Mont-Sainte-Anne
Also known as: MSA, Beaupre
Panoramic views over the St. Lawrence River and Ile d'Orleans from the summit; Laurentian forest and autumn foliage.
Who in your group rides what
Whether everyone in your group gets a day at Mont-Sainte-Anne - the grades on offer, the named zones, and how mixed abilities split up.
North American system - green (easy), blue (intermediate), black diamond (difficult), double-black (expert/pro), plus jump-line ratings in the DH park.
Gondola serves both easy and expert descents from the same summit; beginners lap green/blue flow while advanced riders take DH and enduro lines. Enduro Pass gives unlimited summit access.
Broad - spans beginner green flow through World Cup expert DH, so mixed-ability groups share the gondola uplift.
The riding
Natural forest singletrack over granite bedrock, rock slabs, roots and dirt, with some machine-built bermed flow and jump lines in the bike park.
Classic eastern-Canadian granite-and-root terrain - slick exposed rock slabs, tangled roots, steep loamy chutes. The DH World Cup track is legendary for its brutal, rough, physical natural character, among the most demanding on the circuit.
Trails signed and colour-graded; official interactive trail map at mont-sainte-anne.com and Trailforks digital map.
Busy on lift-served bike-park weekends and during events; the large XC network offers more solitude midweek.
Season & conditions
Approx mid-May to mid-October; resort published 2026 season as May 15 to October 12. Daily peak-summer operation approx 8:00-16:30; shoulder season often Fri-Sun. Not patrolled off-season.
Summer to early autumn (roughly June through early October); autumn brings peak foliage and World Cup finals.
UCI MTB World Championships hosted 1998, 2010 and 2019 (2019 also first e-MTB Worlds). First UCI XCO World Cup 1991, first DH World Cup 1993, near-annual since; recent World Cup finals 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Rain makes rock slabs and roots extremely slick; summit can be cold, wet and foggy even in summer; season bounded by snow.
Getting there & gear
Daily ticket or season pass required (sold at msabillets.com); reported ticket range approx CAD $32-75, full-day unlimited-lift bike ticket around CAD $64. Enduro Pass for unlimited laps. No lottery.
Permits and operators change - confirm before booking.
About 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Quebec City, roughly 30-40 min via Route 138 / Autoroute 440 through Beaupre.
Primary uplift is the resort high-speed gondola to the summit; chairlifts also operate. Access by daily lift ticket or season pass.
Full-face helmet and body armour recommended for DH/park; water and mobile coverage at the base village, patchier on-mountain.
Base village with bike shop, mountain-bike rentals, food/restaurants and lift services.
Quebec City (~40 km) is the regional hub; Sepaq operates the adjacent Parc du Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Hazards & rescue
Slick rock and roots when wet, steep expert DH terrain, high-speed lift-served descents; ride within grade. No patrol off-season.
None required - self-guided lift-served riding.
Resort ski/bike patrol operates during official season hours; trails explicitly not patrolled outside the operating period.
This profile is desk research, compiled from public sources - not a first-hand mountain-bike network report. Coordinates are approximate.