Snowmobile Abitibi Témiscamingue – 3,700 km of Primo Trails…
Snowmobile Abitibi Témiscamingue Quebec – Click photo to view tour article
Related: Ride Monts Valin
What happens when you snowmobile Abitibi Témiscamingue Quebec for your Quebec snowmobile tour or snowmobile vacation? I rode four days there with a huge grin. Each night my notes for this article used superlatives like “awesome”, “incredible” or “fantastic” to describe our day’s ride.
I went to bed each night with that good-tired feeling that follows a remarkable day’s ride. I wondered how the next one could possibly measure up. But it did – over and over again – four days in a row! And you ca to – go to my Western Quebec Snowmobile Planner for the info, contacts & links you need!
Ideal Destination
Abitibi Témiscamingue is an outstanding place to ride your Quebec snowmobile tour. This also makes it an ideal destination for your first ride in Quebec.
ebec. I’ve been back many times. This snowbelt region consistently delivers top notch snowmobiling every time. It reminds me again and again just how exhilarating snowmobiling can be. With 3,700 kilometres of mostly excellent FCMQ snowmobile trails, Abitibi Témiscamingue borders along Ontario’s northeast region. Thus, it is located just east of New Liskeard, Kirkland Lake (with trail connections to each) and Cochrane (no trail connection).
Because of its position, in many respects it’s easier to access Abitibi Témiscamingue (English: Abitibi Temiskaming) from Ontario than it is from the rest of Quebec. And if you want to do more sledding out of Abitibi-Témiscamingue for your Quebec snowmobile tour, check out my Snowmobile Abitibi Temiscamingue and Baie James article and the snowmobile video below…
Snowmobile Abitibi Témiscamingue Quebec Staging Options
Ville Marie
Our snowmobile magazine crew, consisting of Johnny Biasi, Dan Carty, Jim Heintzman, Tony Robinson, Don Webb and myself, towed our Triton trailers about 420 kilometres from the Greater Toronto Area. We drove through North Bay to Ville Marie on the east shore of Lake Temiskaming. It’s a shorter drive than from the GTA to Montreal and many other regions of La Belle Province. Abitibi Témiscamingue is even more convenient for Ontario residents living north of Barrie to go on a Quebec snowmobile tour.
Témiscaming
Many snowmobilers heading to Abitibi Témiscamingue opt for the shorter, 340-kilometre drive to the Town of Témiscaming. Here a large staging area provides parking for a Quebec snowmobile tour. From there, Trans Quebec 63 is an abandoned rail line arrowing straight north into the heart of the region. Having snowmobiled more than our share of rail trails over the years (fast but boring!), we decided to stage farther north. So we trailered to La Bannik near Ville Marie, which is positioned on the circle loop we were undertaking.
Staging from Ontario
I should also note that there’s a third staging option for a Quebec snowmobile tour in Abitibi Témiscamingue. It’s to ride from hotels in either New Liskeard (Waterfront Inn), Kirkland Lake (Comfort Inn) or Kearns (Cheminis Lodge), all of which I’ve done on previous tours. My only reservation for launching from Ontario is that sometimes the consistency of trail connections between the two provinces can be unpredictable. Even to the point that on one ride, the link was not there yet! Besides, La Bannik is as secure as possible for parking your tow vehicles, and its lodging and food are both exceptional.
Snowmobile Abitibi Témiscamingue Quebec Lodgings
La Bannik
Day 1: Ville Marie
La Bannik near the Town of Ville Marie is an ideal staging location for your Abitibi-Témiscamingue ride. It’s secure & private. It has direct trail access, on site restaurant and heated sled garage. Perched high on a peninsula high above Lake Témiscamingue, La Bannik offers luxurious chalets of various sizes. Many have their own outdoor hot tubs.
Villa Mon Repos
Day 2: La Sarre
It’s a 278-km ride to La Sarre. There we stayed at the Villa Mon Repos. It’s accessed by a well signed in town route. With on site restaurant, heated sled garage and fuel just down the street, this motel is the best place to stay in town.
Hotel Le Forestel
Day 3: Val d’Or
We arrived at Hotel Le Forestel by direct trail access. This after a 308-km ride to Val d’Or. There we found this snowmobile-friendly hotel under major renovations that will make it a showcase must-stay for snowmobilers in the region. Newly renovated rooms are outstanding and you can eat in the bar or the more formal restaurant. The breakfast buffet is plentiful and a quick way to get an early start on the day’s ride.
Hotel Amosphere
Day 4: Amos
Hotel Amosphere in Amos is a perennial favourite of discerning snowmobilers. It provides direct trail access, double outdoor hot tubs, on site restaurant, heated sled garages and comfy in room recliner chairs. We rode 314 km this day, enjoying many local loops. With 3,700 kilometres of groomed snowmobile trails, you can always find a new one to ride.
Day 5: Ville Marie
320 km back to La Bannik for our final day’s ride. There we put our snow machines into the heated garage overnight to thaw them out before loading trailers and driving home next morning.
Quebec’s Abitibi-Témiscamingue region delivers stellar snowmobiling any time. So if you’re looking for reliable snow and great trails for your final ride of the season, this is just the ticket! Meanwhile, if you’re looking for more great Quebec destinations, check out the rest of my Quebec tours.
For the rest of this Quebec snowmobile tour story + itinerary, read my Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out article as published in Snow Goer Canada magazine.
Riders should reconfirm the routes and services mentioned in this Quebec snowmobile tour article as they may have changed since publication.