Trails 4 & 5 at Mont Cascades, a 3 km Hike

I LOVE the hiking trails at Mont Cascades… But I’ve only ever hiked the longest possible route to the top. Recently though, at 38 weeks pregnant, I decided it was time to check out the shortest route. So we put together Trail #4 and #5 for a perfect hike that grabbed us two stunning views, but only clocked in at about 3 km. Not to mention, Trail #5 was gorgeous itself. It had a very wild, rugged feeling despite being one of the closest trails to the Mont Cascades waterpark!

The trails at Mont Cascades are open year-round. Snowshoes are required in the winter, and the views are just as stunning then as they are during the summer and fall.

Quick Facts

Length: 2.7 km
Difficulty: Somewhere between Easy and Moderate (on a scale of easy-moderate-hard)
Trailhead Coordinates: 45.592922, -75.850632
Washroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs Allowed: No
Cell Reception: Good
Wheelchair Accessible: No
Parking: Right at the trailhead.

Getting There

Mont Cascades is only half an hour from Ottawa. The trails there are literally closer than some of the trails in Gatineau Park!

It was impossible to miss Mont Cascades, because the ski chalet and water park were right beside Chemin du Mont Cascades as we drove in.

You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.592922, -75.850632.

The trailhead is at the furthest end of the parking lot from the waterpark. In the warmer months you can park right up beside the trailhead (easily spotted as there’s a large map posted). In the winter you have to park a little further from the trailhead as they don’t plow the whole lot.

Our Route

There are a few different routes you can take up Mont Cascades, but I always choose a route that allows me to get to both lookouts, which is how we landed on Trails #4 and #5 for this trip.

We decided to go up Trail #5, getting the steepest trail out of the way first. Popping onto the trail, we hadn’t walked more than 50 metres when we reached the trail split for #5. Here there was an arrow and a map posted, pointing us in the right direction (which happened to be on our left).

The trail marking at Mont Cascade is really great, and hard to miss. There are big arrows posted along the way that literally point you in the direction that you need to go. To distinguish which trail you’re on, the arrows have numbers written on them. At each trail split there’s a map posted to help you sort out which direction to head in. Which is convenient because there are SO many trails that it would be easy to get turned around without them.

Trail 5

Anyways, the trail immediately became more rugged (and more beautiful) when we turned onto Trail 5. At 300 metres, we walked past the little kids’ bunny hill on our left-hand side. We had already been going uphill a bit, and then we started tog o uphill even more. It felt pretty challenging for me, but probably wasn’t really all that steep.

At .75 km we reached a trail split for Trail 5A. On the map the trail had been drawn in by hand. We stayed straight to stick with the regular Trail 5. Just a little further the view opened up on our right-hand side. There was a little bench nestled into the hill, making this a great spot to stop for a rest (although not as great as the two “official” lookouts).

Lookouts

Trail 5A rejoined us here. Once again, we stayed straight on Trail 5. After hiking 1.14 km we reached the trail split for Trails 4, 5, and 8. That meant that the first lookout was directly ahead of us! It’s not well marked on the maps, but it was just about 50 metres from where we were standing. This lookout is probably my favorite because the view of the Gatineau River is just SO stunning. I love how the river winds gently through the valley, and the view feels like it comes out of nowhere. Here, there was a bench and a picnic table- although every time I’ve gone it’s been so windy that I’m not sure I would want to hunker down for too long.

Heading back to the split, we turned to our left to hop onto Trail #4. We had hiked about 1.75 km before arriving at the second lookout over the Gatineau River. This lookout is also lovely, just not QUITE as stunning as the first. The trail continued on near the front of the lookout. This spot can be tricky to find as there aren’t any markers directing you back into the trees. But essentially, when you approach the lookout the trail will continue on your right-hand side, in front of you.

Taking Trail #4 down was easy as it was less steep and less technical than Trail # 5. At 2.23 km we reached another trail split, with Trail #7 branching off to our left. We turned to the right. Less than 500 metres later we reached the trail split where Trail 3 and 4 parted ways. Trail 3 headed off to the left, and Trail 3 and 4 were together on our right-hand side, bringing us back to the trailhead. This last section of trail was the easiest yet, and was much wider, so we were able to walk side by side for the last little bit.

Trail Thoughts

By the time we arrived back at the parking lot, we had hiked just over 3 km. This took us an hour and a half but that is NOT a good measure of how long it will take you! Not only was I moving very slowly, but we stopped to enjoy the views and take a bunch of pictures along the way.

Once again I was struck by just how beautiful the trails at Mont Cascades are. Considering they’re such a short drive from Ottawa, these are not to be missed! And maybe next time I’ll stop at the waterpark too.

Map and Elevation Gain

Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the Indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.