Where to see fall colours in La Petite-Nation

Every fall it's the same story. Half of Ottawa and Montréal heads for Tremblant, crawls up Highway 117 and spends the day in traffic. Meanwhile, in La Petite-Nation, the maples turn exactly the same shade of red, and you can park wherever you like.

Here's where we go when the leaves start to turn: lookouts, drives, trails, and a few places to eat along the way.

First, timing

We won't give you a date, because it shifts every year with the cold nights and the rain. One rule of thumb: the north end of the MRC, around Duhamel and Lac-des-Plages, often turns before the villages along the Ottawa River. If it's still green in Papineauville, head north.

One more thing: October is also hunting season, and several trails close in part. We flag them below.

Lookouts

The Mont Grand-Pic tower, Ripon

If you only do one, do this one. At the Parc des Montagnes Noires, you climb Mont Grand-Pic, 426 metres, then a 12-metre observation tower. The view goes all the way around, and in fall it's a sea of colour to the horizon. On a clear day you can see Tremblant. Paid parking, dogs allowed.

Belvédère Denis-Papin, Lac-Simon

Free, easy, and the whole of Lac Simon below you, above Baie Creuse. It's near 2000, chemin du Tour-du-Lac. Get there late in the afternoon when the sun hits the far shore.

The Panorama loop, Forêt Bowman

The name says it all. The intermediate Panorama loop looks out over the Lièvre River and the Escalier, Desjardins and du Brochet lakes. Four bodies of water ringed by hardwoods in October is hard to beat. The park's summer season runs to October 31.

The Albatros lookouts, Val-des-Bois

For serious walkers. The Sentier de l'Albatros runs 19.5 km to Lac Écho, and the two lookouts over Val-des-Bois are one kilometre from the end. Heads up: it closes during deer season. Check first.

The short ones

• Allons au bois, Chénéville: 3 km up to a lookout over the village. Locals say the view is better in November, once the leaves are down. Go twice and decide for yourself.
• Mont-Salettin, Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette: about 200 steps up to the cross, with a view over the village and Route 309.
• Parcours Louis-Joseph-Papineau, Saint-André-Avellin: two lookouts along about ten kilometres of stone-dust trail. Gorgeous by bike in October. The Saint-Sixte end closes during big-game season.

Drives

Not in the mood to walk? La Petite-Nation does very well from the car with the windows down.

• Route 321, north from Papineauville. It leaves Route 148, runs through Saint-André-Avellin, past Lac Simon by Chénéville and up to Duhamel. The scenery goes from fields to hills to forest. Our number-one fall drive.
• Route 309, along the Lièvre. From Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette to Val-des-Bois, with the river beside you most of the way.
• Route 317, Ripon to Saint-Sixte. Quieter, with farms and rolling hills, and farm stands in season.
• Route 148, along the Ottawa. Thurso to Montebello. Less forest, more river and villages.

Old forests

For a different kind of colour, darker and mossier:

• Forêt-la-Blanche in Mayo: 2,052 hectares, about 12.5 km of rustic trail and trees over 400 years old. Admission with online tickets; published prices don't agree, so check their site for this season's fees. No dogs, even on a leash.
• The Château Montebello golf course: Stanley Thompson's 1929 layout was cut through old forest, and in October the fairways turn red and gold. Worth a look even if you don't play.

Food stops along the way

A colour tour without a food stop is half a colour tour. A few ideas en route:

• Coopérative Place du Marché in Ripon: the Saturday-morning public market, May to October. Perfect before heading up to the Montagnes Noires. On Thanksgiving weekend, Ripon throws its Pumpkin Ball harvest party, with a special market.

• Ferme à Sabourin, Ripon, on the same land since 1927: chickens, lamb and turkeys in the fall, to order.
• Les Pommes perdues in Chénéville: cider made from wild apples picked along back roads. Doesn't get more autumn than that.
• Boucherie Les Produits David in Chénéville: tourtières, pâtés, cipaille and sugar pie for supper at the cottage. We're regulars there, full disclosure.
• Domaine Mont-Vézeau in Ripon: a 75-acre vineyard at the foot of Mont Vézeau.

Our perfect day

Start at the Saturday market at the Place du Marché in Ripon, from 9 a.m. Give it an hour to walk the stalls and fill the picnic basket. The market runs until Thanksgiving, so it's now or next year.

Then head to Parc des Montagnes Noires, just down the road. The climb up Mont Grand-Pic takes about two hours return with stops. Eat at the top: the lookout has a covered shelter with a few picnic tables. The observation tower is for the view after dessert, not for lunch.

Around 1 p.m., drive to the Denis-Papin lookout in Lac-Simon. It's roughly an hour. Lac Simon below, the hills on fire all around: that's your photo of the day.

To finish, about 45 minutes to Chénéville and a stop at Boucherie Les Produits David for a tourtière for supper. A full day, but you won't be rushing.

Bring an extra layer. On top of a tower at 426 metres, the October wind has its own ideas about comfort.

For more trails, see our 12 favourite hikes.

RiponLac-SimonBowmanVal-des-BoisChénévilleSaint-André-AvellinSaint-SixteNotre-Dame-de-la-SaletteMontebelloDuhamelMayo

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