable, but the restaurant was exceptional. We got to pick from a 3 or 5 course meal that included items like pan seared scallops, marinated duck breast, and salmon tartare.
DAY 3: This was supposed to be our best riding day but unfortunately we got unlucky with the weather. It downpoured on us the entire way and the winds started to pick up, so we hightailed it to our next stop! We covered 58KM/36miles on our way from Val David to La Conception, and normally would have stopped at 70KM at La Stazionne, a cafe and wine bar right on the path. We did swing by here the next day so we are happy to say that it comes well-recommended! There are a couple of other villages along the way, most notably Tremblant, that are worth a visit. To do so, you would need to exit the path and follow signs for ‘Centre Ville.’
We stayed at a charming bed and breakfast, Auberge Le Cosy (www.aubergelecosy.com) just past Tremblant in an area called La Conception. The place itself was excellent with beautiful grounds and a delicious breakfast. However, you should note that there is nowhere to eat nearby or at the hotel for lunch or dinner, so you would need to visit the closest town (Tremblant) which is 8KM back down the path. You could potentially stop on your way up the path to buy some food from the market in town to take back with you to the B&B, assuming you have space on your bike!
DAY 4: Due to our washout on Day 3, we decided to bike back down the way we came in order to see some of the gorgeous landscapes we zoomed past. The Tremblant area is lovely and we didn’t regret turning back the way we came. At 70KM at La Stazionne, we had some lunch and waited for the Autobus P’tit Train Du Nord to come pick us up and take us back to St Jerome in time for us to get home to Vermont that afternoon. The shuttle service is a great amenity on this trail, allowing for you and your bike to get picked up from any major station along the route. As you’ll see in the photos, the bus has the capacity to carry a very large group of riders at one time.
Without a doubt we will be back to finish what we started. It is worth noting that Le P’tit Train Du Nord is part of La Route Verte, a trail spanning the whole province of Quebec, and the even larger Great Trail of Canada, the longest recreational trail in the world. We plan on exploring more of both of these as we are fortunate to just be across the border from them- you can read more about them here: www.routeverte.com and www.thegreattrail.ca.
Here is the route we did of the 100KM.
Check out the route here: https://www.strava.com/routes/21940567
The Road Less Graveled 