Blueblood Posted August 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2017 Thanks I appreciate all the information. Giving it all to the boss to look over and decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlavl Posted September 21, 2017 Report Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) I did the woodrunner loop a couple years ago starting at Draveur in Maniwaki. It's good enough to take a shower and lay your head down. Nothing real exciting about it. There is a complimentary breakfast each morning which was mentioned. I remember it being a decent meal. We did the loop in 3 days and it was 780 miles the route we took. It was a lot of riding in 3 days but it was a lot of fun. Day 1 we stayed at l'Ombre du Vent in Parent. Don't let anyone tell you there is no place nice to stay in Parent because this place was awesome. Easy access to town, very nice clean cabins, and the owner was very attractive. Only complaint I had which was not a big deal was the beds were hard as rocks. Hotel Central and 4 Saisons don't hold a candle to this place. http://www.ombreduvent.com/ If you wanted a place closer than Parent to stop I thought Fer A Cheval looked like a nice place to stay and the woman working the bar when we stopped for lunch was very nice. Day 2 we took 83 to Val d'Or. 83 really takes you out in the middle of no where and that appealed to me. On the loop we had 2 occasions where we rode 100+ miles and didn't see a person, house, car, road, nothing. Just remote wilderness. On 83 we actually came up on a wolf running down the trail. The snow was so deep it wanted to stay on packed trail and was just running. It ended up stopping and turning broad side in the trail looking at us. It was a huge animal really cool sight, wish I had my Go Pro on but it was so cold that day the battery would have been dead by then. The wolf ended up jumping off the trail and instantly sank so far in the snow you could barely see it's head. It was a great experience. We stayed at the Forestel in Val d'Or. Very nice big hotel type place. Lots and lots of sleds there. Trail goes right to it. Between Parent and Val d'Or make sure you have your gas stops lined up and don't miss them. There are a lot of flat fast wide open stretches that'll have you chewing through a lot more fuel than on 13 which was a little slower paced wooded trails. There is gas in Clova. There is also an old school house there to stay at. Can't comment on it as I didn't stay there but some other people we met in Val d'Or stayed there and said it was fine. There is also gas at Balbuzard Sauvage but you better have a lot of cash with you. It was equivalent to $10usd per gallon the time we were there. Balbuzard is worth the stop for lunch. Great meal there and the place was very nice. Although they make you take your boots off as soon as you get in the door. Never had that experience before. You can also stay the night there. Lac Faillon was not open when we went through but I've heard since there are new owners and it is open again. Can't confirm this, maybe someone else in the know can. Day 3 we went all the way back to Maniwaki via 386 and 63. Be real careful on 386. There are a lot of places on the trail that look like a steep uphill with a table top on the other side but they are not. They are bonefide snow cross jumps. Straight up one side and straight down the back side. They were not very well marked either. The first one caught our whole group off guard and each one of us looked like Blair Morgan going over it. I was the leader and when I landed I turned around and waved my arms to the next guy to slow the group down but the mogul is so high they couldn't see me. When we were use to running fast flat trails the 2 days prior this came out of nowhere. Just be mindful of that. There are quite a few of them for a long stretch before they go away. There is gas in Kitcisakik. In America we'd say it is a native American village. Maybe it's a Native Canadien village eh? 386 had a lot of long straight fast flat sections on the southern half. We stopped at Pavillion la Verendrye for lunch. It was nothing more than a ham sandwhich. Nothing exciting. They also have gas. They have rooms but they didn't look like anything too exciting. A place to stay warm and lay your head. Stopped at Le Domaine for fuel on 63 and made it back to Maniwaki. Long trip but a lot of fun you will enjoy yourself. I'd do it again. Edited September 21, 2017 by JBlavl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblood Posted September 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 Thanks jblavl that info will help with the planning. We were thinking of using parent as a night stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schooter Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 Jbavl, What did you think of the parking for your truck and trailer at Draveur in Maniwaki? Schooter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid Range Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 2 hours ago, schooter said: Jbavl, What did you think of the parking for your truck and trailer at Draveur in Maniwaki? Schooter no problem.........much larger than the one at the chateau Logue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markusvt Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 (edited) I would not add Parent to your first Woodrunner trip. Stay on the southern trails. Much more traveled, more active services, and more grooming. Edited September 29, 2017 by markusvt iceman and dooright 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlavl Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 On 9/26/2017 at 5:19 PM, schooter said: Jbavl, What did you think of the parking for your truck and trailer at Draveur in Maniwaki? Schooter Yeah no problem. We had an F-150 with 4 place inline trailer. Was a little crowded when we got there but found a spot near the indoor swimming pool and left it there the whole time. Nobody bothered it. There are a lot of people around in the area and it's well lit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smjordan62 Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Can someone tell me if I can directly access snowmobile trails from Lac Carling hotel? Coming to ride Woodrunner from CNY and looking to minimize time in the truck. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actionjack Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 21 hours ago, Smjordan62 said: Can someone tell me if I can directly access snowmobile trails from Lac Carling hotel? Coming to ride Woodrunner from CNY and looking to minimize time in the truck. thanks! I have started 3 trips from Lac Carling. Yes you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actionjack Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Leave the property through the tunnel. Go across the street behind the old ski lift and take local trail to right then right on 317. If you make a left on the local you can stop a Du Chasseur for gas then back track. PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnc Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 1 hour ago, actionjack said: Leave the property through the tunnel. Go across the street behind the old ski lift and take local trail to right then right on 317. If you make a left on the local you can stop a Du Chasseur for gas then back track. Or you can avoid the back track and keep going if you go left to Hotel Chasseur For gas it’s a bit longer loop via lake Louisa, up through Laurel etc. Maybe 15 minutes longer but you end up at the same station Larose junction, presuming you are headed north from Lac Carling. PLAYHARD and actionjack 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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