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Hey Jack & Sandi! We had a great ride with 3 couples who all rode well together, lots of fun. I was a little disappointed with my 850's oil consumption, as well as smoking a belt at just over 800 miles. So...when I just went to retrieve at dealer after it's first service, we took care of the oil consumption issue! A new 900T will be coming to Quebec this weekend! Terry

https://gopro.com/v/nrJn5G5EVrdn1 The Gang spent a few days in the Backcountry around Barrage Gouin , Awesome time we had !

Rode from Matane to Saint Pascal today. All BEAUTIFUL and snowing most of the day. Saw about 30 sleds all ,day. Here are a couple pics from today. Near Cabano and Phonegamook.

Day 4.... Again we wake to subzero temps and blue skies above. We really are in no hurry to leave the Manior! An incredible buffet breakfast is had, and then it's time to start packing for a run to the Signature near Quebec City. It will be another fairly short run, but nearly all trails in our path show green on the grooming map. We take 378, then 377 out to the 3 which will be our route for the rest of the way. Part of 378 and 377 were very chopped up, but it wasn't long before we were back on flat and smooth cruiser trails. Surprisingly, there are quite a few sleds on the trails today. However, everyone seems to be behaving, and the miles are ticking off rapidly. We stop at the relais at the 3/378 junction for a little break, and off we go through the rollers and the hills. We have been spoiled on this trip as the trails have been incredible, and with the cold temps are holding up well even with the heavier traffic today. Our next stop is relais St Anne where we have a light lunch. Quite a few riders stop by while we're there. Only 55kms left from here. Once we get closer to the city the trail is deteriorating some, but nothing terrible. Many more sleds and a fair amount of quads in this area. Reach the turnoff to the Signature and the 1.2 miles in are wickedly bumped up! Glad we didn't have this all day. So....most reports on this place seem to have been good, but we were not so enthused, probably because of where we just left! The sled Coral is on the far side of the parking lot, which is as far as you can get away from check in. The rooms were very nice, but no cocktails are allowed in the sauna or anywhere near the outside tub or pool. Again, after our previous nights experience, this was a big let down. Oh well, we regrouped and took the shuttle into old Quebec for a little sightseeing, cocktails, and dinner. The ice castle was being deconstructed, so that was a let down, but bad timing on our part. Overall, another great day for all of us, the entire trip has been a great success.

Welcome Hotel Matagami, and thanks Iceman for helping get them on board. mike

Welcome QR's newest advertiser, Hotel Matagami. There probably aren't many people that travel the Baie James area that aren't familiar with Hotel Matagami. It's located at the base of the road to the James Bay. By snowmobile, it's at the peak of the 396 loop north of TQ93, due north of Val D'or and due west of Chibougamau. The shortest way by trail is about 80 miles off of TQ93, with nothing but a relay on the way, so when you do this loop, you've likely planned to stay at the Hotel for the night. The Hotel, and the town, have everything you need and would expect for your snowmobile stop-over. This is a favorite of many of our members, so feel free to share your experiences and welcome them to the site. Thanks go to Iceman for getting them on board...

West trail is the quicker trail, you’ll probaly only put your feet down once in that 80+ miles, at the one warm up hut which had the heat on for us. One of the faster tanks of gas i can remember. well stocked gas convenience store gas station in the same lot, and another across the street. Small mining town, a great stop for sure!

He's an artist, with the camera & the surfacer.

The West side is definitely better in my opinion, the East side down to Quevillon is twisty and keeps jumping the road hard to keep it groomed nice Which side is roller-coastery & twisty-turny & extra-puckery when it's cream-cheesy?... (Yes, speed was a factor in this tree-hugging incident, and I'm not saying the the extra weight of the rider & machine was at fault, but since it was a pre-cat Yamaha it took a lickin & kept on tickin!)

Awesome guys, we were at 100 Lacs doing the same stuff, did a Manaoun loop.

bonsoir paddy o !!! glad you rode my trail perfect !!! with the great weather , must have been awesome for sure !! pic of your wife along the road for windmills...clearcut on the right side of the road at the back ...went to work there a few times... and that pic in the field with the fence on the right side...super nice !!! great thx again !!! jean-guy

So, day 3 is another extremely cold morning, and a late breakfast is scheduled. Plans are to head down the Clermont express with final destination Fairmont le Manior Richelieu. So, 83 it is, and everything has been groomed to perfection. Again, well below zero temps, but a beautiful blue sky day and the trail is crisp and fast. We are making incredible time and have no timetable, so we stop at the warming hut at the junction of 83 and 383 to warm up. And warm up we did! Anyone know what the deal is with this place? There is a kerosene heater running in there and it must have been 95 degrees! Does this run 24/7? Could not find a thermostat, so we left with the heat still pumping. The rest of the run down the express was equally fast, and only a handful of sleds were met. We arrived at the Manior at 3pm, and quickly changed to our swimwear for a soak in the outdoor tub, does it get any better than this! And, the staff delivers cocktails tubside with a smile! (Not the same service as we experienced at the Signature the next night, but more on that later) After our soaking, it's off to the casino for a little pre-dinner blackjack. Good move, as most of the trip is now paid for! Dinner is a bit of a let down, but not terrible. All in all, an incredible experience on our first visit. All of the staff were super friendly, and a return trip will not come soon enough!

Started Sunday morning in Shawinigan (more snow than I’ve ever seen there) and headed out the 3 towards QC. Things were good for the first 50 miles or so ( actually mint). Around QC and all the way up to Baie St Paul was like riding Tug Hill in NY. I swear EVERYONE that had a running sled in QC was out on the trails today. It was a beautiful blue sky day ( the whole week has been like that) so we made the best of it. Getting beat up your first day and riding 200+ kinda sucks but what they hey..... stayed at Hotel Baie St. Paul for the night. Headed up to Forrestville on Monday and the trails got much better. Had a moose encounter about 30 miles before the hotel but that’s a whole other story. The 3 way before and way after tadoussac was groomed to perfection which was nice. We left Forrestville yesterday morning and headed to Baie Comeau for lunch then headed out to Godbout. What a trail. Back tracked to BC for the night. After much fanfare with the ferry problems this year we finally has positive confirmation of a 2:30 pm departure to Matane. Woke up this am and ran solo (buddies decided to relax)on the local trail that runs 42 miles north of Baie-Comeau and dead ends as groomer update showed last night. What a SPECTACULAR run and trail. Lots of 60;70 & 80 MPH sweepers. My new all time favorite!!!!! Had a beautiful ferry run over and with the weather being so nice we got lots of money shot pictures and met lots of cool people. Working our way down to QC and back to Shawini on Saturday. Havnt been to the north shore in quite a few years and it was sweet to see and run it all again. Here is a pic at 1:30 today sitting on top of the hill overlooking the Baie-Comeau ferry terminal.

Awesome pictures, sounds and looks like you had a great trip.

We were just up there last week. The restaurant that was up the road from gas has closed. The ski area had food. They opened up a yurt restaurant with good food but it is down the trail a short distance.

Playhard, Phil1 Last week the weather looked ideal for the Baie Comeau -Sept iles run. Not so much now with the snow and wind predicted. I think we will head up to Mont Valin area first for couple days, hope by mid week it settles down so we can hopefully still get out to Sept iles.

Hi Terry & Molly, We love reading along with you. The trails this year have stood up very well after a grooming because of the low temps. I think this has been one of the best seasons for trail conditions. Jack & Sandi

Late start because Village Windigo doesn’t serve breakfast until 8am, no big deal we were rolling by 9:30. Fresh 15cm of fluff with hard pack underneath made for very comfortable riding the entire day. We took 319 to 53 and then back tracked to local trail 233 north(not by choice, and that’s why you always carry extra gas), lots of logging activity this year all the way up to the 13, they groomed a trail on the shoulder following the logging road but it was very tough to find our rhythm on tight trails with trucks flying by every 5 minutes and rental groups from Meekos NOT STAYING TO THE RIGHT. Made it to Cheval by 11:30 with a group of 14 sleds waiting for gas in front of us, they were from California and New Zealand and were nice enough to let us jump ahead in line and gas up right away. They also helped Roger get his Sidewinder unstuck after he was pulled into the soft shoulder waiting in line(see photo below LOL). From this point the trails were perfect. Parent to Weymontachie makes my top 10 favourite runs, very easy to find your rhythm; quick gas up and on to Windigo. We rolled in at 5:30 and the place was empty, not for long Stephanie, Daniel and Martin told us a group of 13 Americans doing the ‘Big Boar Tour’ were on the way. We had a great dinner, as usual, a drink or 2 ; ) and had some laughs. Martin gave the tour leader a track map using the lake to save them 70km, I wished them good luck and happy trails at breakfast. I couldn’t imagine trying to ride with a group of 13, CRAZY! Today’s distination Lac Taureau and I finally get to run the M20 trail, and looky looky the groomers were busy last night freshly groomed for us. Stay tuned, Carm and Roger

1 look at those pics says east side. The west side is a wide cruiser under the power lines, leads into Amos. As viper said, the east side leads into LSQ. Either way we can all agree that Matagami is an experience we enjoyed with the help of hotel Matagami. My wife enjoyed the hot tub in the room. If you really want to get crazy, just head north like Bill and crew did years ago, you can stop into James Bay for lunch....2 days later...lol

Returned from RDL yesterday -Thursday the 21st by means of the black trail. Parallel & or intersecting trails on Routes 20, 55 & 410 were all groomed & looking appetizing. In comparison to two weeks ago where the intersecting trails on 410 & 55 were bare or under water. Happy trails....

Good morning Joe. Eddy O & Liam did not travel with us on this journey. Eddy O did come with us a few weeks back to Caribou. Liam is a freshman attending Binghamton University & during school break he chose to stay behind & visit with the girlfriend despite speaking all year of the anticipated annual trip. Needless to say Liam lost a few favorable points with me....First year of college and he is ruined. Ha ha On Monday we left RDL, Tuesday Matane, Wednesday Maria outside of New Richmond, Thursday Rimouski & back to RDL in 2.5 hours arriving @ 1130. A quick change, load trailer, and stock up on Cadbury chocolate @ the neighboring fuel stop & on the black trail @ 1pm arriving in Pittsburg at 7pm with 2' + - of new snow to shovel to get in the door. Referring to supporting QR where do we stand with the QR referral cards written in French where the card states in sum & substance we are eating / sleeping here because the business was referred too on QR? The entry level receptionists / hostesses we mentioned QR too were unaware of the QR website. The idea of providing the card written in French with contact information for advertising on QR is optimal. For purposes of supporting this site I regret I didn't have any cards to offer. Attached are a handful of photos depicting the fantastic trail conditions & weather we encountered.

The log a-frames out front are smaller, but they rent the houses around the back street, easy walk to the resto/bar.

Great video & editing! Thanks for sharing!

Are you sure you didn’t get that backwards. I personally don’t think the west side holds a candlestick to the east side. .

Groomer is parked on trail since Tuesday,still,there when I went by today

Not a problem if u follow the guidelines on securing your truck which you can find here Drummundville is usually a low snow spot, but not this year. I’ve stayed in places south and east of there. We usually just pic a place on the maps if we don’t know any better. I can’t think of a bad place that advertises on a map, but there are certainly gems that don’t advertise. Also note that the region has a fair amount of road crossings and isn’t a high mile area, but traffic is usually less than further north, and there are some great trails to mix things up compared to what u r used to.

Recommend launching out of Blanchet Motel. Connecting Trail to TQ45 at rear of their parking lot. I have done this multiple times without problem. Ken P

We like KM 31. We stay in the lodge. Basic lodging but good food and friendly people. We priced the cabin last week but it was more expensive than the lodge. Never stayed at Passion. We don’t like to get back on the snowmobiles to eat.

Stayed here a few times last couple of years. Great place and some guys with a shop just up from it, were awesome and really helped me out!

Food is equal. Gas at both. Riding is equal. Steer clear on weekends very busy area. Passion has a store and you can buy beer and drink in the unit. They also have a stay 2 nights get 1 free, we did it last year there’s also a washer dryer in that unit. 3 bed rooms and bath down and 1 bed and bath up. Liza and Vincent are great hosts. I prefer Passion and have stayed at both. View out the window at Passion.

X2!

Glad to do it Stan. They gang here at QuebecRider.com is second to none

Went that way once back in 14 .. Awesome place to stay

I've gotten way behind in sending out CM renewals. I'm going to try to get out the renewals from December, January andFebruary today. If you get a renewal and have already paid please send me a message so I can delete the invoice.

Crazy wicked trail heading to Godbout

We had to have the “ice breaker “ escort the last 5 miles into Matane as there was heavy ice which shut down service for two days earlier this week.

Out in the st Lawrence

The do giddy up .. no specifics from us as we just cruise but friends who have identical 900’s have beaten 850’s. 😜

Fort Kent, Maine to Amqui, Quebec today. Trails were great!

Sounds like George might need some knee pads?

Wife met George and reminded me several times, 'only til death do us part'. Dog is a humper. George just keeps smiling. Cat hates the dog and George.

Im a really smart guy with big brains

Just arrived by sled and checked in at the Universal! Great day of riding!! Oilman

Ha! Too funny! And the cards she stuffed into my saddlebag reminded me that that particular night was Feb 14th! (Thread hijacking done, sorry!)

Having lunch there tomorrow!

Dave, absolutely correct, great food there, all part of the tough conditions every one tells their better half about while on the trail in Quebec!!