Quebec: Jacques-Cartier Park snowshoe tour with lunch

4.85

(52 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to feel so awake at 9am, but there’s something about leaving Quebec City and watching the city fade into snowy forests that just shakes off any sleepiness. Our guide, Marie, greeted us right on the minivan — she had this way of making everyone laugh even before we’d left the parking lot. I kept glancing out the window as we got closer to Jacques-Cartier National Park; the snow looked almost blue in the morning light, which I guess you only notice when you’re not rushing somewhere.

The first few steps in those snowshoes felt clumsy (I definitely did a little penguin shuffle), but Marie just grinned and said everyone does that at first. The air was sharp and cold — not in a bad way, more like it woke up your whole face. We stopped often, partly to catch our breath and partly because Marie would point out animal tracks or tell us stories about how people survived winters here before central heating was even a thing. At one point I swear I heard a woodpecker hammering away somewhere above us, though nobody else seemed to notice. Maybe I imagined it.

Lunch was inside this big heated tipi tent that smelled faintly of woodsmoke and soup. There was something comforting about sitting together with mittens off, hands wrapped around mugs of hot chocolate while steam curled up into the canvas roof. Someone tried to say “merci” with a mouthful of bread and we all cracked up — it’s funny how quickly strangers become friends when you’re all thawing out together. The hike back felt easier somehow, maybe because we’d warmed up or maybe just because we knew there’d be another hot drink waiting at the end.

I still think about that quiet moment when everything went still except for our boots crunching on snow — no cars, no phones buzzing, just white trees and our own breath hanging in the air. If you’re looking for a day trip from Quebec City that actually feels like winter (in a good way), this snowshoe tour is it.