Montreal - Pte. Fortune: a 2-day outing (June 24 weekend, 1993)

1. Follow the Route to Dorion through Ste. Anne, as described elsewhere.

2. As soon as you come off the bridge into Dorion, the first intersection is St. Charles, which you take to the right. It soon becomes a quiet, narrow street which goes through Old Dorion and Veaudreuil, until it breaks out into the open sunshine by shopping centres as it crosses the Highway 40. Continuing on straight. It's now Avenue Roche. Followed to the end, there is a turn off for Veaudreuil-sur-le-lac. Keep on the main road as it turns to the left. Then, quickly after, there is a turn off to the right for Chemin de l'anse. Follow the latter as it exits to the right.

3. Ch. de l'anse is a quiet, simple road that parallels the water of Lac des deux montagnes. With field glasses one can look across the lake to the beach at Oka and see the hordes of people, or spy the Trappist monastery in between the Two Mountains.

After winding around a wide cove, high above the water's edge [Polluted, dirty water I am afraid to say. Pollution, it seems, can come from farm run-off as well as factories. Each farmer's ditch empties into a pipe under the road which disgorges the dirtiest, filthiest smelling water possible into the lake.

At a point, the roat leaves the water's edge and becomes a simple farm road. Trees and villas to the right, on the water's edge, and farms to the left.

4. When Ch. de l'anse reaches the town of Hudson, it becomes "Main Road". After a long while winding through the country mansions of this tiny English enclave, one comes to the centre of the village - a quaint little town.

If arriving before 4:00, stop in for lunch at the "Tea Room at L'Eggs", a delightful old English style tea room, like the one thaty used to be at Ogilvie's.

There are some mild hills at Hudson, as the road rises up above the water.

For those wishing to stop here, there is a ferry linking Hudson and Oka, probably the fastest way to Oka from West-End Montreal..

5. Leaving Hudson, the quiet road eventually ends at Rte. 342. You're 6km east of Rigaud. Take the main road (uninteresting in the extreme) on into Rigaud (under the Hwy 40). Turn right at the centre of town, where the Rte. 325 joins. Continue on the Rte. 342 as it leaves Rigaud and crosses the Hwy 40 again.

[An interesting road, for future exploration, is "Chemin du haut de la chute", which follows the Rigaud river upriver on the north shore.]

6. Crossing the Trans-Canada (the 40), just follow the signs for Pointe-Fortune and the ferry.

There is an Ontario provincial campground just across the Ontario line at Carillon (on the south shore). About 6km before Pte-Forturne is a private campground, where I stayed (not highly recommended). There is a much nicer private campground, though small, on the Carillon (Quebec) side.

7. It took me 6 hrs at roughly 15km per hour to reach Pte. Fortune.

8. The ferry across the river is $ 1.50. At Carillon, Quebec visit the locks (one single twenty metre lock!) and the power dam. Admire the scenery and picnic at the park. There are no restuarants or services worth mentioning in either Pte. Fortune or Carillon.

Nearby, however, is St. Andre' [e' = e + accent aigu] (6km, 20 minutes from Carillon), where there are restuarants. I ate at a small greasy spoon called "Chez De'de'" It was pretty good.

Lachute, with full services, is another 10 km from St. Andre.

9. The return trip, along the North Shore, is via Rte. 344. I had breakfast at St. Andre'. One parallels la rivie`re du nord for a short distance, and then the road turns inland. There are a few moderate climbs, but one is rewarded by various views of the river as it widens into The Lake of Two Mountains

10. At the village of St. Placide, a side trip to the public wharf is worth the trip.

I pedalled by Pte. des anglais, but I feel that a side trip down there might well have been worth it as well.

I went through Kanesetake and the Pine Woods, the site of the 1989 Mohawk uprising and the barricade. The Pine Woods are certainly worth defending. The very thought of cutting these magnificent trees down to make way for a golf course is shocking. I, of course, sympathize with the Mohawks. The site of the barricade was well chosen, looking out over the town of Oka from on high. The SQ who stormed it, with the regretable loss of life, obviously had no military training. One could have stood off an army from that vantage point.

11. At Oka, one can visit the wharf and ferry terminus. About 1 km east of Oka is the entrance to the Provincial Park, with beach and campground. Thence, if one choose to follow it, is bicycle path on into St. Eustache.

Should one remain on the Rte 344, the road climbs up the Two Mountains, where one can visit the Trappist Monastery and buy some world-famous Oka Cheese.

12. See the discussion of Mtl. - Oka for the continuation of the return trip

1. [Early section of this route are along wide, treeless streets which are best done in the cool of the early morning. I suggest leaving at 8:00, no later.]

2a. Access from Montreal West (and points south).

i. Take the Lachine Bicycle Path west to its end at the Dorval line.

ii. Lakeshore Blvd. west through Dorval.

iii. Just after coming into Pointe-Claire, as you're going around the large cove made by Valois Bay, look for Sources Blvd. north. Take Sources Blvd itself, not the route suggested for cars (which is another street.)

iv. Take the pedestrian overpass at Sources and the Hwy 20.

v. Follow Sources Blvd. north past the airport, past the Hwy 40 interchange, past the shopping centres, through D.D.O., and on into Pierrefonds. [About 5km altogether, of wide, busy boulevard.]

vi. Pierrefonds Blvd starts at Sources, heading west. It has a bicycle lane on the north side. Follow Pierrefonds Blvd west several miles, [or continue north to Gouin Blvd.] past St. Jean road, until you come to Boul. Jacques Bizard, which leads to the Ile Bizard Bridge. Turn Right.

2b. Access from Montreal, points north of the Mountain:

i. Follow any road north to Gouin Blvd. Take Gouin Blvd. west. Pass the Lachapelle Bridge at Cartierville. Go through Pierrefonds. Touch Roxboro. Back into Pierrefonds. Then into Ste. Genevieve. Reach Boul. Jacques Bizard and the Ile Bizard Bridge. Turn Right.

Gouin Boulevard is narrow, but has many shady sections.

3. The first street after you cross the bridge is Chemin Cherrier. Turn right to head back east. Follow Chemin Cherrier along the river as it circle the island. At a certain point the main road will curve north and become Chemin de la tour. Follow it.

4. You will reach the Ile Bizard - Laval ferry. It runs continuously and costs but a dollar.

5. Depositing you on the north shore, you are in Laval-sur-le-lac. Take the road (Rue des erables) west about half a block, to rue des peupliers. Turn right and follow rue des peupliers along the railroad track. [An alternative, slightly longer excursion is to follow Rue des erables all the way around, and look at the fancy houses. It meets up with Rue des peupliers again on the north side.

It is about a mile across the island at this point.

6. At the end of Rue des peupliers, turn right and cross the tracks. You come immediately to a dam. Bikes and pedestrians are allowed across the dam.

[If ever the dam is closed, continue east and you'll come to the main St. Eustache bridge, about two miles further east, then you'll have to backtrack on the other side.]

7. Crossing the dam, you'll find yourself in the town of Two Mountains, at the foot of 8th avenue. Follow 8th avenue north, past the main highway (Chemin d'Oka). Follow it as far as Guy Street.

8. Turn left on Guy St. You should soon be going past a large polyvalent high school. At the railroad tracks, Guy St. will end. Here begins the St.-Eustache to Oka bicycle trail, leading off to the right. It crosses the tracks and you head off into the woods.

9. It is 15 km to the other end of this excellent path. After crossing a few busy streets in Two Mountains, it heads along an old railway right-of-way all the way to Oka park. At the point where it crosses Chemin d'Oka is an ice cream stand catering mainly to cyclists.

10. At the Oka Park end, there is a moderate climb. It is not nearly as steep, though, as the main road. At the top of the climb you reach the visitor's centre, at which you can get a map of the park. After the visitor's centre, you get to coast back down the hill, but watch carefully for where the bike path turns right off the road and into the woods.

11. Wear a helmet through the wooded section, as they warn of attacks by eagles nesting in the rocky cliffs above.

12. The path ends at the beach. There are racks to park the bikes. The beach is nice and the water swimable (as far as tests are concerned. I would not swallow any of it!). There are hundreds of campsights if one wants to camp overnight.