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Have you ever been biking in Gatineau Park? I went recently, and I loved it. I’m definitely going to try to do it more often.
About a month ago, I came up with the brilliant idea of biking all of Trail 1 in Gatineau Park, and set out on a beautiful day in mid-September to do it.
If you’ve ever biked the entire length of trail 1, I applaud you! I COMPLETELY underestimated how challenging I would find this ride. Spoiler alert: I did not bike it end to end on the first go.
The Eastern part of this trail is beautiful, and it is A LOT of work in a short distance. So brutal, but so worth it.
Trail 1 is typically open for biking from May 15th to November 30th. It is weather dependent though, so if it were to snow before November 30th, the trail wouldn’t be accessible for biking. There’s still time to get out there!
Don’t be fooled by this picture- the trail is MUCH harder than this looks.
Getting There
Trail 1 starts at the Old Chelsea Picnic Area. This area is a lovely spot. There’s a lot of parking there, as well as recycling and garbage disposals, a washroom, picnic tables, and charcoal grills.
This is a fantastic spot to have lunch and explore a little bit. There are a bunch of trails branching out from the picnic area that can take you on a stroll through the woods. There’s also a set of stairs that you can take down to a bridge spanning the Chelsea River, a great spot to watch a mini waterfall.
Little waterfall by Old Chelsea Picnic Area.
If you REALLY want to treat yourself, there’s a restaurant right beside this picnic area. The prices were too high for my liking, but the grounds of the restaurant are nice to walk around. Make sure to check out the smokehouse in the back.
You can use these coordinates to get to the Old Chelsea Picnic Area: 45.501621, -75.812915. There’s a huge sign by the side of the road that will let you know you’ve arrived. It’s impossible to miss.
Driving into the parking lot, the start of Trail 1 is to your left. You can’t miss this either- where a strip of gravel starts in the grass and heads up a little hill towards the street is where you’ll begin. I didn’t bother hopping on my bike until I had crossed the road. There’s a pedestrian crossing section here and the cars were pretty good about stopping to let me cross.
The Trail
This trail is entirely uphill. At least, that’s what it felt like at first. I set out into the forest on a wide trail made up of gravel and rock. This trail winds through the forest in a way that feels really fun (on the way back, when it’s downhill!).
For the first 3.5 kilometres, it really was all uphill (see elevation chart at the end of this report). I gained about 200 metres of elevation during this first stretch. I did the math on it based on what I learned here, and it turns out the grade is 5.7%. No wonder I was sweating and swearing! I quickly realized that I likely would not make it all the way to the end of the trail (Trail 1 ends at the fire tower at the top of the Luskville Falls trail).
Near the beginning of Trail 1.
Gatineau Park is typically really well signed, and there are maps available at access points to the trails. I was able to stop, check one of the maps, and come up with a new plan for the day early on in the ride. I decided that the Champlain Lookout would make for a pretty good destination, and carried on in that direction.
After reaching the top of the never ending hill, I got a bit of a break and headed (mostly) downhill for about three kilometres.
Just before reaching the Champlain Lookout, I travelled back uphill for two kilometres, but it felt much more gentle.
The view from the Champlain Lookout was totally worth it! What a beautiful spot. There’s parking all along this lookout, so you share the view with people who drove up. I think that sometimes makes it even more rewarding though, because you know they missed out on the scenic route there.
The Champlain Lookout.
What Bike to Bring
Trail 1, from the beginning all the way to the Champlain Lookout, was fairly wide. In most spots it was at least a metre wide, and made of gravel. As I got further away from the Picnic Area, there were more rocks to contend with, and less gravel, but it was still manageable on my hybrid bike. I absolutely would not bring a road bike onto this trail. The steepness of the hills, combined with the loose rock in some spots, and the sandy/softer areas in others, would make it too easy to lose control on a road bike. Not to mention losing a tire.
Different Route Options
As I biked along Trail 1 to the Champlain lookout, I was surprised by how much was going on alongside the trail. Fairly often there was a different trail branching off, a parking lot that could be used to access Trail 1, or a shelter or lookout to grab my attention. There are a ton of options for the Eastern part of Trail 1 as it relates to choosing your route. I’ve listed points of interest below based on distance from the Old Chelsea Picnic Area, as well as the Champlain Lookout. There are lots of ways that you could choose to make this route shorter, if you wanted to. No one would blame you!
| Point of Interest | Distance from Old Chelsea Picnic Area | Distance from Champlain Lookout |
| Old Chelsea Picnic Area | 0 km | 9.8 km |
| Pingouin Picnic Area | 2.0 km | 7.8 km |
| Wattsford’s Lookout | 3.3 km | 5.7 km |
| Trail to Skyline Lookout (No bikes allowed- 700 metres to lookout) | 3.4 km | 5.6 km |
| Trail to Koegan Shelter | 6.7 km | 3.1 km |
| Koegan Parking Lot | 6.8 km | 3.0 km |
| Shilly Shally Shelter | 7.3 km | 2.5 km |
| Huron Shelter | 8.4 km | 1.4 km |
| Trail Three (to Étienne-Brûlé Lookout) | 8.7 km | 1.1km |
| Split to the Champlain Lookout | 9.4 km | 0.4 km |
| Champlain Lookout | 9.8 km | 0 km |
The Shilly-Shally Shelter. It’s a feeding station in the winter!
Getting Back
I spent quite a bit of time at the Champlain lookout, taking in the view and just relaxing.
Heading back on Trail 1 towards the Picnic Area was MUCH EASIER. For the most part, I was losing elevation and not having to work too hard. On the way back, I noticed a lot of signs posted warning about steep hills. These seemed pretty accurate to me, and I would recommend slowing down when you see these (but I’m kind of a chicken when it comes to going downhill).
Keep an eye out for these signs. The hills really ARE steep.
All in, I had biked 19.6 kilometres out and back. It took me two hours and fifty-three minutes, but I was going SLOW. And I took my time at the Champlain lookout.
Despite (or maybe because of) how challenging this trail was, I loved it! When I left, I was really excited to come back and check out the Western part of the trail. If you’re looking for a lot of work in a short distance, whether biking, running, or hiking, Trail 1 is for you.
I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!
Map and Elevation Gain
My map of the eastern section of Trail 1.
Elevation gain and loss for my trip on Trail 1.
Check Out the Other Trails We’ve Biked Near Ottawa!
- The Western Part of Trail 1 in Gatineau Park
- The Huron Trail in Gatineau Park
- The Osgoode Link Pathway South of Ottawa
- The 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail– this one’s a little further, in Gananoque!
Gear I Brought
- Hybrid bike
- Helmet
- Bike water bottle
- Pannier for rear rack
- Nalgene 32 Ounce Bottle
- Phone
- Tire repair kit
- Extra inner tube
- Tire pump
- Tire levers
- Multi-tool
- Lunch
- Light jacket
Tried it once from the Champlain lookout to the fire tower. Lots of fun. Never done it from Chelsea. Should try it
You totally should! The first part of the trail has a MASSIVE hill (massive to me anyways) near the beginning, whereas beyond Champlain you get some breaks but there are more hills! 🙂
I am afraid I have not made it past Champlain lookout after starting in Chelsea….. (last attempt was last Sat)
It is one ‘heck’ of a workout.
It is also a good ride from P7 Parking (up trial 30) to the Wattsford Lookout then on to Champlain if you want to cut out the worst of the 3 km climb.
(it is a 1km climb instead that is not as steep)
These routes are also now mapped on TrailForks
I can’t wait to try the Western half of this ride after reading your report.