The lake that gives the mountain its name. Lake Tremblant is a long, narrow body of water wedged between mountainous ridges, with about seven islands and five prominent bays. Surrounded by dense mixed forest, it’s one of the most beautiful lakes in the Laurentians.
There’s a striking difference between the two halves. The southern end, near the resort, is developed for recreation — beaches, marinas, boat rentals. The northern end is an entirely different world: protected, forested, and largely roadless.
In 1902, a forest fire razed the northern shoreline. Thirteen years later, residents formed their own municipality — Lac-Tremblant-Nord — specifically to protect the territory. They adopted a conservationist charter that holds to this day. When Quebec merged four municipalities into Mont-Tremblant in 2000, Lac-Tremblant-Nord fought to separate and succeeded in 2006. One of Canada’s earliest examples of community-led land conservation.
The northern reaches offer the quietest paddling in the Laurentians — no motorboat traffic, just water, forest, and sky. Walleye, bass, pike, and trout draw anglers year-round. In autumn, the surrounding hills blaze with colour reflected in the lake. Bring your own boat or rent one from the resort end and paddle north into the silence.
Photos: Robbie Sproule from Montreal, Canada – Kayak on Lac Tremblant, Quebec, Canada., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91503857; P199 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10511096
