We've maintained a first hand report of the cross-country skiing conditions in Gatineau Park since 2002. The reports were the result of many email inquieries asking "What's the skiing really like today?". It wasn't long before we realized the need for better ski reports and we tried to post a fresh reports up whenever we skied in the park. Soon skiers began relying on our reports so much so that we'd get many emails when we didn't post a report. (Back to square one!)
There were some problems with our trail reports. Mainly, lack of variety - the team usually trained together at one location, lack of cope - the team might repeat the same hill 20x and only ski 5km (a small section of a large park) and the team often traveled on weekends when most skiers really want to know the conditions.
To fix this problem we opened up our trail condition reports to the genereal public by creating skiTrails.xcOttawa.ca
Now the only reports you will see displayed on the front page of XC Ottawa are those submitted by team skiers, or by a few vetted individuals when we are out of town.
Just for the record, here are all the reports in our database..
The NCC also maintains a grooming report on-line or phone (819) 827-2020. If you encounter people walking on groomed trails, you are best advised to contact the NCC. They are responsible for the enforcement on this so report those trail wreckers whenever you see them by calling 819-827-2020 (Visitor Centre), or email info@ncc-ccn.ca.
Looking to know how long short sections of trails are? You should also consult this Gatineau Park Trail Distance Map
For suggestions on where to ski, excellent trail descriptions, photos and maps checkout Michael McGoldrick`s website about recreational xc-skiing in Canada`s National Capital Region (with an emphasis on the Gatineau Park).
"Vauhti Waxes. . . the conditions are always right!"
