This weekend I packed my bags and headed off to Mont Tremblant which is located close to Montreal and a short 2-hour drive from Ottawa, to check out the famous ski resort town and enjoy some time in the sun.
Mont Tremblant village is a popular destination in the winter, because of the charming collection of restaurants, hotels and stores that are next to the ski slopes, but I was surprised to learn from one of the staff at Mont Tremblant that there are actually as many visitors in the summer as there are in the winter.
Within Mont Tremblant Village, it is easy to get around as everything is a short walk away, and I was excited to learn there was a huge variety of activities to pick from including, hiking, a beach, tennis, an assortment of non-motorized boats, rock climbing, luge, a casino, escape puzzle rooms, a spa, zip lines, horseback riding, helicopter tours (by Heli Tremblant which is the same company I tried in Ottawa), and much more.
Gondola Ride & Hiking
One great way to save money while visiting Mont Tremblant in the summer is to get an activity card, which lets you do 3, 5, 7 or 10 of the listed activities over your stay. I had the 3 activity card, which was perfect for a weekend but if you are staying for a longer period of time I would suggest one of the activity cards that allow more activities.
For my first activity, I picked the panoramic gondola ride which includes a return trip up to the summit of Mont Tremblant.
The ride itself was very smooth and gave great views of the village, town, and hills surrounding the town.
From the summit you can access the zip lines, hiking paths, and birds of prey show.
While at the summit I went for an amazing hike doing the 360 which goes around the summit, along with part of the Grand Brule, both of which gave outstanding views but the 360 is better if you are looking for an easy short hike and the Grand Brule is more difficult.
Luge
For my second activity, I tried out luge, where you drive a 3 wheel cart down the side of the mountain dodging obstacles as you race to the finish on the 1.4 km track. Grabbing a helmet and boarding the chairlift to the start of the luge I learned the basics of how to drive and stop and was ready to take on the course.
The entire time I was at Tremblant, this activity was very popular and I can see why. Children 7 and over can ride by themselves, but kids can also ride down with their parents, making it a family friendly activity. The course on average takes about 7 minutes for first-time riders, but as you get used to the course you can easily go much faster while racing against friends to dodge the obstacles on the track. Try it out, you won’t regret it!
Tremblant Lake Beach
After a lazy start to my Sunday, I decided to visit the beach where you can try climbing the Iceberg, or use one of the non-motorized boats such as pedal boats and kayaks which count as one activity on the activity card.
Apprentice Falconer
By far my favourite activity at Mont Tremblant was learning falconry (read about my experience here).
Mont Tremblant Village
Amongst all my activities I also had some time to explore Tremblant Village, which was inspired by Swiss ski villages and streets of Quebec City.
If you don’t wish to your activity card to access the beach and tennis club as I did, you can also go visit Mirror Lake which is within Tremblant Village where you can see ducks or you can visit the small public beach on Chemin de la Chapelle where you can go for a swim too.
There are plenty of great dining options within the village, but my 3 favourites were the Microbrasserie La Diable (a microbrewery), Oh la Vache! (go for their ice cream), and La Maison de la Crêpe (go for the crepes of course). La Diable brews their own beers which you can only buy at Mont Tremblant and it happens to have a great patio to relax with friends and a pint. Oh la Vache, I stumbled upon as after hiking on a 33C (91 F) day I needed to cool down and the quality of the ice cream was outstanding with fresh and bold flavours. Another highlight was the La Maison de la Crêpe which I decided to check out as it is very highly reviewed and the quality of savoury crepe was outstanding.
After spending the weekend at Mont Tremblant in the summer I can now see why it attracts so many people year-round. I know I would love to return in the fall to view the leaves change colour, and the winter too. Are you thinking about visiting Mont Tremblant in the summer? If so feel free to leave a question below.