Best Hiking Trails to See Fall Colours in Gatineau Park

One of my favourite activities is putting on a cozy fleece, lacing up my hiking boots, and heading to Gatineau Park to look at the beautiful fall colours. It can be hard to know what trails will lead you to the best views in the park so I’ve made a list of my 3 favourite hikes in Gatineau Park to see fall colours, and enjoy the outdoors. I also recommend downloading the AllTrails app here to know exactly where you're going before you head out to the trails. 

#1: King Mountain

Start Location: King Mountain Parking Lot (Google maps will understand)

Distance: 1.8km loop

Approximate time: 1 hour

The King Mountain loop is the perfect trail if you want to work up a decent sweat before reaching several lookout points that look over the Gatineau hills! This trail offers amazing views of the fall colours and loops around back to the start point so there’s no need to worry about turning around, just follow the trail signs and you’ll make it back to the parking lot you started at!

#2: Mackenzie King Estate (Chute Waterfall and Lauriault trails)

Start Location: Mackenzie King Estate - P6 in Gatineau Park

Distance: 4.5km

Approximate time: 1.5 hours

The Mackenzie King Estate is the perfect start point for a fall adventure. After parking at P6 you can explore the Mackenzie King Estate and grab a hot drink at Café Pat before heading to the Chute Waterfall and Lauriault trails. The Chute Waterfall trail winds through a tunnel (you might have to duck if you’re over 6ft tall) and through the forest beside a stream. After about a kilometer you will reach a beautiful waterfall where you can sit on a bench and enjoy the fall colours. After enjoying the waterfall you can hop onto the Lauriault trail and after 1.5km you will find another amazing view at a lookout. Then make your way back the way you came to the parking lot.

#3: SkyLine Trail

Start Location: P7 parking lot in Gatineau Park

Distance: 5.3 km

Approximate time: 2 hours

Finally, the Skyline trail is another one of my favourite hikes to see the fall colours near Ottawa. Be prepared to go straight up as you make your way to 2 lookouts that provide views well worth the hike. Start at P7 and take trail 30 to the Wattsford’s lookout to see, you guessed it, the beautiful fall colours. At the end of trail 30 hop onto trail 6 to do a loop that leads to more beautiful views. Make sure to bring snacks and water if you do this hike as you’ll be out for about 2 hours.

Coffee (or tea) Time!

No outing to see the fall colours in Gatineau Park would be complete without a trip to a café in Old Chelsea. You can’t go wrong with any of the cute cafes in Old Chelsea but I’ve listed a few of my favourites below:

1. Café Les Saisons Coffee

2. Palmier

3. Biscotti & Cie

So now that you know the best hiking trails to see fall colours in Gatineau Park get your boots on and escape to nature for a couple hours by yourself or with friends :)