Planning a trip to Mont-Tremblant
For tourist information, including maps of local ski trails, call tel. 877/425-2434 or 819/425-2434. There are also two Visitor Information Centres: one in Centre-Ville Mont-Tremblant, 48 chemin de Brébeuf (tel. 819/425-3300), open daily 9am to 5pm, and another closer to the ski mountain, 5080 Montée Ryan (tel. 819/425-2434), open daily 9am to 5pm. You can also check www.tourismemonttremblant.com, an official tourism site, and www.tremblant.ca, the Mont-Tremblant ski resort's website.
Mont-Tremblant, the mountain, is the highest peak in the Laurentians at 875m (2,871 ft.). In 1894, the provincial government began setting aside land for a government forest preserve, establishing Parc National du Mont-Tremblant. The foresight of this early conservation effort has afforded outdoor enjoyment to hikers, skiers, and four-season vacationers ever since. The park is the largest in the province, at 1,510 sq. km (583 sq. miles), and has 400 lakes and six rivers, along with 196 bird species and a forest primarily of sugar maple and yellow birch.
The mountain's name comes from a legend of the area's first inhabitants: Amerindians named the peak after the god Manitou and say that when humans disturbed nature in any way, Manitou became enraged and made the great mountain tremble -- montagne tremblante.
Getting There
There are four exits to the Mont-Tremblant area from the main roadway, Route 117. The first is exit 113, which takes visitors through Centre-Ville Mont-Tremblant (formerly the village of St-Jovite), a pleasant community with most of the expected services. The main street, rue de St-Jovite, is lined with cafes and shops, including the women's clothing and accessories boutique Mode Plus, at no. 813 (tel. 819/425-8969); the folk-art and Québécois antiques store Le Coq Rouge, no. 821 (tel. 819/425-3205); and the restaurant Antipasto, no. 855. From the center of town, Route 327 heads to the mountain.
The fourth exit from Route 117 bypasses Centre-Ville and goes directly to the mountain and most of the properties listed here. Take this exit, 119, to Montée Ryan and follow the blue signs for 10km (6 1/4 miles). Also watch for signs with the resort's logo, which turns the "A" in "Tremblant" into a graphic of a ski mountain.
Mont-Tremblant International Airport (airport code YTM; tel. 819/275-9099; www.mtia.ca) is 39km (24 miles) north of the mountain.
