The Unofficial Guide to Mont Tremblant: Montagne D'Argent

Mont Blanc as seen from one of many lookouts

In an effort to break the monotony of the COVID lockdowns, my wife scoured the Tremblant area for new outdoor activities we haven't tried yet. A difficult task...after more than a decade in this region, we've done so much of what is on offer. Still, she found Montagne D'Argent, a park owned by the municipality of La Conception which is about a 20-minute drive from the Tremblant resort. You might ask why you'd drive 20 minutes for hiking when the highest peaks in the Laurentians are at the ski resort. A fair question, and this article will tell you why.

First of all, hiking at the Tremblant resort is fantastic, as we have recounted in multiple posts. No hike in the area affords the same "top of the world" panoramic view as you get at the peak, whether you do the climb or take the gondola to the top. Same with the Mont Tremblant National Park...a little further afield, but a rich and varied set of hikes that are well worth the drive. The NationalPark also offers the Via Ferrata for those who want a more extreme experience.

But Montagne D'Argent (Silver Mountain in English) is different. Even though its peaks are less than half the size of Tremblant's, the hiking is far more rugged and the views are equally rewarding. We visited on Easter weekend of 2021, with an unseasonably warm day. You have to watch carefully to find it...just an inauspicious dirt parking lot on Rue de la Montagne D'argent. Walk up the driveway and you arrive at the base camp with a small office, picnic tables and a few out-buildings that serve the year-round campers. After we checked in and paid our day fees ($7 each for non-residents of La Conception), the attendant recommended the fullest hike that circles the outermost edges of the park. We didn't know that the trails he suggested required a higher degree of fitness and athletic ability and so in retrospect we 50-somethings were flattered to have appeared capable of handling them.

Karen works her way up rope #1

The hike started off quite easily...a well trodden gravel path through campsites (a few occupied by hardy campers in April). Along this flat path we passed a number of rock climbing spots - Montagne D'Argent is best known for it rock and ice climbing. Sheer rock is on display throughout the hike, which is one of the distinguishing features from the largely woodsy hiking trails in other parks. Before long, we turned a sharp corner and the ascent began up the spine of a stone trail. Beautiful views of the surrounding farm land and the Riviere Rouge were almost immediately available...lookout points are frequent on these trails so you are rewarded regularly for your efforts.

The trails are abundantly marked so you never have to wonder if you've strayed, and there are occasional "you are here" maps so you can Magellan your way through the park. The trail are also colour coded by difficulty, and we were finding the orange trail La Crete (orange is second most difficult) to be rather easy. Until we found the surprise. There was a sudden drop of about 10-15 feet in the trail, and the way down was via climbing ropes. So we tossed our hiking poles to the bottom and used the ropes to rappel our way down. That was fun! We encountered a few of these along the orange trail and we had a lot of fun with each one.

Karen makes it down the ice slide after the stairs

10 feet of ice at the base of the stairs!

Soon after, we turned onto the red trails. The biggest difference on the reds was the depth of the drop-offs. The rope rappels were now more like 20 feet and far more challenging. Still manageable. but there were a few spots where we needed to plan out our footwork to get down. Because it was early April, there were still patches of snow and ice and so in a couple spots we had fairly treacherous dealings with ice, including one spot where your only option was top slide about 10 feet on your butt to get to the bottom. Again, all manageable, but be prepared for something that isn't the usual trail walking. We knew something was up when the attendant asked us if we had crampons!

After the last of the major lookout spots, we could tell we were heading back to the main camp. It was still a considerable hike with many elevation rises and falls. In all, it was almost a 4-hour hike, lengthened by some slow going over ice as well as a few rest spots for a snack. Plus a cave visit that I couldn't resist (see photos below).

We didn't venture over to see the lake, which by all accounts has a great beach as well as some cliff jumping, but we will check this out next time, likely in summer. And there will definitely be a next time - we found Montage D'argent to be a superb hiking destination and highly recommend it!