P’tit Train du Nord, a 234-kilometre cycling trail through Quebec’s Laurentians, is remarkably accessible for those wanting a flat, smooth ride, or hillier climbs should they choose.Guillaume Pouliot/Marleyne Babin/Supplied
Mauve lupines swayed in the late-spring breeze, ferns unfurled by the roadside and everything seemed impossibly green.
This was my introduction to the P’tit Train du Nord, a 234-kilometre cycling trail that follows a former railway line through Quebec’s Laurentians. We weren’t tackling the whole thing, thank goodness. Our group had chosen two manageable stretches for this mini biking trip: about 42 kilometres on the first day and roughly 30 km on the second, both mostly flat, mostly asphalt, with the option of using electric bikes to make the trip easier.
While I had done a few weekly 25-minute kettlebell workouts at home before this adventure, I had done no cycling training and I was curious to see just how far this plump tush and these sturdy thighs could take me.
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When you hear “Laurentians,” you think of Quebec’s mountains, ski hills and burning calves. But the P’tit Train du Nord is remarkably accessible for those wanting a flat, smooth ride, or hillier climbs should they choose. The route is exceptionally well marked, with former train stations transformed into museums, cafés, rest stops and picnic areas. There’s even a passport you can get stamped along the way, and an app that points you toward picnic spots and bathroom facilities and shares construction updates. As someone with no sense of direction, I can confidently say that getting lost along this bike route would require commitment.
The route is well marked, with former train stations transformed into museums, cafés, rest stops and picnic areas.Supplied
Before setting off on our ride the next day, we eased ourselves into Laurentian life with brunch. At Au Petit Poucet (open since 1945), Québécois comfort food is served in historic surroundings. We ate heaping plates of eggs, bacon and ham, great slabs of homemade country bread slathered with strawberry jam, baked beans and (why not?) maple taffy for dessert, the reduced syrup poured over little foil tins of snow and curled around our popsicle sticks.
The next morning, we mounted our bikes. Kilometre zero for the trail starts about 50 kilometres north of Montreal, but we’d be setting off in Rivière-Rouge and ending at Lake Tremblant. We were using two different tour companies to take us and our bikes to our trail head and carry our luggage to each hotel.
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One of the pleasures of cycling is that you experience the landscape at exactly the right speed: fast enough to cover ground, slow enough to notice your surroundings. The warmth of the sun on your face. The scent of damp forest floor and fresh-cut grass. Two blackfly bites on my left cheek. Manure drifting from a field of grazing cows.
The trail rolled through mixed forests, over bridges and past wildflowers. There were chipmunks darting across the path and stretches so peaceful all you could hear was birdsong and the hum of bicycle tires. At Labelle, a former train station turned museum and picnic area, our support crew laid out lunch. My wrap was filled with Quebec brie and cranberries and I inhaled homemade salsa and chips.
Following a former rail line, the trail passes through mixed forests and over bridges.Supplied
Along the route we passed through charming towns, including Mont-Blanc, Val-David, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts and Sainte-Adèle. We met cyclists from across Canada and the United States. Some looked like they had trained for months. I was just proud I had remembered my water bottle.
By late afternoon, after 42 kilometres of cycling, I was slightly tired, my bum was a little sore and I was disproportionately proud of myself. I felt confident I could do it all again the next day.
But first, a reward.
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Our guide had organized a pontoon boat trip and aperitivo hour on the genteel Lake Tremblant to see the area from a different perspective, and honestly, what’s better than being on the water in the Laurentians during summer?
On board, Quebec rosé, microbrews and cheeses and charcuterie appeared as a sprinkling of rain fell and a rainbow arched soon after. I began to understand why people challenge themselves with long bike rides. Mostly because of delights like this at the end of each day’s ride.
Dinner that night was at Choux Gras Brasserie Culinaire in the Fairmont Tremblant. I knew executive chef Mathieu Cloutier’s food from the spectacular Kitchen Galerie in Montreal, so I was excited to taste how he worked with the region’s terroir. Plus, I figured I’d burned off enough calories. The chef’s perfect square of foie gras terrine arrived with toasted brioche, sea buckthorn jelly and chutney, alongside a powder made from maple syrup and hazelnuts. It was lusty eating and deeply Québécois.
The P’tit Train du Nord had given me everything I wanted from a mini cycling holiday: scenery, good food, manageable exercise and charming towns.Supplied
For our second day of cycling, Mother Nature had other plans. The weather forecast noted 50 millimetres of rain and high winds. Our guide suggested that instead of cycling, we’d explore neighbouring villages, visiting breweries, distilleries and shops.
Secretly, I couldn’t have been happier. The revised itinerary was more my speed. Into the van we hopped, but this time with no bikes hitched to the back.
At the end of the day of touring, we arrived in Sainte-Adèle at Au Clos Rolland Couette, a five-room auberge housed in a historic building. The owner told us that most of their guests arrive by bicycle thanks to its location directly on the trail.
That evening my new cycling friends and I gathered around the fireplace, drank red wine and played Clue. Somehow nobody won, which felt oddly appropriate.
A dream cottage in the Laurentians, at last
On day three we reached our final stop: Strom Spa Nordique Saint-Sauveur, conveniently located just off the trail. The spa sits beside a rushing river and we soaked and gloated about our achievements in its hot pools, cold plunges (both pool and river), sauna and steam rooms.
The P’tit Train du Nord had given me everything I wanted from a mini cycling holiday: scenery, good food, manageable exercise, charming towns and just enough adventure to make me feel virtuous. And when the weather turned, it reminded me of another travel truth: Sometimes the best journeys are the unplanned detours.
If you go
P’tit Train du Nord: A former railway line turned cycling trail. Ideal for day trips or multiday rides, the well-maintained and signed route connects forests, villages and cafés, making it one of Quebec’s most accessible cycling experiences. en.ptittraindunord.com
Autobus Le Petit Train du Nord: This shuttle and bike-ferrying service rents bikes and makes sure cyclists, their bikes and luggage arrive in one piece. autobuslepetittraindunord.com
D-Tour: Mont-Tremblant outfitter D-Tour offers cycling packages starting at $89 a person, including bike, helmet and one-way shuttle service. They also create customized itineraries throughout the Laurentians. dtourtremblant.com
The writer was a guest of the tourism board, which did not review or approve this article. Stories are based on merit; The Globe does not guarantee coverage.
