Because summer is just around the corner and it’s already incredibly hot and muggy in Montreal, we’re already feeling a pang of nostalgia for the summers of our childhood. In Quebec, summer tastes like freshly cut grass and lake water, and smells like sun-warmed spruce trees and sunscreen.
Because summer is also a time for exploration and a time to reconnect with nature—covered in insect repellent against ticks and mosquitoes—we want to go for a walk on lesser-known trails. For that, we’re sharing one of the Eastern Townships’ favorite (and somewhat secret) trails: the Massawippi Trail.
Massawippi Trail
The Massawippi Trail, which is actually a network of trails starting from the same point, offers 14 kilometers of trails.
Our favorite is the trail that leads down to Ethan Beach, a small pebble beach on the shore of Lake Massawippi where you can swim. In the summer, you’ll see pontoon boats and kayaks anchored nearby—the spot is beautiful, though hard to reach. You can get there via the Barbara Promenade.
North Hatley
Just a 90-minute drive from Montreal, there’s a village that feels preserved in amber from the Loyalist era of the 1900s, on the shores of Lake Massawippi, witha general store, a market, a café just hip enough not to make city dwellers feel (too) out of place, a sports club, and a waterfront restaurant that serves the best cocktails in the area…And the sunsets…
The village lies on the shoresof Lake Massawippi, one of the deepest and most beautiful lakes in Quebec…
There’s stillanold-fashionedcountry clubin the village, mostly active in the summer, and when you stroll through the village, you can seemembers playing tennis dressed in whitewith shiny hair and anArnold Palmer inhand…
Practical Information
Where? A few kilometers from North Hatley, at 85 Rue du Piémont, Memphrémagog, QC
When? All summer long
