Biking in

Mountain biking is the activity or sport of riding a bicycle off-road, usually over rough terrain on a bike specifically designed for that purpose. There are various styles of mountain biking; here we will concentrate on three: cross-country, enduro and downhill, as defined by Vélo Québec (in French only).

Cross-country mountain biking involves cycling on narrow unpaved trails with many curves and lots of grade changes.

Enduro is a cross between cross-country and downhill mountain biking that primarily focuses on going downhill; however, mechanized lifts are not used to travel uphill (bikers must make their way up under their own steam).

Downhill mountain biking is an extreme sport primarily done at lift-serviced bike parks on terrain that features jumps, drops, rock gardens or other obstacles. This type of mountain biking requires advanced technical skills. Freeriding is a type of downhill mountain biking. 

Gaspésie currently offers cross-country and enduro sites (which are not lift-serviced).

A vast region of forests and mountains, Gaspésie offers many roads and hills to explore: the backcountry is full of trails that may be just as exciting to discover as developed sites in terms of slopes, curves and obstacles. However, in the interest of safety, we have listed only the official sites that are organized, mapped and for which access complies with current regulations. We invite you to be cautious while mountain biking and to consult the section about responsible mountain biking below. In addition, several new projects are in the works in Gaspésie, so stay tuned for more details!

For recommended sites that offer dirt or gravel bike paths, see our blog post about bikeways in our region. These locations are perfect for a family outing or to prolong the fun of riding through the magnificent sea and mountain scenery of Gaspésie!

The “Rider Baie-des-Chaleurs” pass will give you year-round access to the trails in Parc regional du Mont-Saint-Joseph as well as those found at the Station Touristique Pin Rouge. You can buy this pass online or in person at the Rhéal Pitre Sports store in New Richmond.

All other sites sell their own access passes. Refer to the map above for details.

Three places rent mountain bikes for cross-country biking:

• Biseak, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts: This shop sells, repairs and rents mountain bikes and can even deliver them to biking sites in the Sainte-Anne-des-Monts area.
• Expé Aventures, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts: rents mountain bikes to explore the trails on site.
• Nolin Vélo, Gaspé: This shop sells, repairs and rents mountain bikes for the surrounding area.

Bikes are also available for rent at several other sites where you can ride through the forest on dirt or gravel bike paths. For more details, see our blog post about bikeways in Gaspésie.

Bike shops and repair services:

• Sportquet Mobile, Grand-Métis
• Vélo Spécialité, Matane
• Biseak, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts
• Nolin Vélo, Gaspé

Big-box stores:

• Canadian Tire, Matane
• Sports Experts, Matane
• Walmart, Matane
• Canadian Tire, Gaspé
• Sports Experts, Gaspé
• Sports Excellence/Écotone, Grande-Rivière
• Go Sport, Chandler
• Sport Élite Sport Excellence, Chandler
• Canadian Tire, Paspébiac
• Sports Experts, Bonaventure
• Rhéal Pitre Sports, New Richmond
• Sports Experts, Carleton-sur-Mer
• Sports Experts, Amqui

These lists were updated on March 17, 2021, and may not be exhaustive. Please inquire about opening hours and inventory before visiting any of these locations.

Several biking sites make their maps available online; you can also find maps on the Trailforks website.

Here are sites offering maps:

• Les Sentiers de l’Igloo (Club de Vélo Éolien de Matane): PDF maps and GPX files (in French only) and Trailforks
• Mont York, Centre de Plein Air du Lac York: PDF map and Trailforks
• Mont-Béchervaise (Sentiers du Bout du Monde): PDF map (in French only) and Trailforks
• Station Touristique Pin Rouge: online map (in French only) and Trailforks
• Parc régional du Mont-Saint-Joseph: online map and PDF map (in French only), ONDAGO app and Trailforks
• Parc régional de Val-d’Irène: Trailforks

Safety, environmental protection, coexistence with other users, mountain bike access and trail sustainability are all issues that are relevant to mountain bikers.

For more information, please read the following:

• IMBA Canada’s Rules of the Trail by the International Mountain Bicycling Association Canada
• The Ecotourist Code of Conduct by Aventure Écotourisme Québec
• Mountain Biking Safety During Covid-19 by the International Mountain Bicycling Association Canada