List of former ski areas of Quebec facts for kids
Did you know that the Canadian province of Quebec used to have many more ski resorts than it does today? Some of these old ski spots, where people enjoyed alpine skiing (downhill) and cross-country skiing, were very famous or had a long history. Let's explore some of these cool places that are no longer open for skiing.
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Exploring Quebec's Former Ski Hills
Skiing in the Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a beautiful area in Quebec, south of the Saint-Lawrence River. It stretches from the U.S. border towards the Appalachian Mountains. This region was once home to several popular ski hills.
Ski Shefford: A Hill with History
Ski Shefford (45°57′17″N 74°08′39″W / 45.954672°N 74.144244°W) was a ski hill located on Mont Shefford. It was close to another well-known ski resort, Ski Bromont. Ski Mont Shefford closed its doors in 2006.
Laurentian Mountains: A Skiing Hotspot
The Laurentian Mountains are found north of the Saint-Lawrence River valley. This large area includes many different regions and stretches from the Ottawa River valley all the way to the Cote-Nord. Many ski resorts, both old and new, have called the Laurentians home.
Les Pentes 40-80: A Pioneer Ski Hill
Les Pentes 40-80 (which used to be called Côtes 40-80, 45°57′18″N 74°08′45″W / 45.9549041°N 74.1457133°W) was a ski hill owned by the town of Sainte-Adèle. It was a great place for new skiers to learn.
This ski area was one of the first alpine ski resorts in Canada. It was very popular in the 1950s. The land was given to the town by Charles Bronfman, with a special rule that it had to stay a ski slope.
Even though the ski lifts and main building are gone, the area is still a public park. You can still use the old ski runs for fun, but there are no lifts or services available now. At its busiest, it had four ski lifts, including T-bars and a magic carpet, and five ski runs. It had a vertical drop of 100 m (330 ft) and its longest run was 600 m (2,000 ft).
Ski Mont Alta: From Slopes to Hiking Trails
Ski Mont Alta (46°02′25″N 74°14′12″W / 46.040154°N 74.236531°W) opened in 1951 near Highway 117 in Val-David. It closed for good after a fire in 2014 destroyed its main building and ski lift controls.
Today, Ski Mont Alta is an "off-piste" park. This means you can go winter hiking or ski-hiking there, but without any ski lift services.
Baumgarten’s Ski Hill: A Rope Tow Legend
Baumgarten’s Ski Hill was located on Baumgarten Hill in Ste-Agathe. It's famous for possibly having the very first rope tow ever! However, some people say another place, Foster's Folly, had the first one.
Local businessman Moïse Paquette opened this ski hill in 1928. His family continued to run it after he passed away. The hill is named after Alfred Baumgarten, who built a cottage at the bottom of the hill in the mid-1800s.
Ski Mont Castor: Now a Training Ground
Ski Mont Castor was a ski hill on Mont Castor in Ste-Agathe. It operated from 1962 to 1995 and once had two T-bar ski lifts.
Today, the base of the old ski hill is home to Maximise (46°04′04″N 74°18′22″W / 46.067832°N 74.306000°W). This is a training facility for skiing and snowboarding that's open all year. It has rails, big jumps, water landing ponds, trampolines, and airbag landings. In winter, it becomes a snowpark with a rope-tow ski lift.
Le Chantecler: Hotel Still Open
Le Chantecler (45°56′43″N 74°08′32″W / 45.9451467°N 74.1423288°W) was an alpine ski hill on the south side of Mont Chantecler in Sainte-Adèle. The north side of the mountain still has the open Ski Chantecler.
While the ski hill itself is closed, the resort hotel part of Le Chantecler is still open. You can also enjoy tubing, cross-country ski trails, and horse-drawn sleigh rides there.
Chalet Cochand: North America's First Ski Resort?
Chalet Cochand is believed to be the very first ski resort in North America! Émile Cochand started his ski school in 1911, and the inn opened in 1914 in Ste-Marguerite.
Gray Rocks: A Major Resort
Gray Rocks (46°09′30″N 74°35′20″W / 46.158333°N 74.588889°W) was another very important ski resort in the Laurentians.
Skiing in the Greater Montreal Area
The Greater Montreal Area is where the Ottawa River and Saint-Lawrence River meet. Even in this big city, there used to be places to ski!
Slopes of Mount Royal: Skiing in the City
Mount Royal is a central hill on Montreal Island. It was formed by a volcanic hotspot a very long time ago.
Mount Royal Park: A Winter Wonderland
Mount Royal Park is a large park and hill in the middle of Montreal. It once had alpine skiing runs near Beaver Lake (45°30′00″N 73°35′40″W / 45.499945°N 73.594517°W) and even ski jumps! The ski runs stopped operating in the 1990s.
Now, the park is still a great place for winter activities like cross-country skiing and sliding. Cross-country skiing has been popular here since the late 1870s.
Université de Montréal: Campus Skiing
The Université de Montréal (UdeM), a university located on Mount Royal, also had its own ski runs. From 1944 to 1979, it had two ski runs, a ski jump, and a T-bar lift at the top of Vincent d'Indy (45°30′29″N 73°36′30″W / 45.508090°N 73.608196°W). Imagine skiing right on your university campus!
Francesca Cabrini Park: A Neighborhood Hill
Rosemont's Francesca-Cabrini Park (45°34′54″N 73°33′45″W / 45.581593°N 73.562425°W) once had ski runs and even a ski lift for local residents to enjoy.
Ignace Bourget Park: Verdun's Ski Spot
Verdun's Ignace-Bourget Park (45°27′17″N 73°36′20″W / 45.454718°N 73.605608°W) also had a T-bar lift to help people ski on its slopes.
Des Hirondelles Park: A Ski Lift in Ahuntsic
Ahuntsic's Des Hirondelles Park (45°34′34″N 73°38′37″W / 45.576049°N 73.643502°W) was another city park that once had a ski lift for winter fun.
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