This was written for Rhonda who sent E-mail asking about bicycling in Hudson
Hi Rhonda,
There are no Hudson sites dealing with cycling but perhaps the following will give you some ideas. I don't know where you're coming from so I'm starting you off at the Vaudreuil exit of the Trans Canada, Highway 40, the first exit after the Iles aux Tourtres bridge off Montreal Island:
Turning right at the exit, the first right takes you back to the Chateau Vaudreuil hotel which has a beach and many facilities. The second right takes you to Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac which has some lovely old houses. The third right takes you down to the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains and onto the old Montreal-Ottawa road which is called Chemin de l'Anse here, Main Road in Hudson and Chemin de l'Anse again in Rigaud. It runs along the lake for about twenty miles.
The first part is quite bare and has been re-built which means good pavement but the shoreline is freshly dumped rock. Still, you have some lovely views of the lake. After a couple of miles you hit a point and the road veers sharply to the left. You are now entering the part of Hudson called Como and ten miles of shady, winding and slightly hilly road with, at this point, some lovely houses and mansions on both sides. Later, the road goes through some fields and follows the lake before reaching the Oka ferry.
You may want to take the ferry which consists of motorboats pulling large barges. It is quite inexpensive for a bike and takes you over to Oka. Turn left there and you reach Oka Beach Park (Paul Sauvé Provincial Park) via a hilly road which has some nice views. Apples and Oka cheese are for sale along the road. Turn left at the ferry and you go through Kanesatake, the Indian reserve. The road here goes past an old monastery but is generally further from the lake and quite flat.
Return to Hudson on the ferry and continue on to Willow Place Inn on the lakeside with a lovely terrace and locally brewed beer. Further along are several hundred year old houses from the time when this area was a main stopping point for steamboats going from Montreal to Ottawa.
After crossing the railway, which used to be the main Montreal-Ottawa line but now has only two commuter trains per day, you will reach the village of Hudson. Near the beginning of the built up area there are a number of terraces serving anything from hot-dogs and poutine to English tea. Further on are banks, serice stations, shopping centres etc. and the old railway hotel, the Chateau du Lac. If you turn right at the Chateau and follow Wharf Road you will end up on the old government wharf which used to be the main stopping point for the Lake of Two Mountains steamers. Going further along Main Road you could look up the history of Hudson at the Village Bookstore in the IGA shopping centre. Further along again, you will find several art and gift shops as you leave the village centre.
Continuing along Main Road, you will be climbing a slight hill at the top of which is Depanneur Lily, previously Mullans, in the old building which served originally as the schoolhouse for the area. On your left is Cote St. Charles which goes up to exit 22 off the Trans Canada. You are now in Hudson Heights. To the right are many older houses and mansions and a few new ones. You will see St. James Anglican Church on your right and shortly thereafter, Mount Victoria branching off steeply upwards to the left with a monument to the Mount Victoria farms at the base. Main Road proceeds down McCauley's Hill, crosses the railway tracks and goes through the newer collection of houses gathered around the crossroads at Harwood Road where Alstonvale Station used to be. To the right is Thompson Park, an ideal place for a picnic by the lake. Slightly further on your left is the Aird's Farm where, every Saturday until Thanksgiving, Finnegan's Flea Market is held.
Now the houses thin out and you'll be catching glimpses of the lake across rolling meadows. There are a couple of farms before you hit the next road going up to the Trans Canada, Montée Lavigne at the old Choisi station. Hudson ends here and you enter the Parish of Rigaud, recently amalgamated with the Town of Rigaud. Chemin de l'Anse continues along the lake a bit further and then turns inland to cross the Trans Canada and go through the centre of Rigaud. Turn left past the Saturday festivals at the old mill and Collège Bourget and left again to the station of the cross and the field of boulders... but perhaps that's for another day.
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