Abitibi-Témiscamingue is the place to go this winter
For snowmobiling lovers who never had the chance to stay in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, I strongly recommend a little tour. This northern region offers you a good trail quality.
Last year, tourism Abitibi-Témiscamingue invited me to visit his "field of fun" of 3,700 km, which is maintained by 9 snowmobile clubs and several volunteers who work hard to provide for good trail conditions. I invite you to travel with me to discover Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Ideal place for snowmobilers
The day before the departure, we stayed at the Forestel hotel in Val d'Or, Abitibi-Témiscamingue gateway. The hotel gives direct access to the trails and they are well organized for snowmobilers. There is plenty of space to park trailers.
Day of departure
During my trip, I was with my photographer Serge Sabourin. The Sun was there it was good because it was really cold, -32C.
Our first destination was the village of Ville-Marie in Témiscamingue. To get there, we took the shortest path, the 309 regional road which connects the two places really quickly.
The landscape
When we left the hotel, the trail which led us to the 309 trail was on the edge of an old abandoned mine, the Bourlamaque which is a historic site. The absence of mountains gave us the impression to be in a huge desert of snow. What beautiful a beautiful landscape to start our trip!
At the intersection of the 309 road, we have two choices: the provincial trail 83, the longest, to Rouyn-Noranda, or the fast 7 which is the shortest.
Trail well maintained and diversified
When on the 309 trail toward the fast 7, we saw that the trail had just be groomed. However, throughout our journey, we had to stay alert because the trail had several curves and slopes. In some places, we thought we were in a tunnel because the trees were closing in on us, what a great feeling
Near Belleterre, we reach a breakpoint where we hope to find some gasoline and food. A very kind man in the relay welcomed us, but there is no gas and no food. The gentleman of the relay offered us coffee and gasoline, but in small amounts. Do not depend on this relay and contact the place before you go.
Village of Belleterre
After a well-deserved break, we continued on the trails. There are a few kilometers before Belleterre were we stopped for lunch before the end of the day. After a few kilometers under the bright sun, we arrived at the village of Belleterre. It is a nice place with few people living there, but beautiful, it looks like a western village
The Restaurant Bar Bellecity
We parked our snowmobiles in front of the restaurant that has a western kind of name. We sat with several other snowmobilers from Ontario. Nancy Gauthier, our waitress and owner of the restaurant, made us discover her homemade food.
Economic impact of snowmobiling
Nancy said that without snowmobiling, the village would be empty in winter and that her restaurant would be closed as well as many other shops. Several Ontario snowmobilers come during the week, the restaurant near the province and it generates good money.
Direction downtown
After lunch, we got back on our vehicles to head towards our final destination on the provincial trail 63. He had good condition, slightly sinuous but fun to drive.
We arrived at an intersection, we used a bike path that offers us a different landscape than the one we had before. We saw mountains and a lot of trees compared to what we saw before. It was nice to drive on this wide track that was offering us a beautiful view.
When we arrived at Ville-Marie, we went outside the village directly to the Bannik. When we arrived, a breathtaking landscape opened to us: The Témiscamingue lake. It was the end of our day! It is with this peaceful image that I let you. Rendez-vous in a few days for my next article on the end of my adventure!
