Our first autumn hike we made in Mont-Mégantic National Park which is very popular all year round. And in this post, we will share with you why you also should try Mont Megantic trail.
Mont-Mégantic National Park
Video from this hike
Similar to Mont Orford, Mont Megantic is located in Eastern Township, which is our favorite hiking destination. Besides its winter and summer outdoor activities, the park has very unique and special attraction – ASTROlab. It is an astronomical observatory where a lot of events, guided tours, and even festivals take place. As they proudly say, the park combines activities “from the Earth to the sky”. So you can easily find what you would like. The regular ticket price for an adult is $8.75 and free for children 17 y.o. and under. But the day we were visiting the park was special – it was Quebec National Parks Day with free admission to all Sépaq National Parks. Even more, we got 2 additional tickets to visit any of Sépaq National Parks till the end of November.
The park has 2 parts: the Observatoire sector and the Franceville sector. This time we decided to discover the Observatoire sector by hiking Mont Mégantic trail, which is the approximate geographic center of the park. Its peak is the highest among others in this sector (1105 m) and one of the highest mountains in Quebec.
Mont Megantic trail
According to the park’s official site information, the length of the trail is 10.7 km and the duration is from 4 to 7 hours. BTW, if you want to reach the top but don’t want to hike 4 hours, you can get there by car. It is the highest peak in Quebec accessible by car. But you should book the visit upfront as the parking is very limited on the summit.
We prefer to hike the mountain, so off we went. And the trail didn’t disappoint us. The beginning of the path is pretty easy, you just walk in the beautiful wood and spot mushrooms. But it becomes steeper as you move forward.
The further you go the more interesting and challenging the trail becomes. For those who plan camp there, be ready to carry all your stuff approximately one kilometer from the parking lot.
You walk in the wood on the trail among rocks and trees covered with moss. Some of them literally look like a pillow and feel the same.
The abundance of mushrooms is a distinct feature of this trail. Close to the top, the trail becomes flat so be prepared for muddy puddles, especially if it was raining before. When the summit is still hidden by treetops you can already notice a white round roof – this is the observatory. The ASTROlab’s construction has a landed spaceship look and surprisingly fits this landscape.
We just took a quick look inside on the telescope which is the fourth biggest telescope in Canada. And the rest of the time spent outside admiring long-distance views: from the summit you can see mountains of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.
The time on the summit passed fast. And after feeding the birds and having a snack, we headed back following another trail – Sentier du Col which is a little bit longer but less steep.
Our statistics from Mont Megantic trail.
Overall it took us 5,5 hours: 2,5 hours hiking up, 2 hours hiking down and 1 hour on the top. And our tracking application measured 15 km instead of t
- Height: 1105 m
- Length: 15 km round trip
- Elevation: 1102 meters
- Difficulty: Difficult
The takeaway points
- Mont Megantic summit and ASTROlab are accessible by car. Book in advance.
- If you plan some hiking in September check the schedule for Sépaq free admission day – Quebec National Parks Day.
- On the free admission day, come early. Otherwise, the chances that you will park your car 300 – 400 meters away from parking spots are very real.
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