BEYOND GATINEAU PARK
A ton of varied snow action on the Quebec side
Snowshoe trails lead past ancient trees at
Forêt La Blanche near Buckingham.
By Katharine Fletcher Photos: Eric Fletcher
When people in the Ottawa-Gatineau area want to go skiing or snowshoeing, they likely think first of Gatineau Park’s 200 kilometres of classic cross-country tracks, 45 kilometres of back-country trails, and 60 kilometres for snowshoes. However, although just about everybody loves the Park, there are other wonderful spots
to explore. These are some of our faves – including two that are new to us.
des Zingues. Its trails connect to la Réserve faunique de Papineau-Labelle. In autumn 2015 we hiked here with trailblazer extraordinaire Richard Chartrand, as well as Duhamel tourism co-ordinator Martine Caron. Chartrand said the name of the trail is a play on words. “‘Dingue’ means ‘crazy’ in French. So, we thought, you have to be crazy to
La Route des zingues Northeast of Gatineau, and 110 kilometres from Ottawa, the village of Duhamel on the north tip of Lac Simon is gateway to an exhilarating network of trails called La Route
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