Known for its dark skies and the astronomical observatory at its summit, the Mont Mégantic (and the national park that bears its name) is a fantastic hiking destination, one that we particularly enjoy in winter when the mountain forests turn into a frozen winter wonderland. Of the several fantastic trails that the park has to offer, the trail leading to Mont Mégantic’s summit is probably our favorite. As if the surrounding winter scenery wasn’t beautiful enough, coming across the observatory at the top is such a unique and special moment, something you can’t experience on any other mountain in Québec (or anywhere else nearby for that matter). Below we present our Winter Hiking Guide for The Mont Mégantic Summit Trail, which we hope will help you get the most out of your hiking adventure in the area.
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You might also be interested in these pages:
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Best Winter Hiking Trails in Mont Mégantic National Park
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About the Mont Mégantic Summit Trail
The Mont Mégantic Trail is one of the most popular trails of the national park that bears its name, Mont-Mégantic National Park. The trail is located in the eastern portion of the park, known as the Observatory Sector. It’s known for its beautiful winter scenery, snow-covered pines, frozen forests, and the astronomical observatory that awaits you at the summit.
Although the trail is technically open 24 hours, there is one important exception: you must vacate the area of the observatory between sunset and sunrise. So if you plan to arrive for sunrise or sunset, you can’t arrive too early or stick around too late.
Daily access fees and Annual passes
Quebec National Parks are managed by the SÉPAQ, a government agency that manages all provincial parks and wildlife preserves in Québec.
There is a limit to the number of visitors that can enter any Québec SÉPAQ National Park on any given day. It is therefore strongly recommended that you purchase your daily right of access online before a visit or that you acquire an annual pass.
The daily pass ($9.85 (2024)) can be purchased here up to 30 days before a visit.
The annual pass can be purchased here either for unlimited access to a single national park ($49.25 (2024)) or for unlimited access to all SÉPAQ national parks ($88.50 (2024)). Even if you have an annual pass, we still recommend arriving early in the morning or mid-to-late afternoon to avoid showing up to a filled parking lot.
Orientation – How to Get to Mont Mégantic Trailhead
Due to the park’s remoteness, the best way to reach the park is with your own vehicle. Located in southeastern Québec, the Observatory Sector of the Mont-Mégantic National Park is roughly 2h30 from either Montréal or Québec City.
If you don’t have your own vehicle, a transportation service is offered by Navette Nature from Montreal. However, service to Mont Mégantic National Park is very infrequent (at most once a month).
The trailhead itself is a short walk from the parking lot. For more information on the National Park or the other trails you can find here, you can check out our Guide on the Best Winter Hiking Trails in Mont Mégantic National Park
When to Go?
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. You can generally find them listed at the top of the national park page.
It’s also a great hike to do in the early morning. The light is perfect for photography and the trail isn’t too crowded.
Hiking and Safety Tips
It is highly recommended to wear crampons/traction cleats under your shoes or boots when hiking this trail. You can rent some from the visitor center for $8 or buy your own on Amazon for $20-$25.
The exception to that rule is in the event of large amounts of recent snowfall, in which case you might be better off using snowshoes than hiking with boots and cleats. The national park details the recent snowfall stats and the trail conditions (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 with since you will warm up as you start to hike. But it’s a great idea to pack some extra warm gear for when you stop or reach the summit.
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.
Trail Details and Map
Distance: 11.7 km
Route Type: Partial Loop
Elevation gain: 525 m
Average duration: 3h30-4h30
AllTrails rating: (4.6, 616 ratings (2024))
Trailhead: Right behind the visitor center
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 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.
Trail Summary
First section: Before the loop
The trailhead is located right behind the visitor center. From there, the trail starts to climb gently right away and will do so for the foreseeable future. You’ll go through various sections with tall trees, which might be snow-covered depending on recent snowfall. For most of this first section, the path will follow a lovely creek that will provide a nice relaxing soundscape to this portion of the hike.
You will eventually come across a first intersection, you can either take a slight detour to go to a lookout point (Belvedère du Soleil) that’s 0.6 km away, or continue forward to stay on the same trail. If you also plan on doing the Mont Saint-Joseph trail at some point, the lookout point is less of a detour (0.2km) from that trail.
Not long after continuing along you will come across a wood cabin and a second intersection with a wide path immediately after. This is the beginning (left) and the end (right) of the loop section.
Second section: Start of the loop and the frozen forest.
As you re-enter the forest, the incline of the climb starts to steepen, which will likely start to slow your pace. Your extra effort however is well rewarded by the beautiful winter scenery – as you go up the pines become increasingly covered in snow.
You will first go through a few series of long switchbacks until you finally get a break when emerge into a vast opening, the trail’s first official viewpoint (“Halte de la Terre”). There’s lots of open space and great panoramic views to be had.
After your break, you have one final steep climbing section for about half a kilometer, until you eventually reach a plateau, which will stay relatively flat for about 1km, and where you will be surrounded by a stunning frozen forest.
Third section: The Summit and the Observatory
Eventually, you’ll emerge from the frozen forest and you will have one final short climb through short snowy pines…
… until you finally see the Mont Mégantic Observatory emerge.
Once at the top, you can fully circle the Observatory. On three sides you are surrounded by beautifully frozen pines. On the remaining side, you have panoramic views of the nearby countryside. You will also notice the road up to the observation, which is closed in winter.
Fourth section: The return
Often the return leg of a hike is a little boring and a letdown. But here, although there are no official viewpoints, there are many spots from which you can enjoy the beautiful distant scenery.
Although you decide to return the same way you came up, which would slightly shorten the return distance, it would likely slow you down as the loop return trail is less steep and allows you to maintain a better pace. But if you want to experience the same scenery and the frozen forest a second time, going back the way you came definitely makes sense.
Trail Variants
Combination with Mont Saint-Joseph Trail
If you would like to reach another summit while in the national park but don’t have the time to undertake more than one hike, then the Mont Saint-Joseph and Mont Mégantic combo trail might be perfect for you. You essentially be going up one trail to one peak, then taking a connecting path of 4 km to the other, before heading back down. The combo trail is 14.8 km in length, with over 700 m in cumulative elevation gain, and takes on average around 5 hours to complete. For more information on what the Mont Saint-Joseph trail looks like, you can check out our guide on that trail here.
Triple Peak Combo
If two peaks aren’t enough, you can add a third one (Mont Victoria, which lies just North of Mont Saint-Joseph. Adding the Victoria peak doesn’t add much extra elevation gain, but it does add about an extra 2 km for a total of 16.7 km and takes an average of 5h30 – 6h to complete
You might also be interested in these pages:
6 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)
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Guide on the Mont Mégantic Summit Trail (Observatory) – A Winter Hiking Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to the beautiful Eastern Townships.
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