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Snowtime in SaguenayDiscovering Québec’s longest riding season By Craig Nicholson – The Intrepid Snowmobiler
“Let’s see how deep the snow is!” said Régis Fournier as he stepped off his sled next to the exposed top of an evergreen tree and magically disappeared in a puff of snow dust. I scrambled for my camera to get a picture of someone who wasn’t there anymore. Soon tree tip started vibrating like a rattlesnake’s tail. Suddenly, a helmet reappeared from the snow followed by the rest of our guide for that Monts Valin portion of our tour. As he climbed up from the snow hole Régis said he wouldn’t try that once winter really set in, because it would take him all day to get out. While most of the traditional snowbelt destinations hardly had any coverage last January, Saugenay-Lac-St-Jean was already open for business. It’s one of those snowbelt regions that always gets good snow. The Monts Valin area – located on the north side of Québec’s Saguenay River – is its crown jewel. Here, mountains the size of British Columbia foothills elevate from 700 to 1,100 metres and act as snow catchers for ‘Old Man Winter’. Most of the time, the result is a 20 to 22 week snowmobiling season that starts in November and can extend well into April. Both on trail and off – with most of the trail riding taking place on unused logging roads – makes for sweet, sweet riding. Last winter, hundreds of riders discovered this self-styled ‘Paradise of Snowmobile’ for themselves. And I’ll bet they’ll return over and over again, just like me. When looking for Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean on a map, ignore how far away it looks. Once you’ve been there it’s close enough! It’s only a two and half hour drive north of Quebec City on a decent highway that’s in the process of being four-laned. This makes getting there a straight run for the many Americans we encountered from places as diverse as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New England.
An incomparable experience
From our own launch point near Toronto, eleven hours of trailering got Jim Reavelle, Don Webb, Marsha, and me to Chicoutimi for our first tour of the season the third week of last January. That’s comparable to the drive from Toronto to Cochrane, and it’s on four lane expressways most of the journey. Best of all, what you experience when you arrive is truly incomparable.Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean is an island of civilization about the size of Belguim, surrounded by largely untamed wilderness. Here, 275,000 Quebeckers reside beside the region’s two dominant waterways, Lac-St-Jean bounded by a great plain, and the Saguenay River whose steep cliffs and elevated vistas make it a spectacular fiord. Anchored by Chicoutimi and Jonquière along with La Baie – now collectively called “Saguenay” after municipal restructuring – the region offers four very diverse snowmobiling experiences on 3,300 kilometres of groomed FCMQ trails. These include the aforementioned Monts Valin; farmland riding on the plain around Lac-St-Jean; wilderness exploration through boundless forests and lakes; and touring through the very snowmobile-friendly urban areas from Alma to La Baie. As noted, Mont Valins Est and Monts Valin Quest deliver the best early and late season riding in Eastern Canada. And just when you think you’ve done it all by riding the trails shown on the official Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Trail Map…think again! Immediately north of the FCMQ system the Club de Motoneigistes Onatchiway grooms another 200 kilometres of trails which serve the 1,000 or so camps dotting the 14,000 lakes of the 100-square mile Zec Onatchiway. It’s a private system, but you can enter with the purchase of a $35 three-day pass which is available at the entry gate. The whole Monts Valins area also boasts literally thousands of kilometres of unmaintained logging roads with oodles of good powder riding for those who know their way around. That’s why we had guides and why I wouldn’t recommend doing Monts Valins the first time without one. It’s just not well enough marked and besides, without a guide, you’d be sure to miss some great views, neat trails, and maybe even the few and far between fuel locations…to say nothing of irreplaceable playtime!On the second day, Pierre Delisle and Lawrence Chiosson, two trail wardens with the Club de Motoneigistes Onatchiway, joined Régis and our group. Emboldened by this high power expertise, we decided to try a cross-country shortcut. I’m not talking unmaintained logging road…no, I mean turn left suddenly off the groomed trail at any given tree and head off into the bush on three feet of untracked snow! With Régis breaking the way, we squiggled and squirreled along a meandering creek. Unfortunately, last winter’s late freeze hadn’t solidified everything underneath yet and Régis’s Ski-Doo Skandic wide track unexpectedly broke through into wet mush. He powered through but I didn’t react quickly enough to avoid a major burial and one of my Ski-Doo GXT Limited skis caught under an ice shelf. Dislodging it was some chore! Although I tumbled onto deep snow unhurt, I felt a sharp shock hit my right foot. My boot was under water and I had my first soaker of the season! Fortunately, Régis carried a spare liner and I had a Goretex replacement sock. With several chemical heaters also wrapped around my foot with duct tape, the rest of day was comfortable, but we decided to forego the boondocking in favour of groomed trails.
Plethora of riding choices
In snow terms, there are two Saugenay-Lac-St-Jean’s: North of the Saguenay Fiord and east Lac-St-Jean itself. Higher elevations and lake effect mean more snow. On the south side of the river and west of the lake snow can be considerably less. For instance, the week before our tour the same storm sprinkled the south with up to five centimetres and then dumped sixty centimetres to the north. On the south and west sides of Lac-St-Jean another determining factor for snow is that prevailing winds often sweep it off the farmlands on the plain close to the lake. So conditions from Saint-Gédéon around to Roberval can be scratchy, sometimes with snow packed on trails surrounded by bare fields. For this reason we aborted our planned circumnavigation of Lac-St-Jean which is a must-do ride when conditions are right. But we still had plenty of options to fill our riding calendar. One day, we rode north from Alma and circled west through Saint-Ludger-de-Milot and Saint-Augustin on superbly groomed but almost traffic-free club trails. The next, we snowmobiled south through Hébertville and into the wilderness edge of La Réserve faunique des Laurentides, then swung east towards Ferland-et-Boilleau and La Baie. The advantage of this route is several different size loop options ranging from about 200 kilometres to more than double that.Saugenay-Lac-St-Jean’s plethora of riding choices also means you can do either day trips from the same hotel; go saddle bagging for the entire tour or mix the two. I’d suggest the latter, because Monts Valins is far enough and immense enough that staying there while riding allows more exploring time. Be sure to book well in advance – demand often exceeds available rooms. If you’re into downhill skiing, check out the 27 slopes at Valinouet. Although the loop around the lake can be done in one long day, I’d recommend taking two, staying the middle night at Centre Touristique Lac-à-Jim which is #8 on Saugenay-Lac-St-Jean Trail Map. You might also want to spend an hour or two at the Saint-Félicien winter zoo – RT373 runs right through it!Whatever your winter pleasure, Saugenay-Lac-St-Jean delivers big time. I’ve passed through the region for a day on several previous tours, but now I know it’s worthy as a premier destination unto itself. You can even rent sleds if you need to. So the next time you’re looking for a new place to ride, with a virtual guarantee of exceptional snow and reliable trails, remember that it’s always snowtime in Saugenay-Lac-St-Jean! Special thanks to Nancy Donnelly, Régis Fournier, Pierre Delisle, Lawrence Chiosson and Lanie Chenier. Craig Nicholson is the author of “Canada’s Best Snowmobiling — Your Ultimate Ride Guide”. His syndicated column “The Intrepid Snowmobiler” appears in newspapers throughout North America. He also hosts “The Intrepid Snowmobiler on Radio” and appears regularly on Snowmobiler Television. For more info, click www.intrepidsnowmobiler.com
Who to Contact
Maps Required
Our Itinerary
(Code: TQ = Trans Quebec; RT = Regional Trail; CT = Club Trail.)
Day One (11 hrs):
Trailer 990 km from Toronto to Chicoutimi
Where We Stayed:
Hotel La Saguenéenne (#19 on Saguenay Lac-St-Jean Trail Map). 1-800461-8390; (418) 545-8326; www.lasagueneenne.com. Full service hotel located in town, just off 175 (from the south, turn left at Tim Horton’s) with ample parking and secure sled garages. Facilities include on site restaurant, bar, pool, whirpools, and sauna. Fuel nearby. Direct trail access to back of parking lot.
Day Two (7 hrs.):
Ride 206 km from Chicoutimi to Valinouet via TQ83w to RT367n to TQ93e to Club Trailn (named Bras des canots) to CTe to TQ93w to Relais Auberge 31 (lunch) to TQ93w to CTn (Bras Louis) and TQ93e.
Where We Stayed:
Passion Quebec (#21 on Saguenay Lac-St-Jean Trail Map) – (418) 673-4677; www.passionquebec.com. Choice of condos, chalets or B&B. We stayed in new log housekeeping chalet with sled parking in front. Facilities include on site fuel and available food service (plus restaurants in town). Close to ski hill. Direct trail access.
Day Three (7 hrs.):
Ride 166 km from Valinouet to Zec Onatchiway entrance via TQ93w to CTn (Bras Louis) into private trail system.
Where We Stayed:
Auberge du Barrage (#38 on Saguenay Lac-St-Jean Trail Map). (418) 540-8826; www.aubergequebec.info. Located at the gate to Zec Onatchiway this inn is cozy, with home-cooked meals, a pool table, and shared bathrooms. Fuel next door. Direct trail access.
Day Four (7.15 hrs):
Ride 190 km loop from Zec Onatchiway to Alma via CT476s to RT328w to CT482n to CT484w to CT485e to Relais Tchitogami (lunch) to CTs to TQ93w to TQ23s.
Where We Stayed:
Hotel Universal, Alma (#16 on Saguenay Lac-St-Jean Trail Map). 1-800-263-5261, (418) 668-5261; www.hoteluniversal.com. Full service hotel located downtown with restaurant, bar, and massage. No fuel nearby. Direct trail access via TQ23 and local recreational bike trail.
Day Five (7 hr):
Ride 200 km loop from Hotel Universal and back via TQ23n to CT to Lamarche, then Relais Tchitogami (lunch) to CTw to Saint-Ludger-de-Milot to TQ93e to TQ23s.
Where We Stayed:
Hotel Universal.
Day Six (6 hrs):
Ride 190 km to Jonquière via TQ23s to RT368e to Relais La Bouleaunière (lunch) back to RT368n to TQ83w to Hotel La Saguenéenne to pick up trailers.
Where We Stayed:
Holiday Inn Saguenay, Jonquière (#17 on Saguenay Lac-St-Jean Trail Map). 1-800-363-3124; (418)548-3124; www.saguenay.holiday-inn.com. Full service hotel with restaurant, bar, secure sled compound and locked area for trucks and trailers. Fuel nearby. Winter base for “Saguenay Bill”. Direct trail access to hotel.
Day Seven: Trailer home. |
