Parc National du Mont-Orford – Hiking to the top of Mont Chauve

Since the fall colours are breathtaking this year, my sister, my sister-in-law and I decided to head to Parc National du Mont-Orford in the Eastern Townships to go hiking. I’ve visited the area a few times before, but I’d never visited the Sepaq park there. For this first visit, we opted to hike one of its most popular trails: the Mont-Chauve Loop.

In addition, the Mont-Chauve Loop is part of the 75S Challenge, a hiking challenge that highlights 75 hikes in Quebec. This hike not only allowed me to visit Mont-Orford National Park for the first time, but it was also an opportunity for me to do another hike from the challenge.

The hike starts at the La Bonnallie Visitor Centre, near Lake Stukely. We arrived quite early in the morning, so it was easy to find a space in the large parking lot. Across the lake, we could see the mountain, our goal for the day! Without further ado, we hit the trail.

Mont Chauve is the second highest peak in Parc National du Mont-Orford. Its name comes from its bare summit (Chauve means “bald” in French) that rises to an elevation of nearly 600 metres. It is a popular hike as it offers a good physical challenge, without being too difficult or technical, and it leads to spectacular lookouts.

Many consider it a great option to get a good first taste of mountain hiking. Which was exactly what we were looking for! My sister-in-law and I are used to more challenging hikes (we made it to the top of Mount Lafayette last year), but my little sister is less used to hiking, so the Mont-Chauve Loop was perfect for the kind of challenge we were looking for.

The hike started off gently on a wide gravel trail (which doubles as a bike path). With the fall colours, I knew right away that this hike would be spectacular.

Then the trail eventually leaves the forest to become a little rockier and steeper. It seemed to me that the climb was very gentle at first, alternating with a few descents and flatter sections.

We came across a small picnic area called Carrefour du Ruisseau-Perdu (which could be roughly translated to Lost Stream Crossroads) and then near the two-kilometre mark, we arrived at the beginning of the loop. We decided to follow it clockwise, crossing the stream on a small bridge.

It was not long after that we reached our first lookout on the trail. And what a view! In front of us, the landscape stretched out to the west of the mountain. With the fall colours, it was breathtaking.

We continued our hike on the trail that wound through the forest. Once again, it seemed to me that the climb was not very intense, and offered us several opportunities to catch our breath. The trail skirts the summit to the west, before starting a slightly steeper climb.

For this climb, rocks were placed to form a long series of steep stairs in the forest. And we arrived at these stairs at the same time as a group of about thirty hikers. Since we were going a little faster, they kindly decided to let us pass. So we picked up the pace to overtake them, and quickly climbed this series of stairs. Let’s just say that we were almost out of breath when we completed this section!

Fortunately, the trail flattened out a little afterwards and offered us another view, this time of the landscape to the east of the mountain. Once again, the hilly landscape of the Eastern Townships was beautiful!

After that, there were only a few hundred metres left to go before reaching the summit. There were some short, slightly more technical sections (with some big rocks to climb over) and we arrived at the intersection where a short detour leads to the official summit of the mountain.

There was a big crowd at the summit, but since there is also a large wooden platform there, we were able to sit down and take a short break to rest. In front of us was a magnificent landscape where we could see the deep blue of Lake Stukely as well as the imposing massif of Mont Orford (perhaps a challenge for another time). Behind us, the famous bare rocky summit that gives its name to the mountain.

After this break, we began to descend. A few metres further, the trail leads to another lookout, this time with a view of the Cherry River Valley (vallée de la rivière aux Cerises), nestled between the Orford and Chênes mountains. I visited the Marais de la Rivière aux Cerises a few years ago, so I found it interesting to be able to see this area from a different angle!

We continued downhill afterward. There were a few muddy sections, and with the fallen leaves, we sometimes had to be more careful not to slip on the rocks. But otherwise, the descent was relatively easy.

We passed many, many hikers on our way down, proof that this hike is extremely popular. And on such a beautiful fall day, it was easy to understand why so many people wanted to enjoy it!

In total, our hike totaled just over 11 kilometers, with an elevation gain of 540 meters. And it was a good reminder that I need to come hike more often in the Eastern Townships! I definitely want to be back one day to explore more Parc National du Mont-Orford!

***The Mont-Chauve Loop is part of the 75S Challenge, a hiking challenge managed by Rando Québec. To learn more about the challenge or to follow my progress, visit this page.***