Mountain Biking: Ontario or Quebec?

I'm going to be in Canada in a couple of weeks with work and am wanting to tag on a couple of days holiday to do some mountain biking. I'll be working in Quebec City but will likely have to fly via Toronto to get there (coming from the UK). Which of these has the best MBing (preferably single track)? Any tips on any particularly good trails or places to hire bikes welcome!

Many thanks
Andrea

There are no mountains in either province-a few hills but no mountains-none.

I'd look north of Montreal in the Laurentians to see what's there if it's mountain biking you're looking for, although both provinces offer superb cycling in general.

Copperspoon, there may not be mountains in the BC/Rockies sense of the word, but there are plenty of good mountain-biking opportunities in both provinces. The Toronto region is, on the whole, flatter than the Quebec region; you might want to look at the Mont Ste Anne area from Quebec for great cycling in the summer.

Ontario is as flat as a Japanese woman's ass and while Quebec has some hard rock hills it's tame tame tame.

I'm curious to know which of the eastern hills copperspoon has tried for mountain biking, just for a relative basis of comparison.

Yikes - didn't want to instigate an argument with this post so I'll clarify. I live in Cambridge, UK - it's flatter than a pancake: most of the surrounding area is barely above sea level - the Escarpment in ON is a mountain to me; the Rockies are like Everest. I'm used to relatively flat but up&down quite twisty technical single track (Thetford Forest). Something similar to cut my teeth on before I contemplate ski lifts and racing down a big slope would be good. I'm best described as intermediate in MB & being used to flatness I'm not physically up to literally cycling up mountains. I also need bike hire as I can't bring my own. There seem to be some interesting places near Barrie, ON. Thoughts welcome!

Yikes - didn't want to instigate an argument with this post so I'll clarify. I live in Cambridge, UK - it's flatter than a pancake: most of the surrounding area is barely above sea level - the Escarpment in ON is a mountain to me; the Rockies are like Everest. I'm used to relatively flat but up&down quite twisty technical single track (Thetford Forest). Something similar to cut my teeth on before I contemplate ski lifts and racing down a big slope would be good. I'm best described as intermediate in MB & being used to flatness I'm not physically up to literally cycling up mountains. I also need bike hire as I can't bring my own. There seem to be some interesting places near Barrie, ON. Thoughts welcome!

in the Quebec City region I would recommend Mont Sainte Anne as # 3. Obviously enjoy cycling in Quebec City as well, those hills will look like mountains to you.

One last advise, I m assuming you are going to be working temporarily in Quebec City, so make sure to find an apartment as close as you can from Old Quebec (Vieux-Quebec). You really want to be close to this area, specially in the Summer.

I live near Toronto and there's plenty of opportunity for single track around the here. Like people say, it's not going to be all downhill, nor is the technicality really that high. Right within the city of Toronto is an impressive trail that runs along the Don Valley. I actually just got back from there today and it's looking nice, well maintained. Definitely the easiest way to get your single track fix while in the city. You can find more info at www.dvtuc.com.

Outside of the city, you should likely head near the escarpment. Hardwood Hills is a great spot and has good rental bikes: http://www.hardwoodhills.ca/mtb/mtbmainframes.htm. If you check http://www.mtbthebruce.com/1.php , they list some newer trails that I haven't been to but look like some of the better ones around Toronto. Although, these are about a 2-4 hour drive outside of the city.

Another resource to check out is: http://www.out-there.com/ton01mtb.htm<BR>

Mont Ste-Anne near Quebec city has some of the best mountain biking in Canada and hosts an annual world-class championship. The area has seen the emergence of some of Canada's best bikers. It's not a big mountain in the alpine sense but since you'll be biking it you really don't need Banff, Everest or K2... If you only have a few days, I'd stick with this one.

If you have many days, the Charlevoix region not too far from Quebec city (in canadian distances anyway) probably has a lot of hidden gems. The area is very hilly (for Quebec) and the landscape is breathtaking.

Bromont (closer to Montreal) is also very popular for mtn biking and is also a draw for many types of cyclists (they have a speed cycling stadium and national training facilities). If you have a lot of time, Morin Heights, Val-David, St-Jean de Matha (Montagne Coupee) and Val-Morin are also often talked about but seem less crowded than the big tourist spots. But that's all getting farther away from Quebec city and closer to Montreal....

I've no idea what Ontario has to offer.

Traversée de Charlevoix, a multi-day trail.

Dear All

Many thanks for all the replies! In the end I've decided to head for Hardwood Hills in ON for a few days as Mont Ste-Anne is shut till the end of May :-( and I'm there next week - typical. A real shame as it sounds spectacular - I'll have to come back when it's open!

Thanks again for all the advice - hopefully of use to others too when searching - and if anyone's in HH Thurs/Fri/Sat next week hopefully see you there!

Dear All

Many thanks for all the replies! In the end I've decided to head for Hardwood Hills in ON for a few days as Mont Ste-Anne is shut till the end of May :-( and I'm there next week - typical. A real shame as it sounds spectacular - I'll have to come back when it's open!

Thanks again for all the advice - hopefully of use to others too when searching - and if anyone's in HH Thurs/Fri/Sat next week hopefully see you there!

Dear All

Many thanks for all the replies! In the end I've decided to head for Hardwood Hills in ON for a few days as Mont Ste-Anne is shut till the end of May :-( and I'm there next week - typical. A real shame as it sounds spectacular - I'll have to come back when it's open!

Thanks again for all the advice - hopefully of use to others too when searching - and if anyone's in HH Thurs/Fri/Sat next week hopefully see you there!

NB - Traversée de Charlevoix is also shut until June :-(

And be aware that posting from a PDA will likely make your message appear more than once... Not my fault - but apologies anyway!

You can also try the parks and conservation areas along the Niagara Escarpment. I don't have a specific place for you but the escarpment IS the mountain of Ontario.