East of Montreal, Drummondville is the gateway to rugged winter sports and untamed wilderness.
Drummondville, QC is a small city on the Saint-François River, almost equidistant between Montreal and Quebec City. The town features exhibitions of Quebec’s culture and history, like the annual Festival de la Poutine—a music festival and celebration of the famed fries, cheese curds, and gravy dish—and the historical Village Québécois d'Antan. It’s also the ideal home base to start exploring Quebec’s great outdoors—with countless RV sites and campsites near Drummondville, campers are never far from their next adventure.
One of Quebec’s most treasured parks, Parc du Mont-Orford is best experienced on a hike. With more than 80 kilometres of trails crossing some of the Eastern Townships’ most spectacular viewpoints, hikers can also experience the park’s wildlife, including deer, blue herons, and various species of reptiles and amphibians. It’s a hotspot for cross-country skiing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and mountain biking, depending on the season you choose to visit. Check in at a nearby Drummondville forest campground or park your camper at one of many nearby sites.
With almost 30 kilometres of trails, a magnificent nearby lake, and incredible biodiversity, you’d be hard-pressed to believe this park is minutes outside Montreal’s dense urban centre. Explore the hiking paths in warm weather, snowshoe through in the winter, enjoy canoeing and paddleboarding on the lake, or gear up and hit the slopes on the park’s dedicated sledding hill. Minutes away, accommodations of all kinds are available, from camping to luxurious cabin rentals.
Looming over 700 metres above the region, Mont Ham and the beautiful park surrounding are musts in the Drummondville area. In summer, explore the mountain’s hiking trails, reach the summit, and experience an unbelievable 360-degree view. There’s even a disc golf course in the nearby woods. In winter, determined hikers can reach the top of the mountain using snowshoes and crampons, or cruise through the park’s cross-country skiing trails. Afterwards, choose from rustic A-frame rentals and riverside campsites (complete with fishing spots) to unwind.
As with all of Quebec, the fun doesn’t end in Drummondville when the warm weather does. These parks are busier in winter than summer, thanks to the popularity of winter sports like skiing, snowshoeing, and sledding. Unlike other destinations, summer is the best time to avoid larger crowds here. Prepare for warm, humid summers (July sees an average high temperature of 26°C with relative humidity of 72%) and cold winters (December’s average high is -1°C).