Where to go fat biking in the Outaouais

Located on an enchanting 325-acre site that’s also home to Le Sorcier Golf Club, Le Harfang (the name means “snowy owl”) is a huge and delightful winter playground! Its 22 kilometres of groomed trails are perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to fat bike. Although most of the trails are beginner or intermediate level, there are a few kilometres of challenging trails for more experienced bikers. As most of us don’t own a fat bike, Le Harfang also rents fat bikes equipped with studded tires.

To see more of this beautiful place, you can also venture out on a 2-km snowshoe trail through a picturesque maple grove!

Located halfway between Montréal and Gatineau, Montebello Mountain Bike offers a brand new network of 25 kilometres of groomed trails on the seigneurial lands of patriot Louis-Joseph Papineau. It’s a great place to enjoy winter while exploring a magnificent historic site! On your two wheels, admire the Ottawa River and a forest of stately pines. No equipment? No problem! Just stop by the rental centre.

While you’re in the area, why not book a stay at Fairmont Le Château Montebello and discover this unique resort hotel?

Load your fat bike into (or onto) the car and head for Ripon! At the Parc des Montagnes Noires de Ripon, you can ride through a forest of pine and maple trees on 8 different routes totalling 13 kilometres of groomed and shared fat bike and cross-country ski trails. Along your way, three rustic shelters will allow you to take a well-deserved break and warm up by a wood stove.

Even if fat biking is your first and only love, the Parc des Montagnes Noires de Ripon is a must-see winter destination for families, with unusual activities such as Austrian sledging, Hok skiing and snow tubing!

We’d be remiss if we didn’t include Gatineau Park on this list! With an area of 361 km2, needless to say there’s plenty of room for fat biking. The park has over 60 kilometres of trails ranging from easy to very difficult.

Beginners will enjoy trails 29, 66 and 67, which offer over 5 kilometres of easy biking in Gatineau. For more experienced cyclists, trails 72 and 58 in the Wakefield sector, which are classified as very difficult, and the loop of trail 79 in the Old Chelsea sector offer a worthy challenge!

At the foot of Mont Ste-Marie ski resort, Vélo Mont Ste-Marie maintains a vast network of fat bike trails. Several kilometres are available and are resurfaced every week. Check the trail conditions before you go.

For a full day in the great outdoors, start out by fat biking in the morning and spend the afternoon downhill skiing at Mont Ste-Marie. Admire the magnificent snowy panorama from the highest vertical in the region!