Montebello, Quebec: Your day tripping guide

6.8K

For many people, “Montebello” is synonymous with the enormous hotel that shares the village’s name. However, there’s more to this community than its best-known landmark—although the property is well worth visiting, so let’s start there.

Disclosure: I visited some of these sites for free as a guest of the sites or local tourism offices. No one reviewed or approved this post, and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Fairmont Le Château Montebello (392 Notre Dame) is one of the world’s largest log structures. A small army of more than 3,000 workers used about 10,000 cedar logs to build the lodge and several outbuildings over a few months in 1930. In the main building, an enormous fireplace with a 20-metre (65 foot) stone chimney dominates a three-storey central lobby.

The complex wasn’t originally a hotel. For the first 40 years of its existence, it was an exclusive hunting and fishing club that counted politicians and bank presidents among its members. Of course, if you were rich or famous enough, you didn’t have to be a member to enjoy the Seigniory Club’s facilities; Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby and Harry S. Truman all dropped by. Even after it became a hotel in 1970, it continued to draw celebrities and major political events.

These days, many Ottawans think of it as a dream destination for an overnight stay. But did you know you can enjoy the hotel’s hiking trails, indoor curling rink, pedal boats, rental bikes and other recreational goodies even if you’re not a guest? You just need to pay a “resort experience fee”; check with the hotel for current prices.

Speaking of outdoor fun you can enjoy with a day pass: Have you heard of Kenauk?

Kenauk Nature: Secret wilderness preserve near Montebello

Kenauk Nature (1000 Kenauk) is a big swath of wilderness about 20 minutes northeast of the village. Formerly part of Château Montebello, it was acquired by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and several partners in 2017. Slowly, the new owners been adding posh cottages to secluded spots around the reserve. Overnight guests have access to everything from guided fishing excursions to a 14.6-metre (48 foot) climbing tower. You name it—if you can dream up an outdoor adventure, Kenauk can probably make it happen. They even have a floating sauna they can tow to the lake in front of your cabin.

Of course, all of this luxury comes at a price. If your budget is somewhat more modest, contact Kenauk to ask about day passes for access to the cross-country skiing and hiking trails (keeners can tackle the challenging 8.5-kilometre (5.4-mile) Baldy Trail, which leads to a vintage fire tower with a panoramic lake view).

Parc Oméga: Wildlife adventures

If you have animal-obsessed kids, chances are high that you’ve already heard about Parc Oméga (399 Highway 323 North), just north of Montebello village. Once children find out they can feed carrots to deer, see bears and bison from the car, and sleep in a cabin surrounded by wolves, they’ll pretty much badger any adult with a driver’s licence to take them there now. 

Seriously, though, the kids are onto something. Even if you can’t use your offspring as an excuse, you’ll probably still get a kick out of this nature reserve on the edge of the village. Year round, you can drive a 12-kilometre route past elk, foxes, Rocky Mountain goats, boars and other critters. Depending on the season, you can also go hiking, snowshoeing or skating; visit with farm animals; or make maple taffy on snow.

Various shops and restaurants will keep everyone fed and amused, and you can eat on an outdoor terrace overlooking a lake or in one of the picnic areas. There are a few sheltered picnic tables along the First Nations Trail, where you’ll also see wooden sculptures created by Indigenous artist Denis Charette.

Parc national de Plaisance: Paddling, birdwatching and water games

Seeking even more outdoor fun? On the way to or from Montebello, you can stop at Parc national de Plaisance (chemin de Presqu’iles, Plaisance). Attractions here include a water games area for children, and a marsh boardwalk called La Zizanie-des-Marais, which is popular with bird watchers looking for herons, osprey, ducks and other waterfowl. You can also rent kayaks, canoes, rowboats and standup paddleboards (or use your own) to explore the Ottawa River, or check out the hiking trails. 

Manoir Papineau: Fun for history buffs

All the land underneath Kenauk, Château Montebello, the village and more was once the domain of Louis-Joseph Papineau, a politician and one of the leaders of the 1837 Rebellions. He fled the country for a few years after the uprising, but the furor didn’t seem to do him any lasting damage; by 1848, he’d returned to the Montebello area and started building a grand manor.

That house, Manoir Papineau, still stands near the hotel and is now a National Historic Site. Parks Canada recently restored it, to the tune of $6.5 million. It’s a fun place for history buffs to explore, as it includes lots of quirky corners, such as a one-time private family museum. In the summer, you can take tours with costumed interpreters and sign up for special events, such as art shows and Victorian-style tea parties.

Montebello shopping and restaurants

Pretty much all of my favourite businesses in Montebello are places to buy food or drinks (perhaps that’s a clue as to why I like the village so much), so I’ve combined them all into one section.

After all that outdoor adventuring, you might be thirsty. If so, slide onto a barstool at Les Brasseurs de Montebello (485 Notre Dame), a craft brewery opened by a group of friends in 2014. All of its beers have a strong connection to the region. One of my favourites, La Reine du Mont Vinoy, is made with honey from nearby Chénéville. And Le Fantôme d’Ézilda is named for a ghost rumoured to still haunt the neighbourhood, more than a century after her demise. Not surprisingly, it’s classified as a “bière forte” (strong beer); you don’t mess with ghosts, after all.

Cross the street to chase your beers with pralines, chocolate bark and other sweets from ChocoMotive (502 Notre Dame). Housed in the village’s former train station, a little log building constructed in 1931, this isn’t just a great chocolate shop; it’s part of Quebec’s network of économusées, which illuminate the province’s industrial history via displays and demonstrations. So you don’t have to feel guilty about noshing here. It’s educational.

Next door, Brasseurs de Montebello brews are among the many beers at Le Zouk (530 Notre Dame), a friendly pub in yet another wooden structure (again with the logs!), where you can kick back with burgers, wings, nachos, pizza and the like. There’s a pleasant patio out front and an even nicer deck out back, away from the street noise.

Food lovers should also check out Fromagerie Montebello (664A Notre Dame). Cheesemaker Alain Boyer began learning his craft as a teenager in the late 1980s. Decades later, he became one of the owners of this charming cheese shop and developed the prize-winning Rebellion 1837 blue-veined cheese. Normally, I loathe blue cheese, but this version made from cow’s milk is surprisingly mild. However, the one I usually buy to take home is Tête à Papineau, a semi-soft cheese that would please just about any cheese-plate crowd.

I hope you’ve saved some room and some money, though, because there’s one more stop I have to recommend, especially if you’re celebrating a special occasion. Aux Chantignoles, the formal restaurant at Château Montebello, serves up an elegant and frequently changing menu that usually features at least a little bit of game—venison carpaccio, say—along with classics like prime rib. Reserve well in advance to snag a table by the big windows, where you’ll have a sweeping view of the Ottawa River. And for those who can’t resist Sunday brunch, the weekend meal here is huge and legendary.

If you go

Montebello is 83 kilometres from Parliament Hill and transit options are non-existent. The most direct driving route from downtown Ottawa is via the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge and Quebec’s Highway 50 east to exit 210. If you’re coming from Ottawa’s east end, you could avoid going through the city core by crossing the Ottawa River on the Cumberland–Masson ferry operated year round by Traversiers Bourbonnais, then picking up Highway 50.

Keen to cycle? If you choose the ferry route, you can follow the Ottawa River Pathway on the Ontario side (about 20 kilometres from Rockcliffe Park to Petrie Island) and waterfront cycling trails through Parc national de Plaisance on the Quebec side (about 26 kilometres from Thurso to Plaisance; check with the park before setting out, as some trails were damaged by floods in 2019). For the rest of the route, you’ll be on roads.

For Montebello visitor information, see Tourisme Outaouais. The village’s visitor information office is in the same building as ChocoMotive (502 Notre Dame).

Want to stay longer? Use the map below to find and book accommodations. Disclosure: I’ll receive a small commission for any bookings, which will help support this site. (Thank you!)

Looking for more tips on things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or buy my guidebook, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100km Getaway Guide, from which this post is adapted.

As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.