Travel Eye on Eastern Townships (Quebec, Canada)

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Overview:

The Eastern Townships are a real Garden of Eden for nature lovers! Hiking, cycling and horseback-riding trails abound in this holiday haven. There are numerous golf courses, and enormous lakes, perfect for swimming or boating, are everywhere you look! In the southern part of the region , the Appalachian mountain chain is a hotspot for hikers and skiers. Here and there, long rivers flow under old covered bridges. Picturesque villages with Anglo-Saxon charm flourish with theatre, art galleries and antique shops. Victorian-style houses have been converted into quaint inns. Country-style restaurants, sugar shacks, vineyards and cider houses pepper this land blessed by nature, offering tourists pastoral getaways!

There are wide, open spaces aplenty in the Eastern Townships (Cantons-de-l'Est). The Parc national du Mont-Mégantic , whose mountain is one of the highest in the region, features a large astronomical observatory . The Parc national du Mont-Orford and the Parc d'environnement naturel de Sutton invite you to use their hiking trails and ski slopes. The Parc de la Gorge-de-Coaticook has a 169-metre (185-yd.) suspended footbridge (the longest in the world) that is sure to take your breath away.

Locality:

The Eastern Townships is located in Canada in a huge section of Quebec, strung out along the American border, fundamentally beginning at Lake Champlain. It stretches as far eastwards as the Quebec-Maine border (not far from the Chaudiere River) and as far north as Drummondville. It's made up of all the land south of the St. Lawrence River which was not granted under the French seigneurial system.

Entertainment/Facilities/Attractions/Things to do:

The Eastern Townships is all about the outdoors. There are four provincial parks, several significant regional parks, as well as ZEC's and nature centers. Given the vast stands of maple, the leaf viewing in Autumn is amongst the very best in the east (this statement makes for some great arguments - forewarned is forearmed). Each year many of the ski hills put on a leaf festival, with the areas colours begging you to catch a ride on the ski lifts to the top of the mountains for a better view.

Mountain Bikers have several options here, including one of the east's finest trail systems on Mont-Bromont. The hill is a pioneer, having catered to bikers for years .

The lift served trail system is extensive, well maintained and extremely well designed. The mountain has hosted the World Mountain Bike Championships, as well as several cross-country and downhill World Cups.

Hikers and Backpackers are well served by the Township's trails. The Sentier de L'Estrie climbs several of the areas peaks on it's way to join Vermont's Long Trail at the US border in the south. If your favourite sport is Canoeing, there are several rivers to conquer in the region, or you might want to try some canoe camping in Frontenac Provincial Park. Climbers are also in luck with the sport climbing area in Orford and climbing gyms in the City of Sherbrooke.

Winter is one of the best times to visit the region. The area is well known for it's ski and boarding resorts, which include Mont-Sutton, Mount Glen, Mont Orford and Owls Head. There are also endless possibilities for cross country skiing, as well as backcountry hut-to-hut adventure at Mont Megantic Park. Snow Shoeing and Dog Sledding are two other sports garnering a lot of attention and they are increasingly being well represented in the area.