towing Posted October 15, 2010 Report Share Posted October 15, 2010 Hi guys :) As promised, I'm back with details on the trails for Lanaudiere in the next season. The big picture: for the Mt-Tremblant parc trails, we lost the trail segment from St-Donat parc gate up to the little Cyprès shack near the #310 trail junction. All the rest of the trails in the parc should remain the same as the past years for this next season. The relai Rouge-Mattawin more often call "the cafeteria" will be closed as announced earlier in an other post. On the other hand, we will have some new trails around the Parc and maybe more.. Just to clarify whats happen here, as many of you heard about, the decision to get snowmobiles out of the "nationals" parcs in Quebec province have been already take many years ago, no surprise here. The application of this decision have been fortunaly delayed to left the time to the areas and snowmobiles clubs to develop alternate trails and some money have been dedicated for that. Most of the areas of the province already relocate their parc trails like in Charlevoix with the haute-Gorge parc trail that have been moved to the east of the parc few years ago or Saguenay area that develop the Valins summit trails last year. Here, some of the alternates trails are made but the process is not yet completed, this is why we still get acces to the parc this season... It is important to note that this "ban" is only for the "nationals"Parcs, not the Wild life reserve that we sometimes incorectly named "parcs". By example, here in Lanaudiere we have the MT-Tremblant parc, the Rouge-Mattawin wild life reserve and the Mastigouche wild life reserve where we have trails with no problems. So,after the bad, the good news is that we will have new trails next season !!! Just south from the parc at Pourvoirie Coin Lavigne a new trail(#33) will go west to St-Donat, pretty parallel to the #43 trail (suspended bridge trail)but more north. Also, from Coin Lavigne to the east, we will have a new trail(still the #33)between the parc and the #63 trail that will go north, share a segment on existing #63 trail in the middle and farther an other new segment will reach the Rouge-Mattawin wild life reserve entrance. Also, in the projected new trails, we will have a new trail from the #345 between The Cabanon and the taureau Dam that will go throught Mastigouche reserve and join the #360 trail passing over the Mattawin river by a new bridge that will replace the old damaged Bailey bridge, but this last trail propably won't be ready for this season. In facts,it still left some work to do to open those news trails but we should be able to begin using them this season. All those trails can be viewed on the new 2010/2011 paper map, the updated 2011 electronic versions should be availiable soon on Lanaudiere web site( still the 2010 version by now) It's not all good news but I am very positive with the fact that we still get acces to the parc from Coin Lavigne on St-Côme side, Caribou gate on St-Donat side and St-Michel Gate on the Rouge-Mattawin side. With the new trails that will be avaliable, it will give many loop possibility, really more than before so ..... Let it snow !!!!! Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowrider3 Posted October 15, 2010 Report Share Posted October 15, 2010 Thanks again for the updates Alain. Your info is much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg du Vermont Posted October 15, 2010 Report Share Posted October 15, 2010 (edited) Excellent, Thank you for the report. I hope to meet if you are at Salon Edited October 15, 2010 by Greg du Vermont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 so the park trails all around the cafeteria are closed? Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpysanta Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 what about gas i guess there will be nothing in the park ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted October 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 so the park trails all around the cafeteria are closed? Thanks for the info. The trails in the "cafeteria" area will be all open with one new in bonus!! :) It is the cafeteria itself that will be closed :( . I will show you the map as soon as it will be avaliable but to explane, from cafeteria you will still able to take the #63 trail that cross trough Rouge-Mattawin wild-life reserve to Macaza or Mont-Laurier, you will also able to take the #318 to go to St-Michel des Saints, and still able to take the #63 and #341 to Coin lavigne as this was in the last years, and you will also have a new trail that will go to the #33/#63 trail but just outside(near the border) of the Mt-tremblant parc. The difference will be when you want reach St-Donat, around 12 miles south from cafeteria where you have the little Cypres shack there was a junction with 2 trails. The one to the right that was going to St-Donat won't be there anymore, this is the trail link we loose. You will have to continue on the remaining trail that also go to St-Donat via #310 trail(Caribou park gate and Domaine St-Guillaume. There will be also the possibility to go to Coin Lavigne and from there,take the new #33 to go to St-Donat. what about gas i guess there will be nothing in the park ... There will be nothing at Rouge-Mattawin relai(Cafeteria). The fueling points will be Coin Lavigne, St-Michel des Saints and St-Donat that are around 25 miles from cafeteria, maybe 30 for St-Donat...There is no fuel issue for those who loop on the Lanaudiere side for sure. I don't have the exact mileage from l'Annonciation to cafeteria for those who will come from laurentide area but I would bet around 60 miles which leave enought fuel to do the other 25 miles... correct me if I am wrong... The fuel issue I see is for those that will hope to fuel there without knowing it's closed... :o Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greasemonkey Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 The trails in the "cafeteria" area will be all open with one new in bonus!! :) It is the cafeteria itself that will be closed :( . I will show you the map as soon as it will be avaliable but to explane, from cafeteria you will still able to take the #63 trail that cross trough Rouge-Mattawin wild-life reserve to Macaza or Mont-Laurier, you will also able to take the #318 to go to St-Michel des Saints, and still able to take the #63 and #341 to Coin lavigne as this was in the last years, and you will also have a new trail that will go to the #33/#63 trail but just outside(near the border) of the Mt-tremblant parc. The difference will be when you want reach St-Donat, around 12 miles south from cafeteria where you have the little Cypres shack there was a junction with 2 trails. The one to the right that was going to St-Donat won't be there anymore, this is the trail link we loose. You will have to continue on the remaining trail that also go to St-Donat via #310 trail(Caribou park gate and Domaine St-Guillaume. There will be also the possibility to go to Coin Lavigne and from there,take the new #33 to go to St-Donat. There will be nothing at Rouge-Mattawin relai(Cafeteria). The fueling points will be Coin Lavigne, St-Michel des Saints and St-Donat that are around 25 miles from cafeteria, maybe 30 for St-Donat...There is no fuel issue for those who loop on the Lanaudiere side for sure. I don't have the exact mileage from l'Annonciation to cafeteria for those who will come from laurentide area but I would bet around 60 miles which leave enought fuel to do the other 25 miles... correct me if I am wrong... The fuel issue I see is for those that will hope to fuel there without knowing it's closed... :o Alain If you get fuel in either St. Zenon, or St. Michel, you should make it all the way to Mt. Laurier or St. Donat. Like Alain said, problem would be for those who don't know the cafeteria is gone and are coming from Mt. Laurier and don't stop at L'Annonciation, and try to go to St. Donat. Can't see why the cafeteria closed since they are only losing the 1 trail. I had thought that the trail to the west was closing too. I can't see where they would be losing that much business. You can still get there from all 3 directions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 what about gas i guess there will be nothing in the park ... Tourism Lenaudiere said "the local club" (I assume either St-Donat or St-Michel)is working on the possibility of having a tanker available at the now closed relais (cafeteria) on the weekends during late December thru March. I guess we'll see when there is snow on the ground. As popular as the trails in the park are, I assume that there is some concern that there will be people riding in from the La Macaza side who "didn't get the word" that there will now be no gas at the St-Michel park gate relais. Lots of guys doing saddle bag loops come thru there, oftimes after dark, throughout the season. timbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 It sounds like that hole park will be closed in the next year right? If so maybe they figure get out now before a bad year and lose money?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Tourism Lenaudiere said "the local club" (I assume either St-Donat or St-Michel)is working on the possibility of having a tanker available at the now closed relais (cafeteria) on the weekends during late December thru March. I guess we'll see when there is snow on the ground. As popular as the trails in the park are, I assume that there is some concern that there will be people riding in from the La Macaza side who "didn't get the word" that there will now be no gas at the St-Michel park gate relais. Lots of guys doing saddle bag loops come thru there, oftimes after dark, throughout the season. timbo Yes,they look at the possibility to have a tanker there... also a diesel one for the groomers( I think it's also a problem at the moment). The relai Rouge-Mattawin was operate by the Sepaq(government) and I have been told that they already operate at loss in the past years... It was also question that a private or the snowmobile club operate it, but either solution fail...this is why it will be closed this season. So the snowmobile club actually look at which solutions are feasible for the fuel, we will see at the beginning of the season, soon I hope Also, as my title referred to Lanaudiere trails for 2010-2011 season, I just want to specify that other than what I previously mentioned about the new trails, the other parts of the Lanaudiere trail network will be pretty the same as it was the last season. Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted November 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 The updated 2011 version of the Lanaudiere trail map is now availiable on Lanaudiere web site. It will be easier to figure out the new trails I described above on those... B) Here is the PDF version of the paper map: http://www.lanaudiere.ca/docs/4c8f78f1eba2f/source/WebMotoneige2011_AN.pdf And the interactive Quebec Trail map: http://www.lanaudiere.ca/en/theme/snowmobile/map Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greasemonkey Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Thanks Again Alain, Your posts on this region are always well informed and appreciated. Hope to cross paths with you someday at La Glacier or Cabanon. As for these changes, not really that big a deal. I usually take the Caribou turn anyway, although, I use to like stopping at the cafeteria. With the mileage the newer sleds get anymore, gas should not be a factor unless you don't start off with a full tank before heading into that area. LET THE SNOW FLY!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted November 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2010 Thanks Greasemonkey My towing's machine is pretty easy to recognize. If you see the team blue Yammy venture with a Givi on the back, come to shake my hand !! I will be glad to meet you and talk with you with my not so good english Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quebec#1 Posted November 8, 2010 Report Share Posted November 8, 2010 (edited) I like the old pimbina trail ! The park was always open before any of the seconday trails around st-donat that need way more snow to cover them. The caribou trail was a jem since it wasnt used all that much and now i can see that trails being over used. Either way it will be a longer trailer ride to enter the park at the start of the season. How long will the rest of the park be open for ? Will it be shut down next season ? It looks like the map shows that an old trail after lac de la mt-noire before going up the mt will have a trail that by by passes the mountain and crosses the 329. Im happy about that. I still dont know why the want to shut down the park ? Its only going to cause greater problems by making new trails closer to residentail ereas. Most weekends id see maybe 5 to 8 cars with cross country skiers and people with snowshoes at the pimbina parking lot . They are not even close to the snowmobile trails. Edited November 9, 2010 by quebec#1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markusvt Posted November 9, 2010 Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 I agree 100%! Never saw anyone but sleds in the middle of the park, same for most of the parks in Quebec. I still dont know why the want to shut down the park ? Its only going to cause greater problems by making new trails closer to residentail ereas. Most weekends id see maybe 5 to 8 cars with cross country skiers and people with snowshoes at the pimbina parking lot . They are not even closs to the snowmobile trails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted November 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 Hi quebec#1 :) I like all the Park trails too!!! I understand your point, it's always frustrating to loose something but I have no more control than you on this one... :( Like I mention in my first post, the decision to get snowmobiles out of the "nationals" parcs in Quebec province have been already take many years ago. Is it a good thing ??? sure not!!! They decided this in relation with the vocation of the nationals park... and the pressure from some groups for sure.... This decision got alot of opposition from snowmobile world, with reasons. You can figure this make no sense... my personel opinion on that one is: sometimes, you have to choose your fight... An example of what I mean is the "petit train du Nord" in St-Agathe. For not being able to give up in time for 25 miles of trail, we got the catastrophic Langlois judgement that seriously threaten the whole trail network, even outside of the Quebec... In each situation, there is good and bad... I can attest you that all the snowmobile peoples and the differents organization concerned in this decision have dealed with the governement to get the better in the circumstance for the snowmobilers. They got that we keep acces to all Wildlife Reserves(who represent alot more miles than the parks), they got money to replace the lost trails and they also got time to make the transition. By now, I think the Mont-tremblant park is propably the last one that we still ride... The transition have been made in most of other areas in Quebec... with no catastrophics results and some new trails... How long will the rest of the park be open for ??? I can't answer this one, the plan is re-evaluated each years.. but I would suggest everybody to take the advantage we have to ride it this season. So the good news is that in few weeks, we will have acces to more than 75% of the Park trails and we will also soon have acces to many miles of new trails, new loops option for this season. You're right that we should got a new trail acces from the south of St-Donat on the #33 trail to the Black Mountain in addition from the existing trail which form another new interesting loop around the mountain for this area. As for some trails being over used, we will see...So many factors like how much snow we will get, the grooming shedule and how wide the trail network will be, can make so much difference on that, can be worse or better... Don't forget will will get the souther new #33 trail that will take some of the traffic... I'm still very positive with this next season. I will try to get some information about the parking space at the Caribou gate and will get back as soon as I have something... Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted November 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 I agree 100%! Never saw anyone but sleds in the middle of the park, same for most of the parks in Quebec. For the Mont-Tremblant park, the skiing activities was mainly done on the west side in La Diable area, but I agree that there was way more snowmobilers than skiers... But it seems that the decision are not taken this way, seems to have more to do with the park vocation itself. You know, new sled pollute alot less (noise and fumes) than 5-6 years ago but the delays the sled manufacturer took to "awake" made big damage on the snowmobiles image.. The wildlife reserve vocation is different than the park one so it seems it is the ticket for us... Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quebec#1 Posted November 9, 2010 Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 Thanks Alain for your thoughts. Im happy that the 33 will be open towards lac lachigan this year and also (keeping my fingers crossed) for the petit train du Nord from st-agathe via a small detour for next year toward mt-laurier although club st-agathe has promissed a detour for the last 4 years now ! It just really bothers me that i had so many options from my cottage only a few years back and i must say great trails all around st-agathe /st-donat . But now with some trails disappearing in the last few years other trails have much higher concentrations of traffic and it does now make for fun riding on the (weekends). Also ive had so many great memories of early season starts from the pimbina entrance with many new and used manchines over the last 20 + years . It was a great and easy way to start te season even thought all other trails were still closed the pimbina part offered a early start to the season that was easy for me (didnt have to drive 6 hours to mt-valin) I guess i had so many great memories of that part of the trail that it breaks my heart to see it gone. I still remember the median that they used to have on that part of the trail that kept your machine locked in like a roller coaster ! Im very upset with the info that we get from local clubs ! Thank god for the internet ! I have been a member of club st-agathe for many years and have offered my services and nearly never get a call. Also im very upset with a former club president (lessage) that let things get out of hand and also pocketed some money from members and from the private sector to keep trail updated . Well thats in the pass and i believe the club is doing what they can . It would still be nice to get news letters from local clubs maybe once a year about what your club is up to ect... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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