The village of Mont Tremblant is nestled in the Laurentian Mountains in Québec, Canada. It’s well known as a popular winter destination because of the fabulous Mont Tremblant Ski Resort. The village is lesser known as a summer destination, but it is a wonderful place to stay in the summer because of the numerous family activities available. The region is dotted with sparkling clean lakes, deep arboreal forests, and amazing mountain ranges.

As the summer season is the “off” season, and it hasn’t quite been discovered as a summer destination,  you can find amazing deals on local hotel rooms. We skipped the hotel and instead got a cabin to give us a little more privacy and save some money on food. Our family of five sometimes has issues at vacation time—because we generally have to board our dog. With some searching, we were able to rent an extremely spacious four-bedroom log cabin tucked into the mountains outside the resort town for about $1300 (CAD) a week. The cabin accommodated our family of five, my father-in-law, and our dog. The cabin was a five-minute walk from a private beach, where we had access to canoes, kayaks (and the requisite life jackets), and there was also a pool (with lifeguard) and tennis court. We had quick access to the general store for necessities, and a fifteen-minute drive brought us to the local large chain grocery stores and to the resort town.

There are six reasons I recommend Mont Tremblant as a family vacation destination:

Shopping

The ski resort had a number of fascinating little shops surrounded by a cheerfully painted Disney-like village. You can find every little thing you need—from high-quality clothing and athletic wear to the typical tourist “My parents went to Quebec and all I got was this crappy t-shirt” tchotchke. And if you need a snack to keep you going, there are a number of local coffee shops, a chocolate store, and famous Canadian Beaver Tails. It is a bit of a climb as the roads go up a rather steep grade, but if you’re having issues with walking, just take the free ski lift from the bottom.

Food

Although we were able to eat in at the cabin to save some money, we did nip out for a couple of meals. If you’ve got a fussy family, no worries—local restaurants include a wide variety of international flavours that included various types of American cuisine (including New Orleans, Texas and New York), European (including French and Italian) and even Asian (including Japanese and Chinese). You can also find local flavours—there are several places that carry fine French food including exotic duck dishes and desserts flavoured with maple. But one of our local favorites is the St-Hubert—a family restaurant chain famous for its chicken.

Family Activities

Both inside and outside of the village, there were activities galore for both the adults and the kids. Some are on the more expensive side (ziplining, dune buggy and ATV tours), and others were less expensive (hiking, biking, paddle boating or canoeing on or around one of the local pristine lakes). We were also able to enjoy several (money saving) picnics while enjoying the local beaches and expansive provincial parks.

Kids Activities

The village also has a play area specifically for the kids. It has a trampoline park, a rock climbing wall, and a small splash pad. And for some real fun, you can take the kids up the ski lift to the top of the hill and come back down on the luge!

The thing I like the best about the area is that the Province of Québec has been working really hard to make the area eco-friendly. There’s a strong emphasis on making as small a footprint as possible. A guided tour of the village and the ziplining tour explain the town’s efforts to bring back the local wolf population as well as ensure that eco-friendly materials are used in the building of any elements of the local trails.

If you’re looking for a fun family destination that isn’t over-run with people, and you’re in the Northeastern States or Eastern or Central Canada, Mont Tremblant is an easy choice.