Our snowmobile experience in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean

Hey, hi, this is Melanie. I rarely take over Sylvain’s keyboard, since he’s usually the one writing, but this time I was the one who got to try this awesome activity: snowmobiling in Saguenay! This article comes last in a series of all the activities we got to try during this beautiful Canadian winter. I invite you to read our ice fishing experience or the snowshoe hike in the Monts Valin.

For a bit of backstory, I’d already had the chance to go snowmobiling last year with Louis in the Laurentians, after winning a game of drawing straws against Sylvain, haha. This year, it was once again a debate about who would get to do it, because Teo is still too little to go on one, so someone has to watch him. But this year, I won again, so I’m the one doing it—much to Louis’s delight at getting some mother-daughter time! And Teo will get the chance to take a short snowmobile ride with the people we met during our dog sledding experience in Saguenay.

Alright, let me take you along to discover our wonderful experience!

After an hour’s drive from our house, we arrive up above the village of La Baie, at the end of the Saguenay Fjord. The meeting point was in the parking lot of the Hotel Les Battures. We get there and clearly it’s freezing early in the morning! We leave Teo and Sylvain in the lobby of this lovely hotel. They won’t have it too bad with a great view of the fjord. Anyway, our guide, Charles, welcomes us and takes us into a room for the formalities: safety instructions, deductible, and documents to sign.

Once that step is done, it’s time for gear. Suits, boots, balaclavas, helmets with visors… everything is provided on site (except the neck gaiter, which we already had with us anyway). We’re used to renting our gear from Tuque and Bicycle Experience and honestly we recommend them 100%. Feel free to read our article on the topic! Seeing our gear, the guide confirmed it was good quality. He simply swapped out my coat and provided fingered gloves for better control of the controls.

Anyway, here we are, geared up! We head back up and leave with a small group, spread across several snowmobiles, then off to the hangar to check out the machines.

Before leaving, Charles explains how the snowmobile works, including how to accelerate with your thumb (and not a handle) for more safety, the kill switch to activate at every stop, the parking brake, and the position and balance to adopt in turns.

He also told us to be careful in certain turns, because there can be ice, and he recommends slowing way down, to as low as 10 km/h, to avoid any loss of traction or going off the trail. So you really have to watch your speed and anticipate your lines. We then do a short test loop in the parking lot, with a few turns, to make sure everyone has the handling down—honestly it goes smoothly.

You should know we’re going to use electric snowmobiles, quiet and with no gasoline smell, with a stated range of about 80 km. For a guided excursion like the one we’re doing, we won’t have to worry about fuel management! In fact, we’re really surprised because they’re truly quiet compared to gas snowmobiles. You can barely hear the other machines coming, so you really have to pay attention to your surroundings and the other snowmobiles in the group to avoid any risk of an accident. Anyway, once we’ve gone over everything together, we finally head out onto the snowy local trails! Louis is bouncing with excitement!

Very quickly, we leave the open areas to enter the magnificent boreal forests of Saguenay. Pines, birches, abundant snow! The scenery is worthy of a Canadian postcard. We ride on an official snowmobile trail, Trail 83, which is part of the vast Quebec network that can connect different regions (all the way to the Laurentians).

We alternate between lots of climbs and descents in the pine forests, quite a few winding turns, and several narrower sections between the fir trees. On several occasions, we cross paved roads and a few very bumpy areas. Overall, riding is really accessible even for a first experience.

Honestly, I really loved driving for more than an hour, and Louis loved it. The snowmobile is stable and easy to handle. The only thing I found a bit less enjoyable was the guide’s speed, around 50–55 km/h. For a discovery excursion, you’re sometimes more focused on keeping up than fully enjoying the scenery.

Fortunately, several stops were planned, notably to check that everyone is doing well, make sure no one is cold, take a few photos, and explain a bit about the route. At one stop, Louis’s hands were very cold, and the guide immediately gave him hand warmers to slip into his gloves—that’s really nice, honestly.

Louis sat behind me for the whole excursion. I really thought it was nice to ask him what he thought. Here’s how he felt. “It was so beautiful. We could see the forest really well and the tracks in the snow. I saw gray birds as big as chickens—the guide said they were probably partridges. At one point, I also saw a little bucket attached to a tree to collect maple sap. My fingers and toes were really cold, but otherwise it was fantastic. It’s really an activity to do in Canada.”

After about an hour of making our way along the trails, we turn around to come back the same way. In total, the outing lasts about two hours, if you include the briefing and gear, the driving introduction, the guided ride, and the breaks.

On the way back, we had to wait a few minutes: a forestry tractor was cutting down and moving logs on the trail. While it pushed and loaded the wood, the passage was blocked, which delayed us slightly. But in the end, it added a touch of authenticity to the experience, and I loved smelling the freshly cut wood in the heart of the snowy forest.

The excursion includes almost all extreme-cold-weather gear, namely: helmet with visor, balaclava, extreme-cold-weather coat, insulated pants, boots, and gloves. Note: the neck gaiter / neck warmer is not provided and must be brought personally (it’s impossible to wear a beanie under the helmet). The helmet visor can be lowered to block the wind—essential in extreme cold. We used it almost the whole time.

We booked this activity through our partner Manawa, which offers different snowmobile excursions in Quebec, including in the Saguenay region. If you enjoyed this great experience, I truly invite you to book your activity!

See you soon for a new article,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I had the opportunity to explore the beauty of this country I love on several different occasions and in different places (Canadian Rockies, the Island of Newfoundland for 1 month, Yukon and Québec)!

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