Not-So-Wild Ice in Quebec

[Kate Stephenson]

Despite all the amazing reports from Champlain and Sebago, because of all the snow on the ground we had made plans to head north of the border this weekend to check out Quebec’s skating trails.

From Montpelier we stopped for lunch in Magog and spent a hour or so skating up and down the skating trail along the lake - maybe a mile or so end to end? The Zamboni was heading up and down spreading nice ice and lots of people of all ages were out enjoying time on skates.

From there we drove another two hours north to Domaine Enchanteur - Le Foret Perdue. It’s a bizarre combo of forest skating trails, petting zoo, ropes course (summer only) and agritourism destination. We arrived around 5pm at dusk (it is open until 10 on Saturday nights) as most folks were clearing out and the lights were turning on. The forest is mostly unlit but there are sections with bright colored LED lights. Lots of people of all ages and abilities zooming thru the woods in the dark. Ice conditions were mostly fine, with some rougher sections that created trip hazards, especially in low light. I don’t think I would go again but it’d be fun with kids and if big open lakes make you nervous, this is an alternative because you are on land 100% of the time.

We stayed over in Trois Rivieres and stopped at Balnea thermal spa on the way home, which was also a highlight. 

Overall, not many miles of skating, but an adventure in a foreign country that we have talked about doing for years (since skating the Ottawa canal). Next on the bucket list: skating in downtown Stockholm.

It’s also been fun seeing all the Instagram videos of folks skating on the Washington Mall, Chesapeake Bay, and Boston Harbor is all iced in?? Feels like a “real” winter.🥶 

Kate

[Peter Schmidtke]

I went to Domaine Enchanteur a bunch of years ago and really liked it-- some sections of ice were definitely very rough, marked up by the throngs of skaters. (It's a popular place, and I remember the parking lot was totally packed). I went on a Saturday as well, and was pleasantly surprised after they started zamboni-ing the ice again at 6:45 p.m or 7 or so, after the place stated to thin out, which gave us almost three straight hours of perfect ice at the end of the night. Also had good ice the next morning (as soon as they opened) for a few hours. It's pretty magical there, I think, if crowds are thin and their ice is in good shape, but otherwise can be frustrating.... at least when I was there, we were free to leave and come back that same day without paying admission again (with a hand-stamp), so we skated some late morning on Sat., visited a lot with the animals trail-side and had some food there, then came back later in the day. I don't remember any sections that were  lit with bright and wild patterns like in your photo-- must be a new thing, and it seems like it would give a disorienting effect, more than anything else. It was definitely pretty dark on the trails at night, which I illuminated a little with my thankfully-fully charged phone's flashlight. A headlamp would have been a better option. Thought I would see more skaters with nordic skates, but I was the only one.

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