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| Pedestrian Village @ Mont Tremblant |
Our family does not really ski but we heard that it was nice
to visit Mont Tremblant even during summer. So, we went to Mont Tremblant for
one of our getaways last summer.
The Pedestrian Village in the Tremblant resort has both paid
and free parking. From the bottom, you can ride a Cabriolet (like an open
gondola ride) to take you to the top where most of the activities are. Grandma
could not be convinced to take it so she walked up to the top. It was not too
steep a climb. But, I daresay, that the views were better with this free “shuttle” to the top.
The girls enjoyed this ride so much, we rode it about 8 times!
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| Mont Tremblant Resort |
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| Cabriolet at Mont Tremblant |
To get to the summit, you can either hike or take the
Panoramic Gondola. We were originally just going to ride the Panoramic Gondola
and walk around the village to look at the shops. But as I was looking at the
other activities, I saw that we could actually do more. So, I got us a
3-activity pass which was valid for the whole season (to October). We could
pick from 14 activities they had available and we quickly decided which ones we
would go to.
We first rode the Panoramic Gondola. It was a nice 10 or so
minutes to the summit of one of the Laurentian mountains.
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| views from the Panoramic Gondola @ Mont Tremblant |
At the top, they had
a small gift shop, a café, and several picnic tables. They had the Birds of
Prey show here as well (one of the activities). There were plenty enough photo
opportunities and I can see how this area would be busy during winter. There
was a ski lift which ended at the summit and from there, there were stations to
put on your skis, where you can take off for free style, and where you can start your regular run.
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| Panoramic Gondola @ Mont Tremblant |
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| Summit @ Mont Tremblant |
After coming down from the top, we went to try the Luge. We
rode a ski lift up to mid-summit. Then, we rode a three-wheel Luge cart for a
thrilling downhill ride. No experience necessary and DD#2 cleared the height
requirement of 110cm. You also control your speed. The carts were propelled by
gravity-- just pull the handles to apply brakes and release to move. It was
such a fun ride which took about 5 or so minutes. The activity card, however,
can only be applied to one Luge ride.
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| Luge @ Mont Tremblant |
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| Luge @ Mont Tremblant |
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| Luge @ Mont Tremblant |
For our third activity, we rented a bike at the base of the
mountain. They provided the helmets, the maps and off we went to explore the
beautiful scenery. The bike trails were paved and clearly marked. For our
1-hour limit, we went on a 6km tour from the Village passing by Lake Tremblant.
The region has hundreds of kilometers of excellent road and mountain biking
trails in any season (yes, with Fat Biking for winter), in varying route distances
and in varying difficulty levels. The girls learned how to use gears (a step up
from their bikes at home) which was great as it made it easier for them to navigate the
different terrain.
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| Exploring the bike trails @ Mont Tremblant |
We also saw deer in our trails. They were quite accustomed to people and there were plenty of warning signs for their crossing as well as against feeding them.
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| Deer @ Mont Tremblant |
After returning our bikes, we just walked around the Pedestrian
Village and checked out the shops.
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| Pedestrian village @ Mont Tremblant |
They had on schedule, as well, shows and
concerts. The place was so charming with picturesque buildings and cobblestone
paths. Within the village, they had mini-golf, Akropark (park with suspended
bridges), small boats rental, Aquaclub (pools and hot tub), Eurobungee and wall climbing.
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| Eurobungee and Wall climbing @ Mont Tremblant |
All of
these are included as options in the activity card. The other activities were in the
nearby Beach and Tennis club, access to which was counted as 1 activity. But
here, you can rent non-motorized boats, jump from inflatable icebergs or have
lunch.
Another fun (not counted in the activity card) thing to do (but we no longer did as we just
went to Treetop Trekking), was the Ziptrek Ecotours. It featured 4km of 5
ziplines, the longest in Quebec. They had side by side ziplines and if your
child met the age requirement (7 yrs) but not the weight requirement, tandem
zipping is available. I believe this takes about 3 hours and a friend who went
here attests that it was so much fun.
They also have so many trails, perfect
for hiking. And for church-goers, Catholic Chapelle Saint-Bernard at the
bottom of the mountain has Sunday mass available. As we were there during the
week, we were not able to go in. It was quite lovely from the outside, though.
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| Chapelle Saint Bernard @ Mont Tremblant |
So yes, there are many things to do in Mont Tremblant even
if it is summer, even if you don’t ski. They also host the famous Iron Man
Event as this rustic village is just perfect for swimming, biking and running! We
definitely enjoyed this place and we would definitely be back!
