Massif du Sud

As with other winter venues in the Province of Quebec, the Parc du Massif du Sud is a relative newcomer to the ski industry compared to some. The ski area has provided access to some gnarly alpine terrain since its first opening in 1989. Its reputation has been built on glade skiing, though, and it is eastern North America's heliskiing destination.

Autoroute 20 provides access to Quebec City, with the resort located east off of Route 216 near the village of Saint-Philémon. The Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport will serve guests flying into the region. Americans driving up from Maine can use US Route 201 to drive up from the south.

Not to be Confused with Le Massif

Those unfamiliar with the Massif du Sud ski area often confuse it with the Le Massif ski resort, farther to the north. The park is much larger than the ski venue within and gets used throughout the year by outdoor enthusiasts. Visitors looking to spend one or more nights here have several options, including winter camping, prospector tents, boreal tents, yurts, pods, and cabins. Guests can bring their food and prepare it in the kitchen area or their rented accommodations (eateries in surrounding communities like Saint-Philémon cater to visitors).

The Massif du Sud offers rentals for snowshoeing, cross-country, ski shoes, fat bikes, and camping. Visitors can also purchase many of these items to fill gaps in their equipment lists. Those needing tune-ups before they trek out in the snow will find services at the main kiosk, along with toilets and showers. The ski venue is a mecca for winter outdoor enthusiasts that require only minimal amenities (more casual skiers and riders might find the facilities at the Massif du Sud ski area lacking compared to those at other winter venues).

A Massive Challenge on the Snow

The Massif du Sud ski area, and the surrounding park, get an average annual snowfall exceeding 236 inches. That provides plenty of base snow for downhill skiing and riding, as well as other winter activities off of the slopes.

There are just under 22 miles of marked trails ideal for winter hiking. These routes can take from a couple of hours to multiple days and rate from family walks to full-day hikes up mountainsides. If visitors mixed cross-country skis with snowshoes, they would get the Hok skis (ski-shoeing) that have become popular in recent years. Massif du Sud offers rentals and even has two-day guided tours.

Beginner and intermediate backcountry skiing near the resort boundaries offers an additional way to challenge a ski bum off-piste. A network of groomed trails provides the classic cross-country skiing experience that many enjoy, with some of these trails also used for fat bikes.

Many guests come to Massif du Sud for downhill skiing and riding on the 226 acres of skiable terrain. A 1,312-foot vertical drop creates several potentials down the 33 marked runs at the ski area. Twenty percent of the trails are rated blue for beginners, with an additional 10-percent rated blue for intermediates. That leaves 70-percent of the runs at Massif du Sud rated as either black diamond/advanced or double diamond/expert.