Cycloparc PPJ is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

located in the

Pontiac Regional County Municipality Pontiac (french: municipalité régionale de comté de Pontiac) is a regional county municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Campbell's Bay is the county seat. It should not be confused with the municipality of Pontiac, which is ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The PPJ traverses of hills and riverfront and enables hikers and cyclists to tour through points of interest such as Grand Calumet Island, the Vinton Plain and

Coulonge Chutes The Coulonge Chutes (in French: ''Chutes Coulonge'') is a non-profit recreation park and historical exhibition area operating in Mansfield-et-Pontefract, in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality of western Quebec, Canada. Its main attraction ...

near

Fort-Coulonge Fort Coulonge is a village in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in western Quebec, Canada, at the mouth of the Coulonge River. It is the francophone centre of the otherwise largely (57%) anglophone Pontiac MRC, with 79.6% listing French a ...

. Slopes on the trail do not exceed 4%. The surface of the trail is made from a combination of stone and dust. No motor vehicles or hunting is permitted on the PPJ. The trail is ideally suited for hikers and cyclists during the summer between May and October. There are numerous places to swim along the trail, including the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

and nearby off-trail Fort William. There are 14 rest areas along the route. The trail originates at Kilometre 0 in

Wyman Wyman may refer to: People with the surname Wyman * Wyman (surname) People with the given or middle name Wyman * Artemas Wyman Sawyer (1827–1907), American Baptist minister *David Wyman Patten (1799–1838), American missionary, leader of the ...

and ends at

Allumette Island Julienne, , or french cut, is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long thin strips, similar to matchsticks. Common items to be julienned are carrots for , celery for , potatoes for julienne fries, or cucumbers for . Trimm ...

(L'Îles-aux-Allumettes). Many rest areas, picnic spots and observation points are found along the length of the PPJ. The trail crosses the

Félix-Gabriel-Marchand Bridge Félix-Gabriel-Marchand Bridge is a covered bridge in the Township of Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Quebec, Canada, that crosses the Coulonge River near Fort-Coulonge. Constructed in 1898, this 148.66-metre-long bridge is the longest covered bridg ...

, the second longest operational

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

in Canada. The trail is named after the

Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway The Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway Company (PPJR) was a Canadian railway that operated in the upper Ottawa River valley in western Quebec and northeastern Ontario, Canada. The railway ran from Aylmer through Quyon, Shawville, Fort Coulonge, ...

(PPJ) because it occupies the rail bed of this defunct railway company.

Wildlife and nature

The trail is populated with numerous animals and those travelling along the route will find

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

and

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

commonplace. Motor vehicles are not permitted anywhere along the trail, providing a serene setting to spot local wildlife. Different fruits available for picking along the PPJ include

blueberries Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

, wild apples and

raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

Trail highlights

* of pastoral bicycle ride, * of

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

and

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

sceneries, * of

meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifici ...

and

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, * along the

shores, * on

References

External links

Cycloparc PPJ official websiteEnglish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cycloparc Ppj Transport in Outaouais Rail trails in Quebec Protected areas of Outaouais

Wildlife and nature

Trail highlights

See also

References

External links