A gravel trail called the Corridor Aerobique runs through the forests of Quebec's Laurentians, and it recently hosted a group of ten riders — several of them tour operators — on a multi-day cycling trip that doubled as a preview of the Adventure Travel Trade Association's 2026 World Summit in Quebec City. Their route is a solid template for anyone wanting a gentle first taste of bike touring.

The trip began in Montreal with a 50-kilometre ride along Le P'tit Train du Nord, a 234-kilometre rail trail linking Saint-Jérôme to Mont-Laurier. It's mostly smooth and paved, which makes it friendly territory for newcomers, and in autumn the surrounding maples put on serious red-and-gold displays. A picnic stop in Val-David's Parc des Amoureux broke up the day, before a climb up the 40-metre tower at Sentier des Cimes Laurentides — the best way to actually see the rolling hills you've been pedalling through when the trees close in.

Accommodation is part of the appeal. Night one was at Hotel Uniq near Mont-Tremblant, which is not a hotel at all but a glamping camp: spacious tents in an evergreen-ringed field, communal long-table dinners (squash soup, salmon, cheesecake), hot showers, wool blankets and a campfire. Day two, a 63-kilometre mix of trails and quiet rural roads past lakes, a covered bridge and the Rouge River, ended at Selenia Lodge in condo-style chalets — with the welcome option of soaking tired legs in Lac de la Mine, or paddling it by canoe.

Day three was the "wild" one: 53 kilometres of gravel on the Corridor Aerobique to Morin-Heights. In fog and drizzle it sounds intimidating, but the trail is wide and mostly smooth, surfacing occasionally at villages and wooden bridges (and one turtle-crossing sign). The ride wraps up fittingly at Mickey's Café in Morin-Heights with sandwiches and celebratory cake.

The honest takeaway from the writer's experience: you don't need to be fit or fast. She rode an e-bike, trailed the pack the whole way, and had a better time for it. E-bike support, well-spaced overnight stops and mostly flat rail-trail terrain make this one of the more accessible multi-day bike trips in eastern Canada — a good pick for cautious first-timers and rusty riders returning to the saddle decades later.

If Quebec's fall colours are on your list and the idea of a supported cycling trip appeals, the Laurentians route between Montreal and Mont-Tremblant deserves a spot on the shortlist. Credit: Adventure Travel News