Trek Montreal — Mount Royal, Canada

Mount Royal: Olmsted's Road to the Cross, the Lake and the Lookout

A long, gentle loop over the mountain that gave Montreal its name: up Frederick Law Olmsted's switchbacks from the Cartier Monument, past the illuminated cross and Beaver Lake, to the Kondiaronk Belvedere and down the stairs into downtown.

Duration: 1 day
Distance: 8 km
Ascent: 180 m
Difficulty: Easy
Best season: Late May–October; late September to mid-October for the fall colours

Print day cards Packing list

Mount Royal is the reason Montreal looks the way it does. The city wraps around it, the city’s height limit, which keeps downtown towers below its summit, has shaped the skyline, and on any warm weekend half the city seems to be somewhere on its slopes. The park on top was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect of New York’s Central Park, and opened in 1876. His idea was a slow approach: a carriage road that climbs in wide, easy switchbacks through the woods so the views arrive gradually. That road, now a broad gravel path called the Chemin Olmsted, is still the best way up.

This route climbs it from the east side, visits the three landmarks that define the mountain for Montrealers (the cross, Beaver Lake and the lookout in front of the Chalet) and then drops down the long wooden staircases on the south face straight into downtown. It is about eight kilometres with roughly 180 metres of climbing, all of it gradual, and it takes three to four hours with stops. Anyone who walks regularly can do it; the only steep part is the staircase at the end, and you are going down it.

Getting there. Start at the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument on Avenue du Parc, on the park’s eastern edge. It is roughly a 20-minute walk from Mont-Royal or Place-des-Arts metro stations, or a short bus ride up Avenue du Parc. STM bus 11 crosses the mountain and stops near the Chalet and Beaver Lake if you want to shorten the walk. You finish at Rue Peel and Avenue des Pins, about 15 minutes’ walk downhill from Peel metro station.

Permits & tickets. Mount Royal Park is free and has no permit or reservation system. Parking in the park’s lots is paid; check current rates on the city’s site.

Good to know:

The Chemin Olmsted is shared with runners and, on some stretches, cyclists. Keep right and stay on the marked paths, which also protects the fragile forest floor.
There are washrooms and water in the Chalet, at Smith House and at the Beaver Lake pavilion, and nowhere else on the route.
In winter the same route is a popular snowshoe and cross-country ski circuit, but the staircases and steeper paths ice up; bring cleats.
Sunday afternoons in summer, the lawns around the Cartier Monument host the ‘tam-tams’, a free, informal drum circle that has been gathering there for decades. Time your start for it.

Tips & Insights for this route Planning this route? Read our practical tips before you go — 9 tips. Read the tips

Download waypoints (GPX) Points of interest in walking order — not a trail trace.

Day by day

DayDistanceAscentDescentWalking time

Day 1 Hardest dayCartier Monument to Rue Peel over the summit

Distance8 kmAscent180 mDescentNot recordedWalking timeNot recorded

Day 1

Cartier Monument to Rue Peel over the summit

Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument, Avenue du Parc → Rue Peel and Avenue des Pins 8 km 180 m

Navigate this day Print day

A loop over the top of the mountain on Olmsted’s switchback road, taking in the cross, Beaver Lake and the classic downtown lookout before a steep staircase descent into the city.

Segments

The Cartier Monument 0.3 km 5 m Map

Avenue du Parc → Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument

Lawns and paved paths

Start at the tall monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier, one of the Fathers of Confederation, on the open lawns at the foot of the mountain. On summer Sundays this is the home of the tam-tams, a drum circle that draws drummers, dancers and picnickers from all over the city. Find the signs for the Chemin Olmsted at the edge of the trees. About 10 minutes.

About this place

The Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument is a monument by sculptor George William Hill (1862–1934), with depiction of George-Étienne Cartier, located in Mount Royal Park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Up Olmsted's switchbacks 2.5 km 130 m Map

Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument → Summit plateau near the cross

Wide crushed-gravel road, steady gentle grade

Olmsted designed this road so that carriages could climb without strain, and it still feels that way: a broad gravel path, wide enough for two lanes, looping back and forth through maple and oak woods. There is a staircase shortcut partway up, but the switchbacks are the point, with glimpses east over the Plateau as you rise. About 45 minutes.
The Mount Royal Cross 0.8 km 30 m Map

Summit plateau → Mount Royal Cross

Forest paths

Follow the signed paths to the steel cross on the mountain's highest point, 233 metres above sea level. The first cross was planted here in 1643 by Maisonneuve, fulfilling a vow made during a flood that threatened the young settlement. Today's version went up in 1924: 31.4 metres of riveted steel, lit with LEDs since 2009 so it can change colour, and visible from much of the city at night. About 20 minutes.

About this place

The Mount Royal Cross is a monument on top of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It stands at the northeastern peak of the mountain and overlooks the eastern part of the Island of Montreal.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Taxiarchos228 · CC BY 3.0
Smith House and Beaver Lake 1.5 km 5 m Map

Mount Royal Cross → Beaver Lake

Gravel paths and open lawns

Walk west past Smith House, the park's visitor centre with an exhibit on the mountain's history, and down to Beaver Lake. It looks natural but was created in 1938 from a swamp, named for an old beaver dam found during the work. The modernist pavilion beside it has food, washrooms and, in winter, skate rentals for the rink next to the lake. The surrounding lawns are the best picnic spot on the mountain. About 40 minutes with a break.

About this place

The Beaver Lake is an artificial basin fitted in 1938 on a former swamp located on Mount Royal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was designed by architect Frederick Todd.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: JustLiza · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Chalet and the Kondiaronk Belvedere 1.5 km 10 m Map

Beaver Lake → Kondiaronk Belvedere

Level gravel road

Rejoin the Chemin Olmsted and follow it around to the Mount Royal Chalet, a Beaux-Arts pavilion built in 1932, and the broad terrace in front of it. This is the view on every Montreal postcard: the downtown towers lined up below, the St. Lawrence behind them and, on clear days, the hills of the Montérégie on the horizon. The terrace is named for Kondiaronk, the Wendat chief who helped make the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701. About 40 minutes, including time at the rail.

About this place

Mount Royal Chalet is a building located near the summit of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The chalet was constructed in 1932 under the mayoralty of Camillien Houde as a make-work project during the Great Depression. The French Beaux Arts structure was designed by Montreal architect Aristide Beaugrand-Champagne (1876-1950).
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Thomas Ledl · CC BY-SA 4.0
Down the stairs to Rue Peel 1.4 km 0 m Map

Kondiaronk Belvedere → Rue Peel and Avenue des Pins

Long wooden staircases, then a sloping path

From the east end of the belvedere, take the staircases down the steep south face of the mountain. They are long, shaded and hard on the calves going up, easy going down. At the bottom you come out at Rue Peel and Avenue des Pins, with downtown and Peel metro a 15-minute walk further downhill. About 30 minutes.

About this place

Downtown Montreal is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0