“The goal is to make (the route) a welcoming, safe and friendly promenade that fits harmoniously into Mount Royal Park,” the city of Montreal says.
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Three weeks after a major April 2023 ice storm, tree trunks and branches continued to block many of the trails, making them dangerous.
It’s tempting to wander off the path to get a better view from a ledge or steep secondary paths. But beware: hikers have been known to slip and fall down the precipitous slope that runs along the Escarpment Path, an often-overlooked 700-metre trail on Mount Royal that offers one of the best cityscape views.
The city of Montreal doesn’t seem to want you to find the Outremont Summit or the park around it. No signs greet visitors, the official Mount Royal tourist map is elusive and entrances are not easily accessed via public transit.
You can drive up and park near the nature reserve and bird sanctuary on Mount Royal’s western peak, but part of this trek’s appeal is getting close to the stately Westmount mansions that line the public stairs above The Boulevard.
For Frederick Law Olmsted, getting there was half the fun. That’s clear from his writings and from the gently sloping, meandering 6.6-kilometre pedestrian and bike road on Mount Royal that bears the landscape architect’s name.
The lookout at the top of the Outremont Summit in Montreal’s Tiohtià:ke Otsira’kéhne Park gives visitors a view of northwestern Montreal. On a clear day, you can see Lac des Deux Montagnes.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, visitors to Mount Royal Park could zip up the mountain on a funicular, an incline railway that started at ground level near Duluth St.
This video and these photos give you a feel for Mount Royal’s Escarpment Path.
Many lifelong Montrealers have never been to Mount Royal’s second major lookout. That might be because it’s not as easy to find as the premier lookout – the Kondiaronk Belvedere, in front of the Chalet, near Smith House.