The next day, after a breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and cereal, we ventured out again to do some more exploring.
We were happily surprised by the telescope extravaganza that greeted us at the playground at the base of the mountain. This was part of the "Tremblant Beneath the Stars" event taking place that weekend. It was like an outdoor museum with various kinds of telescopes, from the homemade wooden types, to the state-of-the art models. There were also booths set up for astronomical societies and amateur astronomer organizations. The members were handing out brochures, sky maps, and other astronomy-themed souvenirs. Both of my boys had the time of their lives checking out their various equipment and talking to the owners about their stargazing adventures.
After their “star-struck” mode (literally) had waned, our son noticed the playground, and of course, wanted to go there. First, we checked out the waterpark at Croisée des Chemins, where our little boy had fun splashing in the water, getting close enough to the water sprays to cool off and feeling refreshed without getting wet.
Within steps of each other, the Eurobungy-Trampoline, the Spiderweb, The Skyline Luge, and the Climbing Tower were waiting to be explored.
The Eurobungy-Trampoline is a series of four trampolines with bungee cords. We saw mostly older kids and tweens jumping high and attempting some gravity-defying maneuvers. The Spiderweb is a web-like structure that allows kids to climb, crawl, dangle, and bounce inside, just like a spider. The Skyline Luge involves getting on a chairlift to the top of the track and them boarding a specialized three-wheel luge cart for an exhilarating downhill ride on a 1.4-kilometer twisting and turning track. We skipped all of these as our son did not meet the height requirements. He was only five years old then.
Our little preschooler just really wanted to do the Climbing Tower anyway. This one is a kiddie-version of a rock-climbing wall. There is a big one for older kids over 40 pounds, where climbing coaches are on stand-by for assistance, and a smaller one for toddlers. Our son practiced his climbing skills on the small one with his Daddy. My husband kept telling him that this was a start-up training for future volcano-climbing expeditions.
Our son said that the other attractions would be for next time, when he gets bigger and taller. “That means we will have to come back here next year and the year after that,” he added. What a negotiator!
There was also the AkroPark, a unique forest experience right on the Mont Tremblant resort. This aerial adventure in the midst of the forest, includes zip lines, a flying snowboard, a miniature rope course, and many other challenges from tree to tree.
“Next year,” our son repeated. My husband joked that our little boy was already prepping us for more surprises.
We took the Cabriolet to go to the Lower Village, where another playground for kids awaited. We headed straight to Pirate’s Park near Lac Miroir (Mirror Lake). As the name suggests, it is a pirate-themed park with the usual playground accouterment but equipped with rigging, rudder, porthole, and the like. Next to that is the Captain’s Harbour, where kids could drive their own little boats and take a trip around the lake. Aboard a motorized, miniature replica of a Mississippi boat, our boy had a blast sailing and pretending to be a captain.
Across the street is the Beach and Tennis Club where the fine sand and warm, shallow water beckoned. But we did not bring our swim wear, so we just played in the sand, looked for shells and nice rocks, and waded in the water. We made a note to bring our swim wear the following year.
Just a stone’s throw away from the beach stands a small chapel called La Chapelle Saint-Bernard. Tucked away in the greenery, this quaint Catholic church is picture-perfect with its sloping red roof, silver steeple, chalk-white exterior, and white picket fence along the driveway.
There are interpretation panels outside with a brief history of the chapel and some old photographs. We learned that it was built in 1942 by the pastor of Mont-Tremblant Village in honour of Saint Bernard, patron saint of skiers. We checked the Mass schedules and made a note to go back the following morning to attend service.
We walked back to the Cabriolet station but we were stalled by a couple of folks who handed my husband a brochure and started chatting with him. Ever the accommodating guy, my husband ended up walking back with them to their office. I opted to stay outside with our son, who wanted to play with the ducks by the fountain.
After around 20 minutes, my husband came back with more brochures in his hands and a wide smile on his face. Apparently, he signed up for a short tour of the company’s clubhouse and a short business presentation of their timeshare package. Before I could protest, he told me that he did it because it came with a discounted accommodation offer – a two-night stay at one of their prime properties in Mont-Tremblant for 75% of the cost of one night. And since we had already established our plan on going back the following year, why not take this offer? The tour and presentation were scheduled for 9:00 a.m. the following day, which was fine because we had no plans anyway, except to just laze around and then drive to Montreal after lunch.
We took the Panorama Gondola once more in the afternoon to enjoy the views at the summit and do a short hike around. However, what my husband really wanted to do was to hike from the base to the summit. He obtained a hiking trail brochure that morning from the Information Centre, and since lunchtime, had been obsessively studying the trails and figuring out which one we should take.
Back at the mountain base, my husband looked for each trail’s starting points. There are five trails from the base to the summit. The two most popular ones are The Grand Brulé, a 5.6-kilometer one-way trail, and The Cap, a 3.5-kilometer one-way trail. Both start from The Ruisseaux, an easy trail at the base that follows the mountain streams. The third one is called Vertigo, whose starting point is close to the playground and runs 5.6 kilometers up. Halfway along this course, an alternative route to the top forks off. It is called The Sasquatch and runs 2.1 kilometers. People who take these trails either descend through the same trails at double the time, or take the gondola shortcut.
Two things stood out for me – the length of the hike (a minimum of two hours one-way, which meant, longer for us because we had a preschooler in tow and I was not exactly the fastest walker/climber), and the level of difficulty, which the brochure identified as “strenuous.”
I reminded my husband that while our son could hike in the woods and climb the rocks along our local trails as easily as Tarzan could navigate the jungle, this mountain’s rocks must be a lot steeper. I also had to remind him that I was not exactly at my best physical fitness level at that time due to months of living a sedentary life. Besides, it was nearly 4:00 p.m. and if it would take us longer to go up, it would already be dark by the time we reached the summit.
I also mentioned that if I were to choose, I would go for the fifth trail – The Grand Prix des Couleurs, the shortest (between 1 and 1.5 hours) and easiest route to the summit that runs along the ski trails. In fact, when we were on the gondola, we saw this trail from the glass floor and even spotted several hikers making their way up on foot below us.
My husband said it’s the most boring trail because you would see nothing but grass, trees on both sides, and the gondolas above you. Why would I choose that over the other trails that take you deep into the forest with interesting terrains and a chance to appreciate different flora and fauna? I told him it is because it felt safer.
On that straightforward trail, I would know exactly what I was up against. For someone who was not physically fit, avoiding steep and slippery rocks would probably the better choice. And should I get stuck, I could easily wave to the gondoliers above me and scream for help. He just rolled his eyes and jokingly said, “You are no fun!” And I replied with, “I’m just being practical.”
After some negotiations between us, we agreed to give a section of The Grand Brulé trail a try, since its starting point is right behind the gondola station. We planned to stop at the waterfalls viewpoint and continue a little further on, and then just walk back to the base. This trail takes a circular route towards Versant Soleil, a wooded area dominated by a rock cliff, providing a spectacular view of the Laurentides.
However, it was quite challenging as the path is steep, the turns are sharp, and the terrain is characterized by giant roots and huge rock outcroppings that are a bit slippery. The boys had no issues with that, and I somehow managed. The reward was the beautiful waterfalls, and we even saw a beaver dam and some forest creatures scampering in the bushes.
We took a short break on an outcrop while eating some snacks, then we made our way down to where we started and did the full loop of The Ruisseaux trail at the base. This 1.7-kilometer loop was more enjoyable for me as it was more like a serene walk in the woods with babbling brooks, peaceful mini-waterfalls, wooden stairs, and log bridges…plus no steep climbing!
We ended our day with a quiet dinner in our hotel suite. We were supposed to go to a restaurant but realized we brought too much food, which we did not want to waste, so we just cooked. We were all tired anyway and we appreciated the privacy and cozy atmosphere. Our son actually enjoyed this homey ambiance. We played a couple of boardgames after the meal, and when it was sleep time, he snuggled with his stuffed bears in the cabin-style room.
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