Mountain Biking

We love mountain biking.  Although you might not know it seeing how little we've done up here in Tremblant.  As we do more, we'll share our photos and experiences, but for now, we'll share what we've found.  Certainly we've seen some offshoot single track at various points along the P'Tit Train du Nord or other trails in the Tremblant area. But the good MTB trails just aren't apparent...you need help finding them.  We looked to the Mountain Biking Club of Mont Tremblant, who offer a great map of the mountain biking trails in the Mont Tremblant area. 


Based on that map, we found a great single track trail that starts off the north side of Rue Labelle, just west of The Grand Lodge and east of the roundabout at Montee Ryan.  The trail entrance is easy to miss as it's in the middle of a planted pine forest.  According to the map, this is the Villa Bellevue and is a green run...immediately at the trail head we found a nice offshoot to the right that snakes through the trees on a pine needle floor, and rejoins the wide green run further along.  This trail does cut in and out of golf courses, so be prepared for that.

View of the Diable river from the bridge

After about 5 minutes or so of riding through the courses, the trail narrows a bit and runs through the woods.  This is a fun, moderate trail with some great rocky sections and inclines.  We were heading north, and passed a few people who were riding south...to be sure, riding this trail north is much easier as it tends to offer far more downhill than uphill.  The people we passed were working much harder than we were!  The trail ends at a T intersection, where we turned right and eventually came to a major bridge that spans the Diable river.  On the other side, you join the major paved trail, although don't pass this up. It's great fun to ride (watch for pedestrians) and there are many blue run offshoots throughout.  Turn right and you lead into the slopeside ski village and then many restaurants and shops.  Turn left, and you're on your way to Old Tremblant, where our favourite spot for a beer on a patio is the pub, Au Coin.

Bikers' reward - beer on the patio!

This is just our first installment on MTB, and we'll add as we experience more.  But we sure do like what we've seen thus far!

July 20 Update:

We took another MTB excursion today, starting at the Visitor's Centre near the south roundabout on Montee Ryan.  There's ample parking here, a bike wash, and read access to a couple of trails.  If you cross Montee Ryan, you can pick up the Diable trail, but for reasons elaborated below, we recommend against this.  Instead, we suggest starting out on the Labyrinthe trail, a nice giggle run through a pine forest.  Then we picked up Villa Bellevue, rode it through the golf course, and eventually came to Les Pins.  This is where the fun really started.

The S-bridge on Les Pins

You have to watch carefully for Les Pins as it's easy to miss. It's a hairpin left off Villa Bellevue, and starts with a fairly steep, rocky single track path into the forest.  It soon flattens out and becomes a pleasurable winding trail through the woods.  We particularly enjoyed the double-banked S-bridge (see left) although as an intermediate rider, I found it a bit challenging [by contrast, my wife woohoo'd her way across].  As you continue along the path, you'll have the opportunity to pick up both the Jazz and Deer Mountain trails, which we didn't do this time around.  Eventually, Les Pins leads to the Diable trail, which, aptly named, runs along the Diable river.  Watch for the pumphouse, where you can park your bike and enjoy a dip in the river.  We made a stop and found the Diable surprisingly warm, yet refreshing.

Now, a key tip: there are some nasty, prolonged uphills on Les Pins, indicated on the trail map by arrows >>>>.  The arrows point in the direction of the incline, so unless you're in killer shape and have great technique, you're likely to be walking your bike up these inclines, and we certainly met a few other bikers doing just that.  Of course, if you ride the other direction, you get to ride down the trails which is obviously easier.  That's why we suggest up above that you take Labyrinthe and Villa Bellevue from the Visitor's Centre - it allows you to pick up Les Pins on the elevated side and ride down the hills. 

I give the Diable two thumbs up

After the dip in the river, the trail climbs gradually, moderately steep in some spots, and offers a nice lookout near a clutch of poplars to the mountains in the distance.  After that, you pop out on the road, turn left and return to the Visitor's Centre.  That loop took just under an hour, and provided manageable challenges and enjoyment for a couple of intermediate riders.  If you're more advanced, you'll still like it...just go faster!

The trail head of Les Pins from Villa Bellevue

My wife rocks the bridge