Sentiers Du Moulin

Mountain Biking Sentiers Du Moulin

"The technical level of riding is quite high," said Julien Levesque, General Manager of Sentiers du Moulin. "It shows in the trails. I'd say maybe a third, or maybe more than that, are double blacks."

"You hit the ground with a shovel, and you'll probably hit a rock," Levesque added, saying that the rock is "a little bit like the rock in Squamish — so big rock slabs, but you can control your speed pretty easy."

Thanks to this technical, demanding riding located close to downtown Quebec City, Sentiers du Moulin (SDM) is arguably the most popular mountain bike trail system in Quebec. Indeed, on the day I visited, all four expansive parking lots were filled to capacity, and cars were parked down the road for over a mile. Even as people finished up their rides and left, other riders flowed into the parking lot, quickly filling the vacated spaces.

Generally speaking, the expansive 65km (40mi) of one-way mountain bike trails spreads riders out and keep the crowds from feeling too oppressive. However, a new trail — Saga — had just opened a few weeks before, and it seemed like everyone had the same idea: go ride the new line.

Saga was packed with conga lines of riders trying their hand at the endless cascade of technical features: steep rock slab rolls, gnarly rock gardens, slick root webs, skinny wooden bridges, and more. At 4.2km (2.6mi) long and dropping 237 vertical meters (779ft), this new build is one of the longest single trails at SDM. When you drop into Saga, it's a true commitment, as there are no bailout options and no easy lines. The signs and squirrel catcher features at the top tried their best to keep unprepared riders out of the trail, yet we still saw some riders walking down rocks within the first kilometer. They were in for a long and unpleasant day.

The new line receives a single black diamond rating, but it falls on the darker end of the spectrum. Throughout the descent, numerous double black line options are available, and there's even one "pro line" descent, which I wanted absolutely no part of. So, essentially, single black is the easiest it gets on Saga — it only gets more difficult from there.

But just how hard of a single black is it? I've written extensively about the difficulty of rating mountain bike trails consistently, but if you've ridden single black diamonds in Squamish or on the Whistler Westside, you can compare Saga to those trails. Most places in the USA, this trail simply wouldn't get built. It's that gnarly.

Slab City is another of SDM's stand out trails. Also rated single black, this raucous descent follows an endless cascade of exposed rock slabs. Essentially, you're rolling on rock for the entire 1.3km (4,400 linear feet) descent.

The trail network is densest on the other side of the road, close to the SDM trailhead. In this zone, you'll find SuperG. SuperG is likely the most popular trail in the system, offering a flowy descent with big berms, jumps, and drops. But in true SDM fashion, there are several exposed rock slabs and rock drops mixed in.

I also rode Mammouth, one of the easiest double black trails on the mountain. After that, I took a look at the squirrel catcher rock slab roll on LBC 2 (the next step up), I decided I was good.

SDM also offers a few intermediate descents from the main hub, and a few pedal-forward trails along the base, but it isn't known for offering a very progressive trail system. The leap from the easy trails at SDM to the black diamonds is substantial. Levesque said that they are trying to address this gap with future trail builds, but for the time being, riders looking to progress their skills will need to ride trail systems like Empire 47.

A day ticket at SDM costs $24 CAD, and e-bikes are charged 25% more due to the additional wear and tear on the trails.

-Greg Heil

• Drinking water: yes
• Lift service: no
• Night riding: yes
• Pump track: yes
• Restrooms: yes
• Fat bike grooming: yes
• E-bikes allowed: yes
• Fee required: yes

	LBC 2		0.5 mi
	Leon		0.8 mi
	Slab City		0.9 mi
	Super G		1 mi
	Viking		1 mi
	Vortex		0.9 mi
	Wolverine		1.4 mi