A corner of Saint-Sauveur
Discover 14 hand-picked spots in Saint-Sauveur, in the heart of Saint-Sauveur — restaurants, bars, cafés and more, all worth the detour.
Saint-Sauveur is the first stop up north, and it is where skiing began. As early as 1905, Montreal Ski Club members stepped off the train at Shawbridge and crossed the Pays-d'en-Haut on skis — long boards strapped on with leather, no poles. In 1913 the village hosted the first international ski competition ever held in Canada: McGill against Dartmouth. Curé Labelle had promised trainloads of tourists; they arrived on snow trains, every weekend through the 1920s and 1930s, by the thousand.
The village has kept that double nature. Rue Principale runs a few hundred metres and packs in more restaurants, terrasses and shops than ten thousand residents could ever need — because it was not built for them. Sommet Saint-Sauveur, open since 1934, lights its runs until 10 p.m. and claims the longest ski season in Quebec; in summer the mountain becomes a water park.
All around lies the Pays-d'en-Haut: the P'tit Train du Nord linear park on the old railbed, the lakes of Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, the outlet stores for rainy days, and that late-afternoon light on the Laurentians that explains, better than any brochure, why Montreal has been coming up here for a century.
About an hour up Highway 15 North, exit 60. On winter Friday afternoons and late Sunday, allow double: it is the most congested drive in the Laurentians.
A car is necessary to get here and to move around. On site, rue Principale, the outlets and the base of the slopes are walkable. Village parking is paid in high season.
Two peaks: December to March for skiing, including night skiing, and June to August for the water park and the terrasses. September and October bring colour and quiet; April and November are in-between months when several places close.
Restaurants on rue Principale and lodgings fill up weeks ahead for winter weekends and the Thanksgiving long weekend.
French everywhere; service in English is common, given the many visitors from Montreal and Ontario.
Canadian dollar (CAD). Posted prices exclude tax (about 15% more at checkout) and a 15–20% tip is expected at restaurants.
Dial 911 for emergencies. The nearest regional hospital is in Saint-Jérôme, about twenty minutes south.
