If you've ever wanted to rip a bike park designed for trail bikes, Le Massif de Charlevoix is for you. "Le Massif" for short, this lift-served bike park boasts 770m (2,526ft) of vert accessed by a gondola, with additional trails even higher up the mountainside that can be reached via a quick pedal.
If Le Massif is known for anything, it's the views. The resort towers over the Saint Lawrence River, with the runs ending just above the shores of the estuary. In this area, the Saint Lawrence is mostly saltwater, and the river's level rises and falls with the ocean tides. At the correct time of year, whales will even venture into the Saint Lawrence, although generally not as far as Le Massif. As you can imagine, the views from the trails are to die for!
Le Massif boasts over 50km (31mi) of mountain bike trails, and for riders with the legs to pedal, the best place to start is by pedaling up from the main chalet (which is located at the top of the gondola) on the Bus Jaune trail to access either La Cigale (a black diamond) or Historie Sans Fin (a blue). Both of these natural, enduro-style trails rip down the mountainside through a beautiful forest that's out of bounds during the winter months. I rode Cigale, and found the trail to be filled with wet, slippery roots, rugged rock gardens, and massive rock features, including optional slab rolls.
After another quick climb, the trail drops straight into La Fourmi, to continue the black diamond descent down the mountainside. Soon, the route joins the "bike park" trails, and riders will find more berms, jumps, and manicured features.
I put the words "bike park" in quotes, because even the trails that are accessible directly from the top of the gondola without a substantial pedal are still quite pedally. It's common to pedal to make a connection across the mountainside, or even in the middle of some of the green trails.
If you're looking for manicured jump lines, look elsewhere. Le Massif's trails have plenty of drops, jumps, and little booters sprinkled throughout, but those jumps are situated in between the omnipresent rock slabs and rock gardens. The trails here are a true blend of natural obstacles and manmade features, requiring a diverse skill set to master.
Even so, trails like Funky Fungi, Basilic, and Pesto are crowd pleasers that can be negotiated by most intermediate riders, but will reward advanced riders who can send the side hits and carry speed well. In fact, the vast majority of the trails at Le Massif are intermediate-friendly, which is a distinct departure from the world-class downhill race tracks at Mont-Sainte-Anne. If you're riding a trail or enduro bike and you want to shred a few lift-served laps without risking life and limb, Le Massif is your best bet.
A day ticket at Le Massif costs $66 CAD.
 | La Cigale |  | 1 mi |
