Sucrerie de la Montagne, Montreal Outskirts

A popular thing to do in Quebec is visit what's known as a "sugar shack," a place where maple syrup is made. The busy season is when the sap runs in the early spring, so our visit to Montreal was well timed. We went to Sucrerie de la Montagne, about an hour's drive from downtown Montreal. It's on a mountain with plenty of maple trees around. They even have cabins for people who want to stay overnight. To give it an authentic feel, there's even a horse-drawn ride from the parking to the main building.

The cart coming for us!

Less impressed riders

Not a long trip

A tree being tapped

The sap does not look like syrup! (There is sap in that bucket, I swear)

One of the lodges

The main building

The main building is the restaurant and bar, where visitors get their fill of traditional fare, including many maple-enhanced foods. Outside, we saw a fire that had died down.

Smoldering

Decorations on the main builiding

Inside is a large hall with tables. At one end is a fireplace; at the other is a stage where a fella was singing (mostly in French) to entertain the crowd. I only recognized one tune (Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora) by Harry Bellafonte). A lot of the music had a folk style that was charming. The guy on the stage played guitar. We then noticed a fiddle player wandering the floor, visiting the various tables. At one point, one of the tables was called up to play along. They were given wooden spoons and taught to keep rhythm with a couple of songs. We guessed they were a birthday party or some other celebration.

The main singer

The fiddler and the group with spoons

The main attraction was the food. The meal was a set menu, starting with bread and soup.

Homemade loaf

A warming soup

The main course was a variety of dishes, including ham, bacon, sausage, mashed potatoes, beans, meatballs, a crustless quiche, and a beef pie. The bacon was the most flavorful. The egg pie/quiche was quite light and refreshing. It was all good.

The main course

The dessert round was pancakes with fresh syrup and a molasses pie that reminded me of the Pennsylvania treat Shoo Fly Pie.

Dessert

On our way out, we check on the fire. It was not very big since it was already April and the weather outside was in the 40s (Fahrenheit). 

Looking at the fire

A closer look

Outside, one of the other buildings is the maple candy spot. Little trenches of snow had cups full of sticks used to pick up the candy. A guy came out with a hot pitcher of maple syrup and poured strips onto the snow. Visitors used the sticks to pick up the cooling syrup, making a type of lollipop. It was delicious.

Cabane a Sucre is where I want to stay

Pouring syrup

Enjoying syrup

Another small building looked a lot like an outhouse but was the "Station Selfie" for pictures.

Don't get in the picture!

Special 3D effect!

Nearby was a bunch of targets. We assumed they were for axe-throwing but clearly they haven't been used in a while.

Targets

We weren't sure what this other structure was supposed to be.

A hive? A shelter?

They also had a shop that sold various maple products, some authentic-style clothes, and various food items that had been served in the main building.

Magazin General

It was a great place to visit and we left very satisfied.