Best Hiking Day Trips from Montreal
Montreal itself has one real hiking option inside city limits, and it’s a good one; everything more serious sits an hour or more outside the city, reachable as a day trip. If hiking is a priority on your trip, plan a day or two beyond the island rather than expecting much more from the city core.
Mount Royal, in the city
Mount Royal, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same landscape architect behind Central Park in New York, is the city’s hiking option, trails through the park lead to the free Kondiaronk Belvedere lookout for the classic skyline view. It’s an easy morning outing rather than a serious hike, good for orienting yourself before you head further out.
Laurentians / Mont-Tremblant (~1.5 hours N)
The Laurentians are the region’s real hiking country, and Mont-Tremblant is the anchor, a ski village in winter that turns into hiking and lake country in summer. It works as a day trip or an overnight; if you’re only hiking for an afternoon, a day trip is fine, but the area rewards more time if you have it.
Eastern Townships (~1-2 hours SE)
Beyond the wine route around Magog and Lake Memphremagog, the Townships villages of Bromont and Sutton sit in genuine hill country, good walking terrain that gets its best light during fall foliage season, late September into October. This region doubles as wine country, so a hiking day here pairs naturally with a winery stop.
Montérégie / Mont-Saint-Hilaire (~40-45 minutes)
The closest option on this list by far, a real mountain south of the city surrounded by orchards. Best visited in early fall, when apple-picking season overlaps with the best walking weather, and close enough that a half-day hike still leaves time for something else.
Planning notes
None of these are technical hikes, all are manageable for an averagely fit visitor, but conditions change with the season: expect snow and ice in winter on anything outside the groomed city trails, and check official park or resort sites for current trail status before you drive out, conditions and closures shift year to year. Read more: our day-trips guide covers travel time, cost, and booking notes for each of these regions.