Canada

Sherbrooke & Eastern Townships, QC

Includes Sherbrooke, Magog, North Hatley, Knowlton

CC 2.0: Guy Mayer

About an hour east of Montreal is a large area called the Eastern Townships, the “Cantons de l’Est”. It’s a popular year-round recreation destination, known for its lakes, hills, ski resorts, and numerous farms. Sherbrooke, with a population of ~200,000, is Quebec’s sixth largest city and the Townships’ anchor city. There’s some nice running in Sherbrooke and the Eastern Townships, with several lakefront paths, lenghty multi-use trails, and several large mountain parks terrific for trail running. GORGEOUS IN AUTUMN!

The best places to run in Sherbrooke are paths along the Lac des Nations, Magog & Saint-François rivers, the area around the University of Sherbrooke & Mont-Bellevue, our ‘runseeing‘ tour of the city’s famous 18 Murals, and easy trail running in the Beckett Woods. In Magog, there are some nice paths along the lake. Several sections of the Route Verte, Quebec’s long-distance cycling path, pass through the Townships — we’ve mapped a route between Lenoxville (just south of Sherbrooke) and North Hatley. There’s fabulous trail running at Mont-Orford National Park and Mont Sutton, with something for everyone.  There are also numerous quiet roads passing by farms for runners to create their own route.

Runners should note that the area’s winters are very cold and snowy – the Townships are a major winter recreation destination. This might affect road and trail conditions — in fact many trails are used for XC skiing. The paths might be very muddy and not runnable in early spring.

Editor's Picks

Some of our favorite runs in Sherbrooke & Eastern Townships, QC

See All Routes
  • All Routes
  • Iconic Routes
  • Weather & Climate
  • Where To Stay
  • Stores & Group Runs
  • Events

The Townships have very much a four season climate, with mild to warm summers and frigid, snowy winters. Summer temps average in the mid-70s (25C), but nights can be cool, dipping into the 50s (14C). A layer might be needed at any time of year! Winters are very cold, with daytime highs averaging 20F (-6C) and average lows of near 0F (-18C). The area receives 250 cm of snow annually, and there’s snow on the ground from late November to early April. Autumn is gorgeous for running in the Townships, with crisp, sunny days. Conditions in early spring might be muddy.

climaTemps.com

RUNNING STORES

The running stores in the area are generally in Sherbrooke.

Le Coureur.  The signature running store serving Sherbrooke & the Townships. In business for 35+ years. They have numerous group runs & training programs.

33-Off, located in Momo Sports.

Asics store, located downtown

GROUP RUNS

Le Coureur has group runs Tuesdays  6pm & Saturday 9am (membership required). Info