Snowy Trails, Cozy Inns: Skiing Town to Town in Quebec

Amid light snow, I skied out of the town of Ste.-Adèle, in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, and headed to Prévost, eight miles away.Only a few minutes earlier, I had walked out of Au Clos Rolland, a historic inn where I’d spent the previous night dining on a decadent three-course meal and resting up from a day of cross-country skiing.Skiing from town to town through forests and meadows, then overnighting near the trail in relative luxury, was something I had never experienced in North America.Au Clos Rolland is just a few blocks from the P’tit Train du Nord, a former railroad line turned multiuse trail that is groomed for cross-country skiing.

My guide and I glided across it for a few minutes before veering off into the forest on the narrow, ungroomed Whizzard Trail.That’s where the real fun began.For the past two days I had been following the east route of Les Routes Blanches, a new series of ski tours on the vast network of Nordic backcountry trails in the southern Laurentians, many created a century ago.

There are three options.The 28-mile route I skied connects three small towns over three days, with two overnights near the trail, meals and luggage transport (about $700 per person, double occupancy); skiers can go with a guide, as I did, or try it on their own (about $42 for maps and parking; lodging and meals are extra).

The north route, based at Mont Tremblant, includes two days of guided skiing on expert-level trails.On the more rugged 32-mile west route, skiers are currently responsible for booking a yurt and a backcountry cabin; next winter guided trips will be offered.I have my own history in the area, too.

I learned to downhill ski when I was 5 at a former resort called Gray Rocks.My German immigrant parents loved the area so much, they bought a lakeside cottage, which my mom sold when I was 13.

I now live in Colorado, but the Laurentians still pull at my heart, a gentle tug that is impossible to ignore.We are having trouble retrieving the...