Meech Lake - Gatineau Park

Spectacular fall colors in the Gatineau Park today for a kayak trip around Meech Lake (site of the infamous Meech Lake Accord). For directions, refer to the Summer Map for the Gatineau park.

The usual put-in (during the summer ) is half-way up the lake, next to a large parking lot (P12 on the map). If you're not there to kayak, walking on trail #40 along the stream full of rapids is worthwhile (if you don't mind medium-grade slopes along the way)

Another off-season (i.e. not summer) option is the Blanchet beach when it is closed to swimmers. Parking #13 is nearby, after having unloaded your kayak next to the change-rooms. From the parking lot, the Wolf Trail (#62) is even more impressive if you have time to hike it, albeit it's more rugged than trail #40.

Here's a sample of pictures showing the color of the leaves (click on any picture to see full-size):

As you can see, lots of Canada geese still in the neighborhood before the first snowfall (due this Friday).



And what may very well be the largest beaver lodge in the whole park, take a look at these pictures!




The crowds were out in full force on the Thanksgiving Day long-weekend. While there may have been limited space for motorized vehicles, there was lots of room for self-propelled boats :-)

Photo credits: Sylvie Desrochers (all pictures in this post)