Hiking Mont Pinacle in Quebec’s Eastern Townships
Mt. Pinacle is our favorite hike in the whole province of Quebec. We come here at least a couple of times a year. Why?
1) It takes half an hour to get to the top. We like hikes but it has to have a good view-to-effort ratio. This hike is both easy and…
2) the views are stupendous and looks a lot higher than Mt. Pinacle’s 665 m.
3) Getting here from Montreal takes 90 minutes, so it can be done on a day trip.
4) Mt. Pinacle is a great place to bring a picnic.
5) We love the whole area, the drive from Coaticook to Mt. Pinacle alone has some of the nicest geography in Quebec.
6) There are other attractions in the area, without the number of tourists you’ll see in other parts of the Eastern Townships.
These are the reasons we love Mt. Pinacle.
Practical Information
Accommodation. We often make a weekend of it when in the area and have a night or two in the nearby town of Coaticook. We usually stay at Motel Exquise. Nothing fancy but it’s comfortable and good value. And the area very pretty.
Car Rental. You need a car to visit the Eastern Townships from Montreal. We don’t own a car so we rent whenever we need one (Montreal is a city where it’s actually inconvenient to own a car). We use Booking.com – they dig up the cheapest rates and best options from all the major car rental companies.
Related: Road Trip to Quebec’s North Coast (including Tadoussac and the Saguenay fjord)
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Frank, I love that you have managed to get Lissette interested in this lovely hike, I remember you mentioning that she is not always very keen on hiking. I agree that view-to- effort ratio is very important. It looks so beautiful and peaceful at the top.
Just planning a trip to the Eastern Townships and am so happy to have found this. We love hiking, and some our favorite hikes in Eastern Canada are Cape Split, Duncans Cove and of course the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia. Loved Gros Morne and Skerwink Trail in Nfld. Thanks for this great tip.
Hi Gail. Thanks for the comment. As I say, Mt. Pinacle is easy and if you’re going with family they’ll enjoy it. Pack a picnic. The other I would really recommend is Lac Megantic National Park which you can drive up. There are some really great hikes up there with superlative views as well as the Astrolab. Just wrote an article for the Vancouver Sun highlighting some of these places: https://vancouversun.com/travel/local-travel/quebec-travel-bucket-list-10-places-you-must-see-in-la-belle-province
Have never done those Nfld or NS hikes but have heard of them. Must be spectacular and maybe one day 🙂
Don’t hesitate to write me personally if you have any questions on Quebec.