Sucrerie de la Montagne: a complete sugar shack experience

Arguably one of the best ways to welcome spring with open arms after yet another seemingly interminable winter, the sugar shack experience just never gets old. There’s just something about historic wooden sheds, maple-syrup-covered everything and fresh air that inevitably brings a smile to every visitors’ face.

But what if the magic of sugar shack season and Canadian folklore could be experienced year-round… and overnight? This alluring promise is made possible at Sucrerie de la Montagne’s four log cabins, located atop Mont Rigaud, just an hour outside the city. This Québec heritage site has been charming visitors for well over three decades with its traditional, throwback approach. It offers a momentary glimpse of what life was truly like for Canadian pioneers back in the day, who subsisted with minimal means in the notoriously harsh Canadian weather thanks to their ingenuity and cleverness.

Sucrerie de la Montagne consistently is one of the most popular sugar shacks around Montréal – understandably so, considering its idyllic setting in the middle of a 120-acre forest and its quaint log cabins. Not to mention the finger-licking good Québécois dishes served at the main building for breakfast, lunch and dinner (including pea soup, meatball stew, meat pie, sugar-cured country ham, fried pork rinds, sugar pie and more)!

There are four log cabins available to visitors who should want to stay the night, each with a different layout and ambiance. The cabins are a reflection of the Sucrerie’s spirit: old-fashioned, unpretentious and full of history.

Maisonnette d’amour features two bedrooms, a small bathroom and a wood stove. It is located just steps away from the sugar shack and the main building.

Quintessential cabins Maisonette du Bûcheron and Maisonnette du Trappeur cater to families and groups. They both feature three bedrooms, fieldstone fireplaces and one full bathroom.

Maisonnette du sous-bois is a one-bedroom cabin located right next to the century-old sawmill. Perfect for couples looking for some old-timey romance! It features one mezzanine bedroom as well as fieldstone fireplace and a claw-foot bathtub upstairs.

While sugar shacks are plentiful around Montréal, Sucrerie de la Montagne is one of the easiest to get to and one of the few to offer accommodation in such a picturesque, quaint setting. Get the chance to step back in time and admire founder Pierre Faucher perpetuate his ancestors’ heritage – shop for maple products (including maple perfume!) at the General Store, feast on staple Québécois dishes at the iconic sugar shack, grab a drink at the bar, embark on a horse-sleigh ride and tour the maple syrup-making facilities.