Hey Gang,
pondering a Quebec trip this year. Thinking about Empire 47 and/or Sentiers du Moulin, although open to other suggestions. Anyone have any local accommodation recommendations? top of the wants list would be bike storage and riding distance to the trails. Thanks!
Le massif if you want some lift access
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How long do you have?
VBN is a mountain bikers must IMO.
SDM is an amazing destination, you could spend a week there and not scratch the surface.
SDM also has 2 zones, and you can find everything from flow to the gnarliest double black on the EC.
E47 has a very chill climb zone, great trails.
Enjoy, bring your legs.
If your looking for lifts/gondola-MSA and LeMassif is what you want.
-CN
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All of the trail systems are great, I try and go up a few times a year for extended weekends and either:
Stay in Lac Beauport
- Find an AirBNB or stay at the Entourage sur-le-Lac (has shared bike storage, bring a lock).
- Go to E47 on day of arrival for a couple hours
- Ride SDM
- Drive to VBN Shannahan sector for a day -VBN is ~1.5 hours from Lac-Beauport but is well worth it.
- Ride SDM
Stay in Saint Raymond
Stay at Hôtel Roquemont, which is at the trailhead of the VBN Saint Raymond sector and about a 20- to 30-minute drive from the Shannahan sector. There are also lots of Airbnbs around. Either spend a few days at VBN or spend a couple of days there and then drive to SDM for a day. Ride the Saint Raymond trails at some point, these trails are fun but nothing special; however, since we are at the hotel, we usually spend a couple of hours there.
If I were to rate the trails personally that I have been to:
- VBN – This place is incredible; everything from the scenery to the trails is amazing. VBN has great tech trails (La Legend, La Boreal), adventure/enduro trails (Neilson’s), and flow trails (Godzilla, Octopus, Kraken). Kraken was built for a video by Brett Rheeder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9JUq12EV3I) – after the video, the trail was converted to a flow trail (no jumps) and opened to the public.
- SDM – There are so many good trails, including the most popular one named SuperG, which is a really fun, flowy tech trail with some rock slabs. SDM is divided into two zones: the main zone by the lodge and Maelstrom, which is across the street and has some of the gnarliest trails. Bring your legs to SDM, especially on the Maelstrom side!
- E47- Fun trails, easy but long climb, large pump track. Worth checking out, but I personally don’t find it as good as VBN or SDM.
Better yet - Plan your trip around the Mont Saint Anne world cup races, ride all of the systems and then head to MSA and watch the races for the weekend.
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Awesome, thanks for all of the suggestions guys, especially re: accommodations. I was lucky enough to do a stage race several years ago and had the chance to ride one day each at VBN St Raymond and Shannahan, MSA, Le Massif, E47, and SDM. I think I have an idea of the flavour at each of the various trail systems, although some may blend a bit in my mind. This trip will be with a family of intermediate riders for a solid 2-3 days of relatively chill riding. For the purposes of this trip not really looking for lift-serviced or overabundance of tech. Hoping to minimize time in the car. In the past we’ve really enjoyed riding at kingdom trails VT and looking for a similar vibe, if one exists!
For family friendly Kingdom Trails vibe I’d stay in St Raymond at the Roquemont Hotel.
They cater to mountain bikers… bike storage room, bike wash, VBN office onsite for passes/merch/etc. Onsite brewery and restaurant, bike shop next door. St. Raymond trails from your doorstep and only 30 minute drive to Shannahan trails.
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