After our article on the abandoned ionosphere observatory and the legends of the village of Chelsea, we got a taste for the mysteries well hidden in the mountains, golden wheat fields and boreal forests of Quebec…
Just outside Montreal, 40-45 minutes by car and 1h11 by train (Exo line 13, departing from Gare Centrale – Bonaventure metro station) from downtown, there’s a legendary mountain you can hike: Mont Saint-Hilaire.
Mont Saint-Hilaire
Mont-Saint-Hilaire (the village) is known for its legendary drive-in and distinctive terrain.
Mont Saint-Hilaire (the mountain) is one of 10 hills in the Montérégie region, rising like a monolith from the region’s flat farmland.
The Abenaki, the region’s native people, named the mountain Wigwômaden, “long house”, for its elongated shape.
Mysterious stories about Mont Saint-Hilaire
Mont Saint-Hilaire is protected and studied by McGill University scientists as the Gault Nature Reserve. Its geological wealth is at the heart of several scientific discoveries, and one mineral – Hilairite – is named after the mountain.
The mountain was created by magmatic upwelling, enveloped by the rocks pierced by the erection of this substance from the center of the earth. It’s called a “pluton”, according to the university. After the Ice Age, erosion created Mont Saint-Hilaire as we see it today.
It’s said that on Mont Saint-Hilaire, because of this mineral diversity, compasses lose their bearings.
The result is a very rich and varied geological monument – a thousand-year-old mountain, a little prehistoric, and definitely mysterious to locals and scientists the world over.
A cave inhabited by three fairies
A local legend tells of a cave, which can be seen from the hiking trail as you look up, on the cliff edge of Mont Saint-Hilaire. Its entrance is surrounded by three huge rocks, and locals interpreted this mystical entrance as indicative of fairies.
The three fairies inhabiting this grotto were said to be, rather like witches, each endowed with a power. One gave beauty and health, another success and wealth, and the third, “with a sinister look”, cast evil spells on the “ungrateful and imprudent”.
Today, the cave, which is part of the Gault Nature Reserve, can no longer be visited after numerous accidents and deaths, including that of a young scout in 1941.
Be careful, because it was also said that fairies disguised themselves as small animals to descend from the mountain into the forest and the village…
A “bottomless lake
Lac Hertel, which you can visit by hiking through the nature reserve today, is located at the very top of Mont Saint-Hilaire.
You can’t fish here today, but in the old days, locals used to pull gigantic sturgeon out of this small lake (1m60 for a fish that averages less than 1m), and this phenomenon led to the belief that it was a bottomless lake, connected to the larger rivers by underground passages.
McGill University, which has studied the lake, says that Lake Hertel has a bottom, but the mystery remains…
Aliens on Mont Saint-Hilaire
In the 70s and 80s, ufology fever (the study of UFOs – unidentified flying objects) gripped Quebec. Richard Glenn’s TV series, Ésotérisme Expérimental, was king of the region’s airwaves from 1976 to 1997.
People searched the skies for the next Roswell, believed that “intraterrestrials” lived under Mont Saint-Hilaire and that extraterrestrials joined them at night on the mountain, having even built a secret base near Lac Hertel.
Today, the Gault Nature Park closes at 7.30pm at the latest, but we don’t really feel like spending the night on the mountain anyway…
Hiking at Mont Saint-Hilaire
Many legends also speak of the mountain as a gateway to Hell… but above all, it’s a great place for hiking, because the Gault nature reserve has 25km of extremely well-preserved and beautiful trails.
All we’re asked to do is stay on the trail – under no circumstances…
Practical info
Where? 422, Chemin des Moulins, Mont Saint-Hilaire
When? Réserve naturelle Gault is open every day of the year/ November to March, 8am to 4pm/ March to November, 8am to 6pm/ April 16 to August 31, 9am to 7:30pm.
How? online reservation only, $8.78 for adults and free for children
Happy hiking on Mont Saint-Hilaire…