Winter Trail Etiquette in Gatineau Park

Gatineau Park

Gatineau Park is a very popular destination — the second-most visited park in Canada — so all actions, even small ones, can have a snowball effect (pun intended).

Following winter trail etiquette:

Protects the trails and the Park.
Keeps everyone safe.
Lets everyone enjoy their outing.

Illustration of a person pointing at a regulatory sign indicating that snowshoeing and winter biking are allowed, while cross-country skiing and dog walking are prohibited.

Obey signage

Always stay on the official and marked trails. In winter, some trails are designated for only one type of activity, while others are shared.

To find out which trails are authorized for your activity, consult the interactive map or the pictograms posted at the trailhead.

All snow biking trails are snowshoe trails, but not all snowshoe trails are snow biking trails. If your snowshoe or snow biking trail follows a ski trail, keep to the side of the trail to avoid damaging the tracks.

Illustration of a person on a winter bike waving.

Be courteous and considerate

Gatineau Park welcomes people of all skill levels on its trails. Being kind and courteous is an easy way to make the winter experience fun for everyone.

Keep to the right-hand side of the trail at all times.
If you want to pass, clearly and politely communicate your plans to other users so that they have time to react.
Let faster users pass.
Don’t follow too close, and allow yourself time to react for whatever might arise.

Illustration of a person on skis stumbling as their skis slip off the classic ski tracks, damaged by the passage of a person on snowshoes.

Don’t walk on ski trails

Walking on the ski trails is never allowed. Our team works very hard at setting and maintaining the tracks for skiing. Walking makes the surface uneven and hardens the trail base, creating conditions that can be dangerous for skiers.

The wide, middle section of a ski trail between the classic cross-country tracks — better known as the corduroy — is for skate skiing. It is not a walking trail. If you are skate skiing, try to avoid the classic tracks.

Sometimes a cross-country ski trail crosses a snowshoe, snow bike or walking trail. It is then necessary to give way to people on skis and avoid walking on the marked trail.

Illustration of a person putting personal belongings into their backpack.

Pack it in, pack it out

There are no waste receptacles along the trails or in the day shelters. Take your trash back home with you, where you can dispose of it properly.

Gatineau Park is the national capital’s conservation park. Preserving it is a collective responsibility. Leave no trace.

Illustration of a skier wearing their season pass visibly on their winter coat.

Buy a pass

A daily or a season pass is required to use the cross-country ski, snowshoe and snow biking trails in Gatineau Park. In winter, hiking trails are free.

Fees help to cover many things, including the preparation and maintenance of trails and patrols, and facilities such as parking lots, day shelters and dry toilets.

Illustration of a skier yielding to the right on the trail, outside the ski tracks, to let a person going downhill pass.

Skiing: Yield to people going downhill

Skiers climbing uphill must yield to skiers coming downhill.

If you stop to take in the view or to rest, move out of the way so the trail is free for others. Avoid stopping directly at intersections or at the bottom of a hill: stop before or after.

Illustration of a winter cyclist yielding by moving to the right side of the trail to let a winter cyclist climbing uphill the trail pass.

Snow biking: Yield to riders climbing uphill

Snow bikers coming downhill must yield to those climbing uphill. Snow bikers must yield to snowshoers.

Illustration of a person walking their dog on a leash on a trail where dogs are allowed, as indicated by signage in the background.

Dogs on leash: Allowed on walking trails only

In the winter, dogs on leash are allowed on the winter walking trails. Pets are not allowed on cross-country ski, snowshoe and snow biking trails. These restrictions do not apply to people accompanied by service dogs.

Remember to pick up after your dog, and to take the bag with you – even if no one is looking!