Sugar Shacks in Quebec

Just a Spoonful of Sugary Maple: Les cabanes à sucre of Quebec

While a trip to Québec might make you feel reminiscent of Old France, do not forget you are still in Canada, a country that brandishes a symbol of national pride candidly upon their national flag – the mighty maple leaf.

While October is not the typical season for maple goods, a trip to Canada does not seem complete unless you have tasted maple syrup from the source.

Generally, the maple season begins in mid March beginning when the days grow warmer yet the nights remain cold, causing the sap in the maple trees to rise. Harvesters then collect the maple water to boil it down to a syrup, sugar, butter or even taffy.

The quest of the modern tourist is one of authenticity, and there is no better way to discover an authentic taste of Québec than to sample its maple goodness from one of Québec’s many sugar shacks, or cabanes à sucre.

At Érablière le Chemin du Roy, visitors to Québec City will easily be able to include this sugar shack into their itineraries as it is located just 15 minutes away. L’Érablière le Chemin du Roy offers a typical Québec sap house meal, featuring a Québecois meat pie, with folk singers entertaining guests in the background adding to that country atmosphere. Let’s be honest – there is no better reprieve from the hustle and bustle of city life than some dancing sweetened by a hint of maple-y deliciousness to warm the belly and the spirits. The cavarne is open year-round and offering guided tours of the sugar shack and grove, horse sleigh rides, maple taffy on snow, forest hiking and cross-country skiing. Of course, most will probably not make it past the shop where maple products are sold on-site, and the maple caramel is not to be missed.

For a higher brow maple adventure, the Auberge des Gallants Restaurant and Spa gets creative in sprucing up the old country cabane with an urban flair. Situated in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region, only 30 minutes from West Island, l’Auberge des Gallant offers many facilities for meetings and business sessions, equestrian competitions, ski, and golf in nearby areas. They also offer services on site to host the perfect wedding among the many beautiful gardens. But what is most intriguing about the auberge is the spa which is famous for its chocolate, wine and maple syrup treatments. During the 80 minute-long Maple Biscuit Body Treatment, a moisturizing maple butter-based scrub is applied to exfoliate the skin, leaving the skin hydrated, smoother, and revitalized with vital nutrients provided from nature’s bounty.

Even if you are touring the major cities, a sugar shack is never far off, so why not enhance your Québecois experience by dropping by one of the many sugar shacks? Feel Québec literally seep into your every pore and become a part of you, so that when you sadly depart, that lingering taste on your tongue will still remain to remind you of the time when you fell in love with Québec.

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