A Match Made in Heaven
By: Matt Lester
If what you’re about to read sounds familiar, it’s probably because year after year we keep returning to the Lanaudiere region of Quebec for incredible hospitality, breath-taking scenery and seemingly endless, groomed snowmobile trails.
This year was even more special as we explored new territory, found an incredible “hidden gem” to lay our heads down and were blessed with more snow than we’ve seen in years.
Just an hour and a half drive north of Montreal is the picturesque Quebec town of Ste.-Emelie-de-L’Energie and the charming resort, Auberge du Vieux Moulin. If you can’t pronounce the town or the hotel, no worries, however you still need to do yourself a favor and visit.
If wide, peanut-butter-like trails, an abundance of snow and snowmobile-friendly surroundings are right up your alley then make your next trip one you’ll never forget and visit this unique destination. It looks like they could have snow well into April so there’s still time to book something this season.
Auberge du Vieux Moulin is a hidden gem and may be one of Quebec’s best kept secrets as far as snowmobile destinations go. Owner and Chef-extraordinaire of the Auberge du Vieux Moulin, Yves Marcoux, and his vivacious wife Sylvie serve up hospitality like no other place we’ve visited to date.
These snowmobile-loving owners work with the throttle wide open day and night, seven days a week in order to give each and every guest a memorable experience. Yves serves up some of the best food you’ll ever taste while Sylvie cheerfully goes out of her way to make you feel as comfortable as you do in your own home.
A recent renovation includes an indoor salt-water pool, indoor hot-tub and three more outdoor hot-tubs. Each room has a gas fireplace and satellite television. You can rent sleds (we rented new Ski-Doo REV XP 600’s) right there and Yves has even prepared several different snowmobile routes of varying distances that begin right at the resort.
You can always do what we did and grab a Lanaudiere snowmobile map and make your own tour. The trail leaves right from the door of the Auberge du Vieux Moulin and ample signage will bring you back with a smile on your face when you’re ready to call it a day.
The Auberge du Vieux Moulin is truly a snowmobiler’s paradise however there’s also a long list of winter activities like skating, tubing, skiing and ice fishing to mix up the entertainment. One thing’s for sure; they love snowmobilers here and snowmobilers love this place.
We’ve already made arrangements to return next year.
Visit http://www.auberge-lanaudiere.com and call Auberge du Vieux Moulin at 1-866-884-0211.
Visit Tourism Lanaudiere’s web site at www.snowmobilecountry.ca.
