From apple whiskey to suspended bicycling.
In a humankind of contend tumble destinations — with so many adorable little towns compete for the bestapple pick , leaf peeping , andpumpkin chuckin — we found the ultimate fall route trip experience . And it ’s in Quebec . That ’s right , Canada . fudge around the countryside surroundingMontreal , even the most experienced autumn aficionados will fall to their knees at the utter amount of beauty , coziness , and Adrenalin packed into this northeast province just aboveNew England .
So how did Quebec get the crown ? For starters , over one-half of territory is overcompensate in forest . Time your road trip rightand you ’ll be swimming in the fiery , gold colour of fall foliage everywhere you look . But this trip is about so much more than justpassively ride through woods of changing leaves . It ’s about testing your limits , expand your cognition , and immersing yourself in all the traditional tumble action — and a few incredible young ones .
As you whap up , down , and aroundFrench - address Quebec , you just might find yourself bicycle through the timberland on a suspended bicycle , forage during an eatable mycology moral , mellow off in outdoor thermal watering hole , and try your way through apple - based spirits and traditional , hyper - local Quebecois foods . Along the way you ’ll experience fall in full colors from unlike viewpoint , rate from the ground level to century of feet high , and through all five of your senses . Do n’t pick us if nothing quite measure out up when you get back home . Here are all the shipway to bury yourself up north .
edb3_16/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
Soak in a Nordic thermal spa surrounded by a forest
Sainte - Hélène - de - ChesterLocated 30 hour from Ottawa International Airport , Nordik Spa - Nature Chelseais the perfect place to start this fall - focused road trip . Take a dip in the watering place ’s many outdoorthermal poolsas you douse in the time of year ’s bright colors in the oh - so - more or less - crisp fall melodic phrase . Nordik Spa - Nature Chelsea is North America ’s largest nordic - style watering hole , with 10 pools , nine themed saunas , four eating house , several thaw - worthy spa treatments , andan eternity poolthat overlooks the metropolis . It ’s an sluttish direction to drop the Clarence Day and eve , or even just a few hours . The surround forest , caloric circuits , and sauna rituals are just what the body ordered after a foresightful flight or elevator car drive .
The basic Thermal Experience package includes access to the hot and cold pools , a bathrobe renting , a towel , and locker . TheGerman Aufguss ritual(available every hour , on the hr ) habituate dance and wet towels to move snowballs drizzled with crucial rock oil around the room and should n’t be missed . You ’ll have to pay extra to participate in theKälla discourse , which involves a saltwater flotation pool — and it ’s totally worth the extra hard cash .
Saint - Faustin - Lac - CarréLocated about an hour - and - a - half out of the way — but 100 % deserving the roundabout way through the leafy Quebecois countryside on QC-323 — areGourmet SauvageandSentier des Cimes . On the site of a former Pisces the Fishes farm , Sentier des Cimes ( or “ Trail of the Peaks ” in English ) is a wooden boardwalk and geometrical tower that spirals over 130 ft up into the breeze . As you make your way up , do n’t bury to look down and out across the tops of the Laurentian forest . Along the way , you could arrest at various information Stations of the Cross , or just race to the top for the star views . walk at a moderate tread , you may have a bun in the oven to spend about two hour on the boardwalk — but folio - peeping gawkers may take longer .
Nordik Spa-Nature / Chelsea
Next door , Gourmet Sauvage offers eatable forestforaging workshopsthrough the very woods you were just admire . sightly admonition , though , these workshop are extremely popular and be given tobook up within hoursor solar day of the agenda being released , so verify to see ahead as soon as you’re able to . If the posting do n’t align for the wild plant and mycology deterrent example , stopping in theWild Groceryis the next best thing . You ’re guarantee to come up unique nutrient products such as marinated fiddleheads or ocean asparagus , Balsam fir tree leaf mustard , and wild milkweed salsa — all handmade from wild - picked plant life and mushroom from the different regions of Quebec .
Explore the Indigenous roots of a growing travel trend.
Pick-your-own pumpkins, apples, and pears, oh my!
OkaHeading back down on the A15 South toward the Ottawa River , you ’ll find the traditions of apple pick and Cucurbita pepo - while roaming shoot prime levels atLabonté de la Pommein Oka . This family - owned farm ask over visitor to wander through their orchards and vegetable patches to pass - pick Malus pumila , pumpkins , pieplant , squash , and more . ( We made trusted this would be one of the early stops on the road , to give you enough clip to eat through all of the food for thought you ’ll inevitably pick but ca n’t bring back across the border . )
expect to travail a bit less ? Between September and mid - October , the farm offers tractor ride through the orchards with stops so you could piece as you go . Or justperuse the farm store , where you ’ll find out a seasonal extract of farm produce along with homemade fix and jelly , yield butters , and honey and maple products . The farm ’s all - season hiking trails lead the way through maple orchard , fruit plantation , and sprawl persuasion of the Oka Valley doused in her autumnal good . Those who preferguided toursor ground on where they are visiting can sign up for a behind - the - scenes feeling . The tour present you to the cider theater , farm animals , maple kettledrum , and glass beehive .
Tour a traditional sugar shack and stay overnight in a cozy log cabin
RigaudThe folks over atSucrerie de la Montagnehave been tapping trees for maple sirup for over 40 twelvemonth . The 50 - second drive Rebecca West on QC-342 to thistraditional lolly shackincludes a head trip on the ferrying . Once you come , you ’ll be engulfed in the ultimate fall hygge — we’re talking countryfied wooden buildings , substantial country fare , and a hot iron boiler warm over a fire pit to top it all off . Those in - the - know can also ask for a tour of duty of the maple syrup processing room and bakery . Here , maple sirup , candy , and butter are made using old - fashioned production techniques , from tree diagram - tapping to vintage , wooden maple - butter molds .
It all works as a visual amuse - bouche for the hearty Quebecois meal and show serve up in the dining hall , where menu include maple - glazed ham , gist pies , ill-humoured breadstuff , souffle , sausages , homemade condiment and other fare fit for a Canadian country feast . Booking overnight in a cabinis probably the best course of action ( ahead of time , of course ) , so you could get in some cozy log cabin vibes before the intellectual nourishment coma set in . In the morning , you ’ll awaken up surround by a gorgeous 120 - acre maple forest . Life could be a great deal worse . Be certain to arrive at the giving shop class for some seriously habit-forming maple candies and other products before you direct back out on the road .
How to Feast in a Sugar Shack, Quebec’s Tastiest Tradition
Get good and sappy in maple syrup country.
Sample apple-based spirits at a working cidery
RougemontA sojourn to theCidrerie Michel Jodinwill open your eyes to the world of orchard apple tree look beyond cider . The Jodin family has been in the apple business for over a century , starting in 1901 when Jean - Baptiste Jodin bought a humble orchard of 100 or so apple tree . Eighty - seven years and two generation afterwards , Michel Jodin opened the cider house , located decently off La Petite Caroline in Rougemont across from an orchard .
Today , it also functions as atasting roomwhere you could taste uncommon apple spirits like orchard apple tree whisky , mistele , and vermouth ( to name a few ) , along with methamphetamine cider , apple wine , sparkling vino , and various takes on cyder . Spoiler alert : One of the cool thing you ’ll get a line is that Michel Jodin ’s rosé ware get their blushful hue from deeply cherry-red - fleshed Geneva apples . These Malus pumila are absolutely arresting to see sliced in half , and impart a red - fruit , thin acidic sapidity visibility . You ’ll unquestionably want to check your obligation gratuitous demarcation line before coming here .
Cycle through the forest trees on a suspended bicycle
Glen SuttonSwap your ground - level cable car views for a crown - horizontal surface tour of the wood on one ofVélo Volant ’s suspend recumbent bicycle — the high-pitched in the world . Hanging 100 feet above the forest flooring , you ’ll pedal your way along a 3,280 - foot circuit strung up through the thick of colored leaves . It ’s an all different fall foliage experience , and in all probability to be one of the most memorable activities on this trip . To get there , take QC-139 South toward Glen Sutton , a township near the border of Vermont , till you make Au Diable Vert in Chemin Stains .
After a quick safety briefing , you ’ll pedal off of the platform , seemingly into thin air . There ’s no turning back ; this is a one - way experience . Do n’t vex , this ride is 100 percent pedal power and you control the speeding . You ’ll pedal “ up ” the mountainside and over falls , creeks , and ravine . The every - slant - views think of no matter which mode you look , you ’ll be surrounded by 100 - year - old maple and true pine trees bursting with deep orange , bright yellowish , and ruby red leaves . It does n’t get more immersive than this .
If you ’re afraid of altitude , take it from personal experience that it ’s deserving push through the veneration for this truly breathless experience . Even the scariest parts of the drive — when you ’re draw to come to a dead catch as you expect for the line of people out front of you to get affect — are completely supported by the rigging system . programme for about an 60 minutes on the bikes , and keep your eyes pare for the green mountains of Vermont in the distance .
Nordik Spa-Nature / Chelsea
Get a bird’s-eye-view of fall foliage
OrfordAn hour north up QC-243 and off of QC-245 North , you could further elevate your fall foliation experience with a scenic face lift ride up Mont Orford . Available weekend from mid - September through mid - October , La Flambée des Couleursescorts you over a half - naut mi above the trees of Mont Orford National Park in either a gondola or six - seater ski life . At the top , several outlook scene allow a stunning pallette of quick fall colors overspread out as far as the middle can see . You ’ll have to plan ahead for this adventure , as ticket are sell forspecific clip slots(so be sure to arrive with deal of time to ballpark , grab a coffee or beverage of selection * , and get to the facelift on time ) . * Pro tip : you could grab a hot , boozy drink for the ride up .
Celebrate the cranberry with a tasting and tour of the bog
Saint - Louis - de - BlandfordGive the modest and lemony cranberry some sexual love as you pass through Saint - Louis - de - Blandford . Believe it or not , Quebec has a bonafide Cranberry Interpretation Center , En Fête Canneberge , where you could tour the local cranberry bog via wagon drive . Tours last about 60 - 90 arcminute and take you out to the working bogs where , from the back of a wooden go-cart pulled by a tractor , you ’ll get to see the swampy red berry bob up and down on the open of the water as they await for harvest — if you ’re favourable you might even see James Leonard Farmer corral the small air - filled berries during a harvest .
You may not be able to jump out of the cart and into the peat bog ( which is full of little wolf spiders , if you call for a impediment ) , but there ’s still something gorgeous and featherbrained about seeing this fruit in its unfeigned form . Back at the center , you ’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the cranberry via display and television demonstration — and cosset in a few tastings , if you so desire .
Make cheese your new religion
Sainte - Élizabeth - de - WarwickA bronzed Jesus welcomes you as you pull up to theFromagerie de Presbytére . No want to check the GPS , you ’re in the correct place . in the beginning built in 1936 , this Catholic church building rectory fall into neglect until 2005 . That ’s when the Mordin sept acquire the building with the musical theme to reverse it into a fromagerie . Two years later , Fromagerie du Presbytére free their first cheese . The Mortin menage believes neat cheese starts from well-chosen cows , and considering many of their Malva sylvestris are multi - award winner , they just might be onto something . The quaternary - generation - cheesemakers ' Louis d’Or has been named best cheese in Canada more than once , and the tangy Elizabeth ’s Blue and creamy Country Brie have been crowning them the good cheese in Quebec .
One of the nerveless thing about this fromagerie is that you’re able to tour inside the onetime vicarage and spy on the aging cheeses — and the resident robot , Pat , who tirelessly works to wash the rinds and turn the cheese wheels as they mature — through a large glass panel . The very back of the construction actually still functions as a small Christian church . Next door to the rectory lies the fromagerie general store where expert behind the counter will jubilantly pair your palate to the dear cheeses on offer — whether to wash them down with pee or wine-colored is up to you .
Round it all out with an eco village stay
Saint - PaulinAn overnight ( or two ) atLa Baluchon Eco Villagewill give you the closure you need to finish up this heroic surrender route trip . Consider it one last night with nature . Covering over 6,500 square foot of outdoor area , La Balchon is pack with unlike ways to immerse yourself in the season . This resort is design for you to connect with the outdoors whether that ’s having an archery competition , bring together a forage digression , or belly up to a seasonal 13 - trend meal .
Fancy a horseback drive through the drop - leaved forest ? What about a tranquil morning kayak down the river ? Perhaps you ’re ready to come up full set and finish your road trip with a steaming soak in the Nordic resort hotel pools ? You ’ll have your pick of way to end your ultimate autumnal experience , even if it ’s just enjoying the sound of crunching fall leaves on the boardwalk through the property . From here , it ’s just over an hour and 30 minutes to Montreal - Pierre Trudeau International Airport or three - and - a - half time of day back to Ottawa International Airport .
Sentier des cimes Laurentides
Labonté de la pomme - Verger & Cidrerie
Sucrerie de la montagne
Cidrerie Michel Jodoin
Au Diable Vert
Mont-Orford
Canneberge en fête
Fromagerie du Presbytère
Le Baluchon Éco-villégiature
