Cross-country skiing at Domaine Saint-Bernard in Mont-Tremblant

I started 2025 the same way I did last year: by visiting Domaine Saint-Bernard in Mont-Tremblant! I really enjoyed my snowshoe hike to the top of Mont Saint-Bernard last winter and I wanted to come back to the area to enjoy some of its other trails.

Also, I recently started cross-country skiing. I’m still a beginner, but since the area has a few easy cross-country ski trails, I thought that gave me one more reason to go back and enjoy this winter sport!

It was very cold when I arrived in the Laurentians, but there was fresh snow on the trails. So I was pretty excited to put on my cross-country skis and head out on the Grande-Allée trail for my first outdoor outing in 2025!

Domaine Saint-Bernard is a 1,500-acre ecotourism centre, located by the Devil’s River (rivière du Diable) in the Laurentians. After having been exploited for agriculture, then as a hotel site, the land of the estate was acquired by the Brothers of Christian Instruction in 1951, who established there a vacation, training and retreat site for their members. The site is now protected in perpetuity.

The estate is named after St. Bernard, who is considered the patron saint of skiers. So it was perfect that I was there to ski!

My initial plan was mainly to follow the cross-country skiing training loop, and to hike a portion of Grande-Allée Trail. As I mentioned, I am still a beginner, so I wanted to stick to the easy trails (and Grande-Allée Trail, which is 6.7 kilometres long, is considered difficult).

But once on Grande-Allée Trail, I quickly realized that I was having way too much fun and I wanted to continue without stopping. The snowy forest was peaceful and the trail covered in fresh snow was not that complicated to follow.

I was following the trail counterclockwise and after about a kilometre, I arrived at the Herman Deshaies Shelter. There was there a few picnic tables and a fire pit where a campfire was burning. But I didn’t feel like stopping and continued on the trail. Up until that point, the elevation gain had been fairly negligible and I felt like I could move at a good pace with my skis.

After the shelter, however, I started to come across a few slopes. Nothing too complicated, but it put my legs and arms to the test! Grande-Allée Trail goes around Mont Saint-Bernard, which I climbed last winter, and the landscape seemed just as magical as it had been on my last visit.

About halfway along the trail, near the Audet Refuge, Grande-Allée Trail crosses Contre-Courant Trail. This easier trail runs along the Devil’s River, so I decided to follow it. I really liked this section, which has some nice viewpoints of the river.

After a kilometre on Contre-Courant Trail, I had to return to Grande-Allée Trail to complete my loop. To do this, I had to take a 400-metre trail named La Côte (The Hill). As its name suggests, this trail climbs up a hill, and it was probably the section that I found the most difficult. I haven’t yet fully mastered the technique for going uphill on cross-country skis, so I had to take my time and give myself a few breaks.

But I eventually rejoined Grande-Allée Trail and continued along it. I crossed the hiking trail that leads to the summit of Mont Onontio (my goal for the next visit) and I slowly approached the welcome centre of the domain, my starting point. Once again, the forest with its tall snow-covered fir trees seemed so pretty that it made me forget the cold and my sore muscles!

I eventually completed the loop, after having covered nearly 7 kilometres (with an elevation gain of 152 metres). For my first ski outing this year, I was rather proud of myself! And I am already looking forward to the next ones!

If you plan to visit Domaine Saint-Bernard, check out the domain’s website to learn more about trail conditions.