Trails 5 and 7- A 9k Hike Near Les Refuges Perchés

I had an absolute blast checking out most of the trails at the Parc Eco Touristique de la MRC des Laurentides recently. We were able to rent a “Mont Tremblant Treehouse” through Les Refuges Perchés, so we got to stay right in the park for the weekend. More time exploring!

Before arriving (and even now a little bit), I was totally unclear on what sort of park we were headed to- was it a provincial park? A national park? And how did the Treehouses fit into this whole thing?

What I’ve figured out now (I think) is that MRC basically means a “region.” So the park we were visiting was a regional park, in the Laurentides, not a provincial park. In Quebec, I believe that a lot (if not all) of their provincial parks are called national parks. The staff at the Refuges Perchés were able to explain to me that they are a private business, separate from the park, who rent land from the park.

Regardless of having no idea what was going on, we set out in the direction of Mont Tremblant, looking forward to a weekend of hiking and kayaking. I didn’t bring my dog, although dogs are welcome on all the trails in the park. Sorry pup!

Even before we got there, we knew that we wanted to hike the biggest loop in the park, made up mainly of Trail 5 (Sentier Le Riverain) and Trail 7 (Sentier L’Aventurier). Although we were staying for two nights, we packed up bright and early on a Saturday morning near the end of May. We headed out in time to get on the trails early.

Getting There

The Parc Eco Touristique de la MRC des Laurentides is very close to Mont Tremblant, so it took us just under two hours to drive there. I thought the drive up the 50 was really quite nice, and it only got more beautiful as we approached our exit.

We punched the address for Les Refuges Perchés into our GPS to get there, because it’s inside the park. The address we used was 5000 Chemin du Lac Caribou, Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré, QC J0T 1J2. But you can also use these coordinates to get there: 46.037036, -74.476441.

We found that our GPS signal dropped often as we were driving. Printing out directions ahead of time would have been a great idea, but it was one we hadn’t thought of.

When we arrived at the entrance to the park, there was a very cool, abstract statue of a fish. The sign there announced that we were arriving at the park, but also at Les Refuges Perchés. We drove further into the park and stopped at the first little building that we saw. There was a sign there asking us to do so, and a little parking lot.

We went inside to pay the park fees, and get better acquainted with the area. We paid ten dollars per person to access the park, and had the option of paying by debit, credit, or cash. There was a washroom there, and they also had snacks available, as well as ice cream and beer for after. The staff gave us a map of the trails in the area, and we were off! We were pumped to check out the trails, and our Treehouse.

The Trailhead

There was a split in the road at the main office, and we turned to the right to head deeper into the park and get closer to the trailhead. Turning left would have taken us to the campground section of the park. It was easy to tell when we had arrived at the main pavilion, where the trailhead started, because the road opened up into a large parking space.

Directly in front of the main pavilion were signs that pointed to each of the different trails in the area. There was also a map there. In order to complete the largest loop available in the park, we wanted to combine trails 5 and 7. Originally, we had wanted to complete the trail counter clockwise. Trail 7 was marked as being difficult, while trail 5 was marked as being easier. Our thinking was that it would be best to get the harder section done early.

Standing and facing the signs (and the pavilion), I was SURE that in order to complete the trail clockwise, we should turn to our left to get to trail 7. But, the sign said to go right for Trail 7. I put aside my doubts and we headed off in that direction. We passed behind a little bathroom building, and got onto a wide path that passed beside the cart return for Les Refuges Perchés (they give you carts to lug your stuff into the Treehouses when you rent one).

The Route

The trail was fairly wide for the first 0.5 kilometres, and was made up of gravel and rock. After 0.5 kilometres, we came to a large sign at the side of the trail that showed which trails were in which direction. The sign was pointing us in the direction of Trail 7, so we turned right and crossed over a small boardwalk. After this point, the trail became a single track, and we had to walk single file. We were headed in the direction of Trail 7, but for now, we were on Trail 5.

We started catching a few views of the lake on our left hand side after we had been hiking for 1.5 kilometres. So far, the elevation gain had been minimal. There were small hills here and there to keep things interesting.

What also kept things interesting was the VERY old bridge we had to cross at the 2 kilometre mark on our hike. It crossed over part of the forest where water ran downhill, forming a lovely (tiny) little waterfall. This bridge definitely looked more suspect than others I’ve crossed in the past, but it managed to hold all three of us and we made our way quickly across.

Views of Lac du Cordon

Roughly 200 metres past the waterfall bridge, we hiked past a split in the trail where Trail 8 branched off of it. 200 metres past that, we approached an absolutely stunning view across Lac du Cordon. We had reached the northern shore of the lake, and it truly was beautiful there. Not only was there a great view, but there was a roofed structure with benches that would have been a perfect spot for lunch, or to rest before turning around and hiking back (if we had been looking for a shorter hike).

We arrived at the start of Trail 7 after hiking for 2.5 kilometres in total. Things were about to get difficult! According to the map that is- it wasn’t actually that bad.

If we had wanted to complete the loop for Trail 5, we would have turned left there, but we headed straight for Trail 7.

We started to gain a bit of elevation almost as soon as Trail 7 started, but they were still just small hills.

We had hiked for 4.5 kilometres in total when we passed another split in the trail to our left. There was a little path built in at this point that would have allowed us to head back to Trail 5. Truth be told, the only REAL elevation gain on this hike occurred after this split in the path, so if we had been hoping to avoid that, it would have been wise of us to take the out. We didn’t.

Trail Markers- Just Kidding

It’s worth mentioning that we had been hiking for about 5.5 kilometres before we saw anything that resembled a real trail marker. Occasionally, we had seen hunter’s tape marking the trail, but we were not relying on this to guide us. Despite the lack of trail markers, the trail was still easy to follow because the foot path was well worn.

There was also really good signage at every point on the trail that there was a split. At no point at a split were we confused about what direction to head in, because the signs were super clear, and literally pointed us in the right direction.

At the 5.5 kilometre mark, there was a HUGE rock on the trail, and we had to go around it on the left hand side to connect back to the trail. We crossed over an old logging road after hiking for 6 kilometres. Then, there were trail markers! I’m talking trail markers on almost every other tree. Better late than never, I guess.

We started to gain some more serious elevation gain at this point too. We were heading uphill pretty consistently for the next 1.5 kilometres. At one point on the trail, it was SO uphill that there had actually been a rope installed that we used to help pull ourselves up.

We had held off on our lunch break, and it paid off! Nearing the highest point on the trail, we found ourselves with some pretty great views. There were a few good rocks to sit on while we enjoyed them. We stopped for a break around the 7 kilometre mark, enjoying the views, the breeze, and the sunshine.

Heading Back

After hiking for 7.6 kilometres, we crossed back over the logging road that we had come across before. Another half a kilometre brought us to the end of Trail 7. Again, the signage was great at the split, and we knew that we had arrived at Trail 4. We chose to turn to our left, wanting to take the shorter section of the loop back to where we had started.

The section of Trail 4 that we covered had some really beautiful views. There was also a great boardwalk over the stream that connects Lac du Cordon to Lac à la Truite. At the end of the boardwalk, we crossed over a set of stairs. Not long after, we saw a beautiful new bridge, but headed away from it, in the direction of where we had begun our hike. We passed by the main dock, where the canoes and kayaks that are available for rent were stored. After one final little hill, we were back at the parking lot.

Thoughts on this Trail

All in all, my GPS tracker recorded this route as being 9 kilometres long. We were able to cover that distance in three hours and fifty-five minutes (and we had someone who was completely new to hiking with us).

This trail afforded a few really nice views of the surrounding area. It was a great length for a half day hike (especially if you’re staying in the area and not driving both ways in a day). Despite it being listed as difficult by the park, it really wasn’t too challenging. And having the option of returning to Trail 5 partway through Trail 7 makes for a nice safety net, because this allows you to skip the section of the trail that has the most elevation gain.

The trail maintenance in the park isn’t as great as it could be. In fact, things are so run down in spots that it gives the place a really neat, almost abandoned vibe. It’s easy to tell though that staff are working hard at fixing up the place. So you should totally go, pay the park fee, and support the work they’re doing!

Not to mention, on warmer days, a dip in the lake off the main dock at the end of the hike would be amazing.

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!

Maps 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.

Gear I Brought

• Wool Socks
• Hiking Boots
• Hiking Shorts/Top
• Coghlan’s Mosquito Head Net
• Hydration Pack
• 2 Litre Bladder
• Nalgene 32 Ounce Bottle
• Hiking Poles
• First Aid Kit (with Tick Removal Tool)
• S.O.L. Heat Reflective 2-Person Emergency Bivvy
• Compass
• Coghlan’s Bear Bell
• Bug Lotion
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• Cell Phone
• Olympus TG-4 Waterproof Digital Camera
• Trail Map
• Lunch and Snacks