SNOWSHOEING IN CANADA
For girl getaways, here are five top places for snowshoeing, wildlife tracking, fitness, fondue and… spaaaaah
By Kate Pocock
No wonder that snowshoeing has quickly become today’s fastest growing winter sport. The learning curve is nil. Anyone, no matter what age, can walk on snow. Best of all, with the new lightweight snowshoes, it’s effortless, fun—and great exercise. Add a ski pole or two for an all-over workout.
At Gatineau Park in Quebec, trails director Ken Bouchard showed us how to dig our metal crampons (spikes or cleats on the bottom of snowshoes) into the snow. Walking along the flat was as easy as well, walking along the flat. “We can teach people to snowshoe in about 15 minutes,” said Bouchard proudly. “And snowshoeing can take you nearly everywhere.”
Here are five great girl-fun-friendly snowshoeing/spa outings in snowy places across Canada.
Humber Valley, Newfoundland: How often do you get to see a moose on the move? And yet, this is what happened one February near Corner Brook as we trundled along on snowshoes and the moose lumbered along opposite us on the shore of the Lower Humber River. It was a thrill. As we hiked up through evergreens to a lookout spot, guide Joanne Farrell pointed out moose droppings as well as hare tracks making jump marks in the snow.
The next day, we walked along the flat in pure winter quiet at Blow Me Down Trails, home to 40 kilometres of groomed trails and cross-country Olympians in training. Snow here is legendary. We were immersed in a snowy wonderland. “You can come here to do your workout—or your meditation,” joked ski school director Keith Payne. An outdoor warming tent and lodge with homemade cinnamon buns were bonuses.
Where to Stay: Bunk into a three-bedroom luxury chalet at Humber Valley Resort to enjoy an après-snowshoe Chocolate Bliss Body Treatment or Himalayan Rejuvenation at Found Spa, the on site Aveda spa. Humber Valley can arrange all outings.
Mont-Tremblant, Québec: Into Mont-Tremblant National Park that borders the famous ski resort, we set out on a Deer Observation on Snowshoes expedition. Here, the snow was so deep that we girls were taller than some of the trees! Donning new lightweight Tubbs snowshoes designed for women, we were able to traverse easily into the peaceful oasis of forest filled with maple and birch.
Our guide, biologist Sophie Le-Germain, showed pictures of wildlife we might see, but it was the lovely white-tailed deer that was our quest. Sure enough, after a few sautées over tree trunks and snow mounds, we came upon a mother and baby, standing motionless staring at us. They vanished as we approached.
Where to Stay: You can book this two-hour expedition through Fairmont Mont Tremblant Resort, home to an Amerispa offering maple sugar body wraps and outdoor heated pool.
Or, overnight with at (www.lelupin.com" target="_blank"> Le Lupin, a log inn built by the same architect of Château Montebello fame.
Daytrippers can visit Spa la Scandinave Mont-Tremblant for invigorating fresh-air whirlpool baths and river plunges.
Gatineau Park, Québec: This National Park just outside Ottawa provides 25 kilometres of trails designed specifically for snowshoeing. We beginner girls had a blast ducking under branches and slip sliding down slopes.
Head out straight from the park’s Visitor Centre (snowshoe rentals available), or book a walk with Reservation Outaouais.
Your guide will stop along the trail for a sip of port, treats of chocolate and entertaining tales. On Friday and Saturday nights, you can snowshoe under the stars on Moonlight Snowshoe walks that climax with gourmet five-course dinners at a country Quebeçois restaurant.
Where to Stay: Sleep at the historic Wakefield Mill Inn & Spalocated by a 28-foot waterfall. Soak in the forest-view outdoor hot tub, or treat your feet to a Scenic Pedicure with herbal foot soaks and panoramic views.
Whistler, British Columbia: Outdoor Adventures, the oldest and most experienced snowshoe outfitter in Canada’s famous ski mecca, offers a variety of snowshoe tours. Glide by gondola to the top of Whistler or Blackcomb Mountains to snowshoe into old growth forest or around lakes to clearings where you can feed birds or spot wildlife — though thankfully not too many of Whistler’s famous black bears! Their most popular outing? Their Evening Fondue Tour. At the end of a moonlit trail, kick off your snowshoes for cheese, meat or seafood fondue (vegetarian fondue also available).
Where to Stay: Delta Whistler Village Suites where you can book a bedtime Javanese massage or volcano body wrap at Solarice Wellness Centre & Spa. Getaway packages are available year-round.
Jasper, Alberta: So much extreme scenery exists here — waterfalls, glacier-fed lakes and mountain peaks, for instance — that it’s difficult to look down on our snowshoes instead of up and around at the view. But downward we peer as guide Paula Beauchamp shows us fresh wolf tracks in the snow. They are huge. We stop for photos.
We are striding across Medicine Lake, where the underwater drainage system sometimes causes the lake to “disappear.” First Nations thought it was due to spirits. That’s understandable. It’s mystical here, as shadows and reflections bounce off snow and ice. When Beauchamp points out bear scat and tells us that she saw a cougar a month ago, we really do open our eyes. But it was in the mountains, she says, not on the lake, so we relax and enjoy our scoot along the expanse of pristine white.
Beauchamp also guides tours that combine wildlife spotting—elk, mule deer, perhaps a moose—with a walk on the rim of spectacular Maligne Canyon (boots are fitted with cleats) followed by snowshoeing across Maligne Lake. (www.walksntalks.com)
Where to Stay: After this fresh air marathon, bunk in at nearby Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge where massage and a game of checkers by the huge lobby fireplace await.
Kate Pocock is a Toronto-based travel writer and regular contributor to Travel to Wellness.