Snowmobiling The Trans-Quebec Trail 83 In Saguenay

With silver trails of impeccably groomed powder, pristine forests, and awe-inspiring vistas, Quebec knows a thing or two about snowmobiling.  With the awesome raw power of my Yamaha snowmobile beneath me, I had the chance to experience this first hand with Evasion Sport in Saguenay when I was put behind the “wheel” and ripped it along the Trans-Québec Trail 83.

Snowmobiler’s heaven

What I was most impressed about snowmobiling from the Lac Saint-Jean region of Saguenay was just how well groomed everything was.  Whether it was coming out of our chalet, deep in the woods, or through a local’s farm, every inch of snow along the way was pat down to perfection.  It’s no wonder that people outside the province and even out of the country will travel hours just to ride Quebec’s expansive network of trails.

The trail’s are so legit and professionally maintained (through the volunteer driven FCMQ) that they’re run like mini highways with little signposts that mark Trans-Québec trail number.  Yes they’re actually numbered.

As I asked more questions, the more I realized how huge the network actually is.  The Saguenay-Charelevoix-Québec triangle alone is 5,200 km (3,230 mi.) long.  Link that with the whole province and the number grows to 33,000 km (20,500 mi.).  Now that’s some serious snowmobiling.

Going full throttle with Evasion Sport

There’s nothing like having the power of a vehicle on tank-like tracks and ski’s for directional control at your fingertips – heated fingertips at that.  Evasion Sport was equipped with some fancy snowmobiles that had a bunch of switches and dials that overwhelmed even me.  Back in the day there weren’t things like hand and seat warmers with multiple intensity settings.  Talk about luxury!

I could tell you I took it safe on the trail but then I’d be lying.  Where’d the fun be in humming along at 35 km/h (22 mph)when you can go 80 km/h (50 mph)?  If you watch and listen to the video closely , you’ll notice several massive bursts of speed.  That was me playing around with how fast I could rev the snowmobile up to.

This is also where I throw in the disclaimer “please don’t try this at home kids” because you do have to be pretty careful about keeping your distance from the snowmobile in front of you.  There were a few times I got a little worried because I was getting pretty close the the lead snowmobile and I could feel mine slide forward despite pumping the brakes.

Blazing Trail 83

The 40 km (25 mi.) round trip excursion with Evasion Sport was an absolute thrill.  There was ample time to really get to know our snowmobiles and really open up the engine on straight aways if you wanted to.  I couldn’t complain about the scenery either as we meandered our way through the forest and got jaw-dropping views of Lac Saint-Jean at the top of the hillside.  There and back took a total of 2 hours including a few pitstops along the way to take photos.

To quote Will Smith on this one, “I got to get me one of these!”

This article is part of the Quebec in the Winter series so make sure you check out my other posts on the unique sport of ice canoeing and extreme snow tubing at Valcartier.

Packing List For Snowmobiling

Evasion Sport provides a snowmobiling helmet, jacket, pants and gloves, so these things you don’t necessarily need to pack. Make sure you have layers underneath.  We simply replaced our jackets with theirs and slipped their snowmobiling pants on top of our own snow pants.

• Base Layer: Start your base layer with merino tights, a wool long sleeve shirt and wool socks.
• Mid Layer: You’ll want a fleece top like the Arc’teryx Kyanite AR Hoody. It’s so comfortable, light, highly breathable, velvety soft, and very warm. Pair that with these thicker weight fleece pants and a down jacket. This will easily be one of your favorite pieces of clothing in the winter. I could wear this as a stand-alone piece all day long. In below freezing temperatures, this’ll provide a bulk of the warmth. A Polartec fleece like this Polar BUFF provides the warmth around your neck while the rest of the BUFF gives your face protection. This one we highly recommend as the wind will be hitting you hard!
• Outer Layer: This shell jacket also doubles as a wonderful rain coat. It is superb all-around. Pair it with these shell pants, you’ll be waterproof top to bottom! Again, not totally necessary as the spots complex provides them for you.
• Hat and Gloves: A must-have, and while you’d think for really cold weather you might need something extra, but your standard toque (what we call a beanie in Canada) is totally enough. If your head gets really cold though you can always layer with this layering beanie. The layering continues with this nifty glove system that has roots in the military but really taken up by the photography community. This liner glove has a pocket for hand warmers and is touch screen compatible. Throw a pair of The Heat Company Shell Full Leather gloves on top, which open up to reveal the liner gloves so you have full access to your fingers.
• Shoes: These Sorel Glacier XT or Caribou Wool Boot are fully waterproof and rated for -32°C (-25.6°F).

This trip to Saguenay, Quebec was sponsored by the Tourisme Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean and Tourisme Québec, however the opinions expressed in this post are my own.