It only took me 51 years to finally discover this little treasure tucked away in the Charlevoix region called La Malbaie. I’ve been in the Summer and fall for whale watching, hiking, fall colors, great restaurants, and amazing scenery but I had never been in the Winter. Let me tell you, folks, this is one of the prettiest places on earth! Judging by the snow banks everywhere it looks like they’ve received 15 feet of snow so far this year, it’s absolutely crazy how much snow they’ve gotten so far!
It’s about 4 ½ hrs from Montreal and well worth the travel time. La Malbaie is smack dab in the middle of the Beautiful Charlevoix region. It is home to the Famous Manoir Richelieu as well as many other great Inns and hotels such as the Hotel et pavillons Le Petit Manoir du Casino where we stayed during our little getaway.
Make no mistake, this is a winter playground paradise! From alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, sea kayaking, and even dog sledding!
On Saturday we went to Mont Grand-Fonds for some Alpine Skiing and it was wonderful. The snow conditions were simply excellent. Although the mountain might not seem big it makes up for it in quality. There are runs for every type of skier and they are very all very well cut right down the fall line of the mountain, which makes the 1100 foot vertical very challenging. The diamond and double diamond glade runs were exceptional. They received about 45cm about a week prior to our arrival and there was still loads of snow in those glades! The chalet is very accommodating for families and the après-ski party was great as well with very good local Micro-brew on tap.
After our hard day on the slopes, relaxing our strained muscles at the O’Quartz Spa was just what the doctor prescribed! The hardest part after that was choosing a restaurant, there were many great options.
O’Quartz Spa
On Sunday, we were treated to a wonderful snowmobile ride across the backcountry of the area. We got to see first-hand the magnitude of this winter playground. The cross-country & snowshoe trail system is amazing. And as for the snowmobile trail system, I’m here to tell you that this region has the best snowmobile trails I’ve ever seen. There is only one word to describe it, spectacular! We got our sleds from Top Location Charlevoix and their guide Eric was very professional and went the extra mile to show us the region.
Here is a great video of our 4hour tour of the Mont Grand-Fonds area
