Take your pick: adrenaline packed or slow and contemplative?
Published on Mar 7, 2022
Totally charming mini-chalets, a vast playground set inside a sumptuous forest, and an absolutely quiet night… A stay at the Côteaux Missisquoi vacationing resort will truly recharge your batteries!
By Simon Diotte
I feel as if Covid-19 was invented to increase my productivity. As a result, I’m so busy, I can’t seem to find the time to get away for a weekend, or even to just think about it!
So, as soon as I was given the chance to head out to the Eastern Townships to do some reporting, I jumped at the opportunity to visit a place I’ve long wanted to explore, Les Côteaux Missisquoi. This small vacationing resort offers several wilderness accommodations in Saint-Étienne-de-Bolton. The owner, Stéphane Adam, has just opened a new eco-shelter, La Perdrix, which luckily was available last week.
La Perdrix, is the perfect nest for a lovers’s getaway or, in my case, for someone wanting to enjoy some alone time. It’s been a long while since I had one of these moments, with the pandemic and all. Parents know what I’m talking about! The shelter offers a microhabitat, with a sofa, a bistro table, a wood stove and a mezzanine/bedroom where you’ll quickly fall into the arms of Morpheus. La Perdrix doesn’t have any running water; however, it does have an indoor composting toilet, a good substitute for the cold outdoor backhouse!
It offers a warm and cozy ambiance, with its wood-panel walls, and large windows that blur the line between the indoors and the nature outside. This shelter will have you leave your cars in the parking lot, 300 metres away, for the duration of your stay.
Once you’ve arrived, what can you do? Read, of course. Think out loud. Devour a bag of chips as if there’s no tomorrow! All this, and my favourite: Go play outside! The domain Les Côteaux Missisquoi has its own network of trails. It’s really worth your while! The forest is so beautiful, and the very imposing trees proudly reign over nature here. Hikers can walk alongside the North-Missisquoi River where visitors also go swimming in the summer. During the winter months, the waterway is reserved for ducks to enjoy the open water between the slabs of ice.
Strong hikers will truly enjoy the Sentiers de l’Estrie, which run through the domain, less than 50 m from my chosen cottage of the moment. I decided to head north towards the Trousers Lake Hill. I didn’t regret my decision. From the moment I stepped onto the trail it challenged my atrophied muscles, the result of long hours sitting behind a desk. The route takes you over several rocky cliffs. Hikers can expect some truly amazing lookouts from here. You could even stop halfway through and be totally satisfied!
I continued on towards the Trousers lake hill to admire the view from the Pic de la Loutre. Up and back the route covers almost 9 km with an ascent of more than 300 m. Depending on the snow cover, this route can easily require several hours to complete. Plan on bringing a lunch and something comforting for when you return to your shelter.
Heading south, I strolled out inside the pretty pine grove located at about twenty minutes from the accommodations. Heading even further south, it’s possible to hike up Mount Foster. I decided to save this outing for my next visit. Nearby, you’ll also discover the trails laid out by the Missisquoi-Nord organization. Overall, the range of possibilities is vast when it comes to hiking trails in the area.
Renting the shelter La Perdrix costs $165/night. They can welcome a maximum of 2 guests. Animals are not allowed on the site.
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