i was thinking of going to L'Esterel - has anyone been there - any info would be great i never been there - (rooms, bar, trails, pricing, etc.) - i already went to motel safari this year and had a great trip (thanks Benard) - just wanted to try something new

I have never been there but friends of mine have.
It is a great place, has everything, on the lake, on the trail, pool, sauna ect......... but very pricey!

I second that and say Hi to WANDA for me. She is a great Snowmobile Host.

I second that and say Hi to WANDA for me. She is a great Snowmobile Host.

I second that and say Hi to WANDA for me. She is a great Snowmobile Host.

Spent Thursday night at L'Esterel. $60/person including breakfast. $90 including breakfast and dinner. L'Esterel is a nice hotel with everything you need but a little dated. They have a pool table and a foosball table in the bar. The bar was rocking when we arrived around 9pm but the action only lasted until about 11p. Security there is excellent, Rambo will watch your sleds for you, and I would say it is the most hospitable place I've stayed while sledding. Seemed as tho everyone there spoke english and took care of whatever we asked for. We enjoyed the pool and hot tub. We missed dinner but breakfast was everything you could ask for. You can dog sled, cross country ski or take a several kilometer ice skating path if you want to. The trails were excellent around L'Esterel and it snowed a foot the day we left. TC43 west of L'Esterel has a few detours and changes but the the homemade signs helped us find out way. We did ride the supposedly closed section of 43 to get there between St Adolphe de Howard and St Agathe. There were a few stretches of plowed road to the trail west of L'Esterel but the east side was excellent all the way to St Come. We didn't hit the little town there until the next morning to get gas but it looked like there were a few little pubs or bistros to visit. Wanda was a good host and it was nice to meet her. I look forward to our next visit there.

I second jack's report, the rooms are a little old but the meals are great and the riding is plentiful. The place is cheaper than Sacacomie and Lac a l eau Claire and has lots of things to do other than sledding. I think that I paid $100 per night with breakfast and dinner. You can do some great riding from that area and everyone is very helpful. We went with the women and they prefer the plusher resorts but they both said they would return to Esterel.

Jack. We're heading to St Donat this weekend through Duhamel, Lac des Plages, toward St Agathe via the 43. So are you saying that the closed section between Arundel and St Howard is not closed? Or did you take the 43 "detour" as shown on the following map.

http://www.clubdemotoneige.com/carte_sentiers_agrandi.html

I read online and was told while in QC that 43 was closed between St Adolphe de Howard and St Agathe. Because of that we rode from St Michel des Saints to St Jovite via 63 then 325 then local trails over some fun lakes. By the way 63 ends midway through the park and you have to continue on a very wide open road trail that heads north but eventual sweeps back to the south and hooks up with 325 and takes you to La Macaza. We rode from St Jovite to Esterel after skiing the afternoon session and we took a chance by taking the local gold trail that hooks up with 43 just north of Barkmere on that map you posted then took 43 east towards St Adolphe de Howard. I figured if 43 was closed we could take the gold trail that loops out SE towards St Adele then turn left at the intersection to pick up 43 again in St Agathe. As it turns out 43 was groomed as smooth as the street I live on but has lots of sharp turns and had overhanging brush from the ice storm the day before but we never needed to take a detour. Also there were several short stretches of plowed road to ride and we did need to pack snow on the running boards a couple of times but made it to Esterel no problem. I need to check but as far as I know our GPS tracks followed the regular 43 mostly. I'll see if I can post my track.

Besides the great service and hospitality, as well as having lots of activity options, I was a little disappointed in the condition of our room's bathroom at Esterel. For anything longer than a weekend or stopover on a saddlebag trip (as if I'm gonna get my wife on a saddlebag tour) I'd look somewhere else to bring my wife and family for a week. The place frankly needs a little updating, but you can't beat the service and amenities.

Yo Kia, did you guys get into town at night at all (at Esterel), anything to do there?

Looks like there were some very slight detours along the way but never much more than 1 mile.

Down by Morin Heights is a very mall type atmosphere with lots of higher end outlets and shopping, the actual little town of Esterel has nothing that I am aware of.

BTW, your complaint was my wife and her sister's biggest complaint as well. The place is pretty old and has not been remodeled in awhile but that is the only fault I can find with the place.

Thanks Jack. Do you know if the 329 from St Agathe through Lantier to the 33 in St Donat is open? Or do we have to take the 43 to St Lucie des Laurentides then take the 33 up St Donat? One more question (sorry for so many questions), would you happen to know the mileage from Lac des Plages to St Donat?

Thanks again.

Using Mapsource and the GPSQC trail package Lac des Plages to St Donat is ~90 miles via 43 and 33. Don't know the answer to the other questions. We didn't ride 329 and on my maps its shown as a road. I see a 329 in the GPSQC trails but it seems to dead end just north of Lac Brule - ends after 7 1/2 miles of trail north of the intersection with 43. You could try it and see if it keeps going but its gonna cost you 15 miles if it dead ends. Looks to be between another 7 - 10 miles ride if it still keeps going and hooks up with 33 again.

Have a great trip and be safe.

Thanks for all of the info. That looks close to the mileage I figured out using the fcmq interactive map.