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Best winter activities to do in and around Charlevoix – City of La Malbaie

Photo credit: SEPAQ

With its large snowfalls, La Malbaie and its surrounding areas are ideal locations to fully enjoy the Quebec winter. Discover our list of 9 winter activities to do in the Charlevoix region: off-piste snowmobiling excursions, sea kayaking on the St. Lawrence River, snow sports, spa and relaxation treatments, and much more!

Book a cottage for rent in La Malbaie now to enjoy these activities!

1. Depart for a snowmobile ride with BRP Expérience

Snowmobilers on the trails in La Malbaie

Photo credit: Canopé Média

Who hasn’t dreamt of exploring the hinterland by snowmobile with friends, their significant other, family, or even as a lone ranger?

This dream is now possible thanks to the brand-new snowmobiling adventure packages offered by BRP Expérience.

Whether you’re an experienced snowmobiler or a brand-new fan of this motorized winter sport, you can enjoy the snowy scenery of La Malbaie for half-day, full-day, 2-day and 4-day ski-doo outing adventures.

You can bring your snowmobile or rent one on-site.

2. Bring up the temperature at the Casino de Charlevoix

Casino de Charlevoix in winter

Photo credit: Geneviève Raymond

Don’t feel like freezing your derrière in the outdoors?

You can certainly enjoy yourself while you’re comfortably installed at your Texas Hold’em Poker table at the Casino de Charlevoix.

Open year-round, the casino welcomes visitors from the Malbaie region in a festive setting and lively atmosphere. To perk things up even further, numerous musical performances are offered throughout the year.

Le Saint-Laurent, one of the casino’s three restaurants, will satisfy your appetite with its two- or three-course menu.

End your outing at the casino by visiting Bar 21, which welcomes various comedians, singers and musical bands.

A few chalets for rent in this region

3. Reveal the music lover in you with Domaine Forget de Charlevoix’s music programme

Concert at Domaine Forget de Charlevoix

Photo credit: Le Charlevoisien

You can’t go to La Malbaie or its surrounding areas without visiting the Domaine Forget de Charlevoix.

The host of the world-renowned Domaine Forget International Festival, which brings together more than a hundred artists from around the world, the Domaine Forget will not fail to entertain you with its varied cultural programming.

Book tickets to enjoy outstanding acoustics in their world-class concert hall and listen to Louis Jean Cormier, Les Sœurs Boulay (The Boulay Sisters), or Fred Pellerin perform.

Don’t have the time to fit a show into your schedule during your short getaway to the region? Then opt for a visit to their Sculpture Garden, which will amaze you with its 15 horticultural works of art.

4. Sea kayaking through the spring ice

Kayaking on the sea with Katabatik

Photo credit: Katabatik

You don’t have to wait until the summer to enjoy a sea kayaking excursion on the St. Lawrence River.

Katabatik, an outdoor adventure agency specializing in winter kayaking in the province of Quebec, offers 2-hour sea kayaking trips with double kayaks, at the end of winter or very early in the spring, from Cap-à-l’Aigle to La Malbaie.

The 6-kilometre course is accessible to either beginner or experienced paddlers. Neoprene equipment and a semi-dry anorak are included as part of the package.

You will be able to admire the coastal landscapes of La Malbaie and Cap-à-l’Aigle with their imposing columns of ice that overlook the cliffs.

As you paddle through the spring ice, you will be stunned by the immensity of the estuary and get the sensation of being alone on the water, making for a truly unforgettable experience!

5. Ski like Alexandre Bilodeau down the 335-metre vertical drop of Mont Grand-Fonds

Le Mont Grand-Fonds

Photo credit: Francis Gagnon

Enthusiasts of alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing will be delighted to experience the 21 slopes and undergrowth of Mont Grand-Fonds.

With its 140 kilometres of-country trails and 40 kilometres of snowshoe trails, you will have a perfect and ample space to practise your favourite winter sport.

Don’t leave without having stopped by Pub Le Sommet, the après-ski lodge on Mont Grand-Fonds where you can continue the party in warmth, accompanied by your friends and delicious food.

Moreover, there is a free show every Saturday, starting at 3:30 p.m. — you won’t want to miss it!

6. Dream while you’re awake with the fairylike scenery of La Route des Montagnes in winter

La Route des Montagnes

Photo credit: Patrice St-Gelais

What better way to discover the hinterland than a road trip with friends, your significant other, or family?

La Route des Montagnes is a tourist circuit that is to be travelled by car in the Charlevoix region.
It requires an hour and a half in the summer, but you need to calculate more time in the winter, depending on how much snow there is on the roadways.

It will take you through several Charlevoix villages as well as the Grands-Jardins and the Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie national parks.

7. Meet the local producers of La Malbaie with The Flavour Trail

The Flavour Trail

Photo credit: Elevate

Discover the La Malbaie region in the winter with the well-renowned Flavour Trail, La Route des Saveurs. This agri-tourism circuit of the Charlevoix region will allow you to acquaint yourself with more than forty producers, processors and chefs from the area who are glad to share their passion and expertise.

Stop by to say hello to Danielle and Jean-Pierre, both of whom have been dedicated oyster mushroom breeders for the past 14 years at Champignons Charlevoix. Make your taste buds dance with an Omerto tomato aperitif wine, a product you won’t find anywhere else in the world.

Are you fond of animals? If so, make a stop at the Centre de l’émeu de Charlevoix, Canada’s largest emu farm that boasts a population of more than 400 of these beautiful creatures!

8. Admire the St. Lawrence River while enjoying a day at the spa

Spa O-Quartz in La Malbaie

Photo credit: Spa O’Quartz

After a long weekend experiencing the joys of winter, take time to relax with a massage or aesthetic treatment or body treatment in La Malbaie and surrounding areas.

Whether it’s for a date with friends, your partner, a mother-daughter outing, a family outing, or to spend time pampering yourself, you will find a body care treatment that will meet your needs!

For affordable treatments, opt for massages and body treatments from Zen Évasion Spa in La Malbaie.

Built on the natural cliff of Pointe au Pic, Spa O’Quartz is another venue that will welcome you with its 22-foot high waterfall, fed by a spring of pure water that flows over quartz! Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

9. Enjoy a panoramic view of the area more than 40 kilometres away

Snow tubing at Les Sources Joyeuses

Photo credit: Les Sources Joyeuses

We don’t hesitate to qualify Les Sources Joyeuses as a real little corner of paradise in Malbaie — and for a good reason!

With its watchtower, an observation tower that reaches 8 metres in height, you can admire the Charlevoix region in all its splendour over a distance of over 40 kilometres.

Les Sources Joyeuses is foremost a non-profit organization that allows people to enjoy the winter season in La Malbaie and the surrounding areas.

Cross-country ski and snowshoeing trails, a skating rink and snow tubing slides will allow you to enjoy the beautiful white powdery snow of this majestic region.