A 44 km loop from the P3 lot at the southern entrance to Gatineau Park, climbing from the first kilometre, with a detour into Chelsea for coffee and the long haul up to Champlain Lookout before the descent home.
Distance
44 km
Elevation
730 m
Ride time
1.5–2.5 hr
Difficulty
Moderate
The route
About this ride
Four hours in the car from Toronto, and by the descent we had already decided we would come back.
We parked at P3, the lot at the southern entrance off Boulevard Gamelin, and there is no flat warm up. The Gatineau Parkway starts climbing within the first kilometre and keeps going in pieces for the first ten, gaining a couple of hundred metres before it drops down toward Old Chelsea. It is a real climb, and riding it without traffic coming past changes how it feels.
Chelsea sits just outside the park's main entrance and is a short detour off the route, which is where we stopped for coffee at Café Les Saisons. Leaving the village the route turns back into the park and onto the longest climb of the day, roughly ten kilometres of steady gaining up to Champlain Lookout at around 340 metres. The lookout sits on top of the Eardley Escarpment, which rises about 270 metres off the floor of the Ottawa Valley and runs for more than thirty kilometres west. From there it is a long descent with rolling sections back to the car. If you would rather ride it as a shorter day, the Chelsea detour and the lookout are the two things worth keeping.
Stops along the way
6 of 6 showing
0 km · Promenade de la Gatineau, off Boulevard Gamelin
Where we left the car, right at the southern entrance to the park. There are toilets, a water fountain and picnic tables, and the route starts the moment you roll out of the lot. Spaces are limited and it fills up at weekends, so get there early or have a second lot in mind.
Open in Maps →Before the ride · National Capital Commission
The reason to ride here. The NCC closes the Gatineau, Champlain and Fortune parkways to private vehicles for set hours on set days, and the schedule changes through the seasons, so check it when you plan the day rather than assuming the hours we rode still apply. Shuttle buses still run on some of those hours.
NCC parkway schedule →~0 to 10 km · Gatineau Parkway
The parkway begins climbing within the first kilometre and works its way up to around 230 metres before dropping toward Chelsea. It comes in pieces rather than one long drag, but there is nothing flat to ease into, so spin the first few minutes easy if you can.
~14 km · 232 chemin Old Chelsea, Chelsea
A short detour off the route into Old Chelsea and the stop we made. Coffee, baked goods made locally, sandwiches and salads, with gluten free and dairy free options, and work by local artists on the walls. Listed hours are 8 to 4 Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays, worth a check before you set off.
Open in Maps →~26 km · Champlain Parkway, Pontiac
The top of the long climb and the highest point of the ride at around 340 metres, sitting on the edge of the Eardley Escarpment with the Ottawa Valley spread out below. A stone wall to lean a bike against, room to sit, and portable toilets in season. Take the time here before you turn for home.
Open in Maps →Either direction · Same loop
The loop works both ways round. Riding it in reverse puts the Champlain Lookout climb early and brings Chelsea later, so the coffee stop falls nearer the end of the ride instead of a third of the way in.
From the ride
More rides
