Mont Sutton is often regarded as one of the best skiing resorts in eastern Quebec, but it’s not just a winter paradise for avid skiers. The area is also renowned for some beautiful winter hiking trails, such as the Round Top Trail. Although the hike up to the Round Top (the highest peak in the Sutton Mountains) isn’t an easy one, and isn’t overly difficult either making it accessible to most who don’t mind a good climb. Given that there are a few trail variations possible, including a welcome detour to the beautiful Lac Spruce, we put together this Sutton’s Round Top Winter Hiking Guide, which we hope will help you get the most out of your hiking adventure.
Disclosure: This page (Sutton’s Round Top Trail – A Winter Hiking Guide) may contain product affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. More details can be found on our disclosure and policies page.
You might also be interested in these pages:
Quebec Hiking Trails that Are Stunning in Winter
Best Winter Hiking Trails in Charlevoix region
Best Winter Hiking Trails in Mont Mégantic National Park
Best Winter Hiking Trails in Sutton (Eastern townships)
Round Top Trail Location and Map
The Round Top Trail is located in the eastern townships of Québec, close to the Vermont state border and near the Mont Sutton ski resort (link to Google Maps).
How to Get to the Round Top Trailhead
The easiest way to reach the Round Top trailhead is by car.
From Montreal: about a 1h30 drive (125 km)
From Sherbrooke: about a 1h15 drive (95 km)
From Burlington (Vermont): about a 1h30 drive (70 miles)
If you need to book a rental vehicle for your hiking excursion, we highly recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rates on your rental in Montreal.
We also highly recommend Airalo (eSIM card) for your connectivity needs when travelling abroad. Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide.
Alternatively, you can also reach the park from Montreal by organized transfer via the Navette Nature service, which offers bus trips on various weekend dates. The service rotates between parks, so there might be only one or two trips per park per season.
Round Top Trail Access, Fees, and Parking
Trailhead & car park location: Both are found here.
Trail access & parking fees: The Round Top trail is part of the Parc d’Environnement Naturel de Sutton (P.E.N.S.). To hike the Round Top (or any other trail at the P.E.N.S) you’ll need to pay an 8$ access fee (2024) and it is highly recommended to book ahead online. The purchased ticket will be valid only for the selected day and selected timeslot, meaning that will you have to start your hike either between 9 am and 12 pm or between 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm.
Trail opening hours: The PENS park is typically open to visitors from 9 am to 5 pm during the summer and 9 am to 4 pm during the winter. We recommend consulting the park website for up-to-date hours.
The park’s trails are generally open year-round except for the spring snowmelt period (typically mid-April to mid-May, exact dates vary depending on the yearly weather). We recommend checking out the park’s official website to see if there are any temporary trail closures (PENS trail conditions page).
Parking lot: The car park is quite large, and there are rarely issues with finding parking.
Facilities: Toilets are available by the trailhead next to the ticket check counter.
Best Time to Hike The Trail
To experience a proper winter hike and beautiful white landscapes, it’s best to plan your visit between mid-December and mid-March. That being said, there are year-to-year differences regarding the early and late winter snow conditions. If you would like to visit early or late in the winter season, it’s best to check the park conditions first (PENS trail conditions page).
Why Hike in Winter?
– There are generally fewer people on the hiking trails, allowing for a more peaceful and enjoyable experience.
– Compacted snow generally makes the trail easier to walk on and removes the difficulties associated with walking over rocks, boulders and tree roots.
– The scenery is very different than in any other season but is no less beautiful.
Winter Hiking and Trail Safety Tips
In the absence of any significant recent snowfall, it is highly recommended to wear crampons/traction cleats under your shoes or boots when hiking most trails in this park, particularly any trail that has significant elevation gain. You can rent traction crampons/ice cleats to attach to your boots for 10$ (2024) at the PENS visitor center. If you plan on needing cleats for more than 2 days, you’re probably better off buying your own.
Winter Hiking Packing List
Crampons / Ice Cleats – These are a must-have to help you with those steep ascents/descents or navigate icy trail conditions.
External Battery – Cold weather significantly affects cell phone battery drainage. Best to be prepared with an external power source to recharge your phone if needed.
Hiking poles – These can be particularly useful in winter, especially when not wearing any crampons or ice cleats.
Hand warmers – if you are like us and often remove your gloves to take pictures, having little hotties around care be hand life savers in freezing weather.
All Trails subscription – comes in really handy for areas with little or no cell reception, as the annual subscription allows you to download trail maps for offline use.
If there was a lot of recent snowfall, you might want to hike with snowshoes instead of ice cleats to help navigate the soft snow. To help you decide what footwear to bring, the national park details the recent snowfall and trail conditions via the “information of the day” button at the top of the page ( e.g. typically either densely packed snow or fresh powdered snow). The visitor center also rents out snowshoes if need be.
Also, always bear in mind that no matter how cold it is at the base of the mountain, it’s going to be even colder at the summit (and windier), so remember to dress appropriately. It’s generally recommended to wear fewer layers to start since you will warm up after a few minutes of hiking. But it’s a great idea to pack some extra warm gear for when you take a break or reach the summit.
Round Top Trail Details and Map
We will present the three variations of the Round Top Trail. They all share roughly 75% of the same trail, but include different elements and have different midpoints.
1) Round Top Trail
This is the most direct route, a straight out-and-back trail to the summit.
Distance: 6.0 km
Route Type: Out & back
Elevation gain: 396 m (cumulative elevation gain: 404m)
Start point: PENS car park
AllTrails rating: (4.5, 370 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the trail in about 2h15-2h45
Access Fees: PENS daily rate
2) Lac Spruce Trail
This route omits the Round Top summit as the trail midpoint and instead goes to the beautiful Lac Spruce. Although this trail is about 75% of the length of the Round Top trail, it only gains about 50% of its elevation, meaning that it won’t be as steep. Although you won’t be rewarded with sweeping vistas of the surrounding mountains and valleys, it is still a very enjoyable hike and will take you to two scenic frozen mountain lakes. Although the main draw is Lac Spruce, it’s definitely worth the 5-minute detour to see Lac Vogel as well.
Distance: 4.5 km
Route Type: Loop
Elevation gain: 230 m (cumulative elevation gain: 234 m)
Start point: PENS car park
AllTrails rating: (4.5, 380 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the trail in about 1h25-1h45
Access Fees: PENS daily rate
3) Round Top and Lac Spruce Trail
This trail combines the best of both worlds, has the Round Top as the trail midpoint, includes a detour to Lac Spruce, and follows a loop path instead of a straight out-and-back for more diverse scenery.
Distance: 7.1 km
Route Type: Partial Out & back, Partial Loop
Elevation gain: 400 m (cumulative elevation gain: 440 m)
Start point: PENS car park
AllTrails rating: (4.7, 3302 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the trail in about 2h30-3h
Access Fees: PENS daily rate
Not an AllTrails member yet? We highly recommend signing up for either their free or paid membership plans. The free plan allows you to find new trails and plan routes but it can only be used while hiking if you have access to mobile data. The paid membership plan (AllTrails+) allows you to download trail maps for offline use and provides live progress updates and off-route notifications.
If you are still uncertain – you should know that the All Trails mobile application was voted the 2023 iPhone App of the Year by Apple.
Unless you are completely exhausted by the time you reach the level of Lac Spruce (or are really short on time), we see no reason not to do the Round Top and Lac Spruce combined trail. Another reason not to make it to the Round Top is if you are hiking with a canine companion, as they are not allowed on the final section of the ascent to Round Top (more on this below). You can also see from the trail ratings listed above that the combined trail is by far the most popular.
Other Round Top Trail Details
– Canine companions: Dogs are not allowed on the portion of the trail between Lac Spruce and the Round Top summit, which belongs to the Green Mountains Nature Reserve, which is the natural habitat of the rare and endangered Bicknell’s Thrush. Dogs must be on a leash anywhere else in the network of PENS trails.
– Summit: Round Top summit is located at an altitude of 968 m.
– Trail environment: Mostly forested, aside from a few sections around the summit.
– Trail Surface / Technical Trail: The fun thing about winter hiking is that technical trail surfaces (rocks, boulders and tree branches) get buried under the snow. The main challenges that remain are the steep sections that often require ice cleats or crampons, and there are a few such places on this trail, particularly during the final ascent to reach the summit.
– Average trail slope grade: 12.5% (combined trail), 10% (Lac Spruce), 13.5% (Round Top)
– Trail difficulty level assessment: Moderately Challenging (combined trail and Round Top trail), Easy (Lac Spruce trail)
(based on our personal assessment, taking into account the trail length, slope grade and trail surface – 5-point difficulty scale: Very easy, Easy, Moderate, Moderately Challenging, Challenging)
Round Top and Lac Spruce Trail Description and Summary
It is recommended to hike the trail clockwise. Most of it will initially be through a standard alpine forest with little to no views of the surrounding landscape. And you will be going uphill almost non-stop over the first two kilometres.
As you gain altitude, the scenery and the trees become increasingly snow-covered.
You will finally get a break from the steep slope of the trail as you reach the level of the lakes, where the level of the trail will be flatter over the next kilometre. You’ll first cross the small Lac Vogel, and soon thereafter the larger Lac Spruce.
After the lakes, the trail gets steeper again, to the point where you will have to ascend wooden stairs (with a handrail), which will likely be very icy and you will be thankful for those ice cleats.
But to reward your effort, the scenery starts becoming more magical, with the snow-covered pines taking the appearance of ghost trees.
Finally, you will reach the Round Top summit, where you’ll find a few different viewpoints offering panoramic vistas of the surrounding winter landscape.
Once you have taken the time to enjoy the summit views, you will head down the western portion of the loop. It’s quite steep in places, but with traction aids or ice cleats, there shouldn’t be any issues. Also, there are more switchbacks on this side of the loop, so you will less frequently be going straight down.
Other PENS Hiking Trails
If you are planning to be in the area for a few days, you’ll be happy to know that there are several other trails that you can do in the PENS. For more information on these trails, be sure to check our guide on the Best Winter Hiking Trails near Sutton.
Where to Stay Near Sutton
If you would like to spend a night (or more) to have the chance to enjoy several trails in the area, there are a few great accommodation options nearby.
We also can particularly recommend Le Pleasant Hôtel & Café, situated in the heart of Sutton village, a short 5-minute drive from most of the hiking trailheads.
Otherwise, just outside of town is the popular and rustic Hotel de L’horizon.
You might also be interested in these pages:
Quebec Hiking Trails that Are Stunning in Winter
Best Winter Hiking Trails in Charlevoix region
Best Winter Hiking Trails in Mont Mégantic National Park
Best Winter Hiking Trails near Sutton (Eastern townships)
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
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e-Sim cards
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eSIMS are a sustainable alternative to single-use SIM cards – they are 100% digital, require less energy to produce and be re-used rather than disposed of.
Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Round Top Trail Winter Hiking Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your hiking adventures.
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