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Mont Sainte Anne Ski Resort
A quick glance at all the “hébergements” and “télécabines” here and you’ll soon realise you’re not in Kansas anymore. This is French-Canadian Canada and the Laurentian mountains, which geologists claim might just be some of the oldest peaks in the world.
History surrounds this corner of Canada - you fly in through walled Quebec City, 17th century and colonial to its core, and even St. Anne herself, grandmum of Christ, has a 350-year-old basilica, 8km from the mountain that bears her name.
In the more recent past, the St Anne annals have been filled with skiing competitions. The Du Maurier International took place here the very same year the resort opened, followed the next year by the inaugural Canadian Winter Games, 7 World Cup ski championships and 8 FIS or World Cup snowboard events - an indication of the terrain on offer.
At the base of the mountain, a small but sweet ski village with a super French feel has après bars, shops and ski/in-ski/out lodgings. Just along the Boulevard, the French-speaking Parish of St. Ferréol-Les-Neiges is the place for a fine fondue. Between the two bases there are more potential adventures than there are hours. If you can only do one, a day trip to Québec City, ranked among the world’s most beautiful, is a fine way to pass time. Or, if you’d pick skiing over sightseeing, many combine trips to Mont Sante Anne with ski excursions to nearby Le Massif, just 30 minutes down the highway.
Stats & FAQ
Location: Quebec, Canada
Established: 1966
Open: November - April
Downhill: 450 acres / 71 runs
View our detailed Mont Sainte Anne snow forecast or snow report and see all live webcams, piste maps, road and travel maps and lift pass prices. For a picture of historic snow conditions see the snow depths month by month with our Mont Sainte Anne snow history.
| Nearest Airport & Transfer Time: | |
| Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) | 62km, 1 hour 40 minutes |
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| Top Altitude: | 6400ft / 1951m |
| Bottom Altitude: | 574ft / 175m |
| Resort Altitude: | 574ft / 175m |
| Longest run: | 5.7km / 3.5 miles |
| Slope Orientation: | N S W |
| Vertical Drop: | 625m / 2051ft |
| Skiable Vertical: | |
| Night Skiing: | Yes |
| Glacier: | No |
Snow Report
Web Cam
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| Downhill Runs: | 450 acres / 71 runs |
| Beginner slopes: | 23% |
| Intermediate: | 45% |
| Advanced slopes: | 32% |
| Lift Pass Price: | $77 (adult single day pass) |
| Nearby resorts: | |
Skiing/BoardingSkiing in Mont Sainte Anne
Of the three skiable faces and 450 acres of the mountain, the runs range from fierce to friendly and you can usually find un-crowded trails or dip into the trees for some quiet glade runs. The longest trail in resort, 3 mile Chemin du Roy, is one of many meandering greens from the summit. That’s what skiing’s like here, offering lots of vertical and kodak moments to skiers of all abilities.
Intermediates enjoy 45% of St Anne, where blues stream down to the base village like rivers. The North face also rolls out lots moderately pitched, well-groomed cruisers, where the snow stays especially fresh. These dozen or so trails and intermediate-level glades are served by a speedy quad back up to the summit for lunches at the summit cafe in view of the St Lawrence river.
A ski resort that hosts this many World Cups clearly has something going on in the advanced terrain department. Find out for yourself on new double black diamond, the Beast (La Bête), so steep weak hearts should give it a wide berth… And the further west from here you go, the steeper the mountain gets. Take La Crete or La Super S, which packs 1300 feet of vertical into a mile. Fabulously forested as the area is, don’t leave without a little glade skiing. The wood around La Brunelle, is perfectly thinned and super steep to start.
After sundown, the highest vertical for night skiing in Canada springs into action, with a whopping 19 trails illuminated 4 days a week. This adds up to over 15.5km that you can ski under the stars, previously till as late as 10pm. This also includes lighting the forested La Cachette terrain park, one of four terrain parks and a bordercross.
Canada is also big on cross-country, and nowhere more so than St Anne, with 220km of groomed XC trails for all abilities, where many of the biggest US resorts only offer 50km.
Mont Sainte Anne Apres Ski
A resort named for a patron saint was never likely to house the “world’s baddest ski bars”, and the dial here is set to peaceful not party. But if an après beer is tradition, there are places to accommodate. La Chouette bar at base has beers and live crooners, and is a good spot for watching the night skiing, and the T-Bar (see what they did there?) at the Château Mont-Sainte-Anne is a slick spot for a cocktail. Just down the hall, the French taste for the finer things is apparent, in the swish Bistro Nordik. Five minutes from base, the town opens up the options and Microbrasserie des Beaux Prés here has the best beer in the area, while Le Brez is the spot for fondue.
If there’s energy to spare, activities include snowshoeing, sleigh rides, tubing, ice skating and tandem paragliding for a birds-eye of the St. Lawrence River. Dog-sledding can be an essential means of transport in this area but it’s also a great way to get out into the wilderness and you'll find plenty of places offering trips for a day or even longer. For a scenic trip, fill up the camera at the Ice Palace they build here each winter, or at the Montmorency Falls (taller than the Niagara Falls).
To keep up the sugar high necessary to cram all these activities into a week, pay a visit or two to the mountainside Sugar Shack on blue run La Picard. Staff here literally ladle maple syrup onto a bed of fresh snow, then scoop it up on sticks for your consumption. If it all gets too much, steam cares away in the outdoor springs and Finnish saunas of the Spa Nordique.
Best time to go
Best time to ski Mont Sainte Anne
Best time to visit & ski Mont Sainte Anne
The average natural snowfall at the summit of 187 inches / 475cm a year won’t make you gasp in wonder, but St Anne’s snow-making system covers 80% of the skiable terrain. This means it has one of Quebec’s longest ski seasons, closing in late April.
With lots of shady north facing slopes, the snow can hold up well into April, making this a fantastic place for later season bluebird skiing.
Peak Dates
If skiing under the stars and schussing with Santa for Christmas in Mont Sainte Anne fail to make you feel festive, the German Christmas markets in Quebec City should do the trick.
In case you haven’t had enough fun with the music on the mountain or on Quebec City’s raucous Grand Allee street for New Year in Monte Saint Anne, live music and mimosas usually wait at the gondola base on the 1st.
Scenic family skiing, the best snow of the season and lots of lovely night skiing won’t fail to make you feel rested on Half Term in Mont Sainte Anne. To make absolutely sure, top it off with daily trips to the Nordique spa’s steaming springs.
As if beautiful blue views of the St Lawrence river weren’t enough for Easter in Mont Sainte Anne, churches and chocolate await in Quebec City.
Families in Mont Sainte Anne
Not just quiet and picturesque, Mont Sainte-Anne has four terrain parks, family zones and a top-notch ski and board school - all the makings of a first-rate family ski trip. Lessons and daycare combination packages are available for those as young as 3, and daycare is available right by the gondola base for ages 6 months and up. The Children’s Center has room for up to 200 little ones, and everything from puppet shows, arts and crafts, movies and dressing-up to sliding, skating, sleigh rides and obstacle races to entertain them.
The beginner friendliness of the mountain, with green trails like La Familiale from the summit, means everyone gets to really explore from day one. If they’re already steady skiers, maple taffy at the Sugar Shack on blue La Pichard is always a winner.
Off the slopes, the adventures keep on coming with fat biking, husky sledding and the nearby ice castle to excite imaginations.
GroupsGroup Holidays Mont Sainte Anne
Groups can have a top time in Mont Saint Anne, especially if the ski school still offers First Tracks tickets to get you up the mountain 20 minutes before lifts open. The variety of terrain here means no-one’s drawing a short straw, and nearby Le Massif lets you in on even more.
If you’re not making memories fat biking, sleigh riding or eating taffy at the sugar shack, make sure to book a day trip to Quebec City, sure to keep culture vultures extra happy.
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