A Laurentian Spring

The sweet case for indulgence

There's a special sweetness to March in the Laurentians. Snow is still deep and white on the ski hills, but the afternoon warmth turns hard-packed slopes to soft corn, and days end with skiers sitting at picnic tables, jackets unzipped and faces turned upwards to the sun. The sap is running and sugar shacks are full of hungry maple lovers. It's springtime in the mountains.

Sensational Slopes

Mont Tremblant is by far the best known of the Laurentian ski centres, and its vertical drop of 645 meters (2,116 feet) and 102 ski runs on four slopes attract visitors from around the world. With restaurants, shops, bars and a host of hotels at its base, many within an easy walk of the lifts, Tremblant is a skiers' paradise. The snow and the beer are cold and the nightlife is hot. But Mont Tremblant is just a part of the Laurentian picture. There are a dozen other ski areas dotted throughout the region, each with its special charm.

The small, welcoming town of Saint Sauveur, a little more than an hour's drive from Montreal, is home to the Manoir Saint-Sauveur resort. There, the lights at night come not from skyscrapers but from the night skiing illumination. Les Sommets – Olympia, Saint Sauveur, and Morin Heights –are slopes that encircle the town. For dinner, choose Le Manoir's top notch steak house or if you're craving a beer, a burger and a live band, try Le Saint-Sau Pub Gourmand for hearty food and live music.

Hotel Mont Gabriel.

Just a little further down the road is Sommet Gabriel, in Ste. Adele. What sets it apart from its snowy compatriots is the Hotel Mont Gabriel, built in 1936, now part of the Marriott Tribute collection and recently renovated to maintain its historic charm. Stay in one of its well-appointed guest rooms and dine at Le Victor, an elegant but relaxed restaurant that focuses on local produce (don't miss the foie gras with its touch of maple syrup perched on a tiny waffle), or try Le Hartford Bar where the traditional poutine is delicious and the staff couldn't be friendlier. Later, enjoy the outdoor thermal experience, soak in the steamy hot pool and bake in the sauna, then enjoy the best sleep of your life.

Hotel Mont Gabriel’s steamy hot pool COURTESY HÔTEL MONT GABRIEL

When morning arrives, toss your skis and poles on your well-rested shoulders and walk to the top of the slopes. Snap into your bindings and schuss down to the lodge to buy your surprisingly inexpensive lift ticket. It couldn't be any easier.

A snowy history
The Laurentians area has a rich and lively cultural history. Visit the Musée du Ski des Laurentides for an immersion in winter's favourite sport, a chance to see an impressive collection of vintage equipment (Hey! I had those boots and skis!) and the opportunity to learn about Jack Rabbit Smith-Johanssen and the other founders and creators of the ski world. Locals will tell you that skiing as we know it in Canada was born in Saint Sauveur.

Interior of historic Abbaye d’Oka.

Accommodation at Auberge del’ Abbaye d’Oka.

Then for a taste of something entirely different but equally historic, book a night or two at Auberge de l'Abbaye d'Oka. The rooms are simple and comfortable and your stay will include a continental breakfast in the refectory, but what will make your visit truly memorable will be the tour. Wandering the quiet halls of the vast abbey with your guide, you'll smile at the 'ssshhhhh' signs reminding you to respect the former cloister and you'll hear the story of the Cistercian monks who once lived, worked and worshipped there. Clever men, the monks devoted themselves to agricultural development, better cheesemaking and farming practices, even raising extra-hardy strains of chickens that could flourish through harsh winters. Though there were once more than 170 monks in the order, the remaining 14 have now moved to a smaller home, leaving their abbey as a tribute to their devotion to their faith, the land and its people.

Historic photo of monks at work in the abbey’s gardens

Sugar Shacks

No trip to the Laurentians in springtime is complete without a sugar shack experience. We loved it so much, we did three!

Officially, a sugar shack is the building in which sap gathered from maple trees is boiled into syrup. In Québec, however, that term takes on a delicious new meaning. There, a sugar shack is a place where friends and family gather to celebrate the loosening of winter's grip on the landscape by enjoying traditional foods that showcase – what else – maple syrup!

Pure Canadian maple syrup

Chômeur, a moist cake-pudding topped with a maple glaze. at Labonté de la Pomme

Our first sugar shack meal was at Labonté de la Pomme, where apples shared centre stage with maple syrup. Set in a rugged rural landscape, the red and yellow-trimmed building is less a shack than a rustic restaurant. Inside, the air is rich with the aromas of freshly baked bread and the Oka cheese for which the region is renowned. We started with a tasting flight of ciders – apple, apple-cherry and apple-rhubarb and available in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic forms. We then indulged in what was described as "the world's best French onion soup" (a completely accurate description) and an apple-bread bowl filled with melted Oka cheese and ringed with toasted bread cubes for dipping. Next up was a waffle sandwich, brimming with ham, bacon and – you guessed it – more Oka cheese, sides of grilled sausages and maple syrup-kissed beans and coleslaw. For dessert, there was maple taffy on vanilla ice cream and a slice of old-fashioned Chômeur, topped with a maple glaze. We could barely hoist ourselves out of our seats at the end of the two-hour extravaganza.

Making maple syrup taffy in the snow

Making maple syrup taffy at Érablière Ste-Marguerite

Our second feast – following 24 hours of recovery – was at Érablière Ste-Marguerite. A traditional-style sugar shack in Ste-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, the Érablière was a huge wooden-floored room, filled with long tables topped with black and red checked cloths and filled with happy local families, all enjoying Québécois-style pea soup, omelettes, maple cured ham, meatballs, potatoes, sausages and of course, more maple cured beans. Outside, a smiling woman stood in front of a tureen filled with hard-packed snow, onto which she poured ribbons of hot maple syrup. A bit of a twirl with a wooden stick and she'd created maple taffy – the sweetest treat of the season. Little children played happily, and country music encouraged a bit of intergenerational dancing between the tables – Grand-mère always gets to lead! The words were all in French as was the conversation. We were the only Anglophones in the place and our French is sadly lacking, but it didn't matter. Big smiles filled the gaps.

It's hard to believe, but we managed to squeeze in one more Laurentian sugar shack experience in St. Sauveur, at the popular Au Petit Poucet. A family-owned place that honours the sugar shack tradition year-round, Au Petit Poucet is dominated by a huge fireplace in the centre of the room and the feeling is traditional with flair.

Sugar shack dining at Labonté de la Pomme.

The food is, quite simply, fantastic. We ordered the Québec Meal which consisted of not only the family's private recipe maple-glazed ham, roasted potatoes, maple beans and turnip but also rich pork-laden tourtiere with a side of homemade fruit relish that made me think of my grandmother's kitchen. Best of all, there is a shop that sells most of the goodies we fell in love with and so we were able to leave with treats to share at home.

Dining at Au Petit Poucet sugar shack

Should we have eaten at three sugar shacks? Perhaps it was a case of over-indulgence but the wisest among us know that life is uncertain and the sweet pleasures of skiing down a sunny slope, simmering in a hot pool while the still-cool air nips at your ears, savouring the taste of fresh maple syrup and the smiles of warm and welcoming hosts should be seized at every opportunity.

Written by Liz Fleming for Cruise and Travel Lifestyles (Spring/Summer 2025)