The Pontiac is farm fields and bush and one long rail line running the width of it. Shawville is the hub — here's how to cross it slowly.
The Pontiac is the part of Quebec most Quebecers have never been to — a wide, flat, mostly English-speaking pocket of farm country up the Ottawa River, with Shawville as its main street. There is a lot of sky here and not much hurry.
Its spine is the PPJ Cycloparc, a rail-trail laid down the old Pontiac Pacific Junction line, running ninety-odd kilometres across the county. These four take in two of its best reaches and a pair of rougher paths back in the bush. Tap any one to open it in Foray if you've got the app, or just read it as a map.
The rail-trail picks up at the edge of Shawville and runs dead straight east toward Quyon — fine gravel, no grade to speak of, hayfields and woodlots on either side. The kind of ride where you settle into a rhythm and stop checking the distance.
Northwest of town the line bends toward the river and the country gets rougher and prettier — rock cuts, beaver ponds, the odd glimpse of the Ottawa. A longer reach for when you have the legs; the surface stays easy even when the scenery does not.
A long unmarked path through the bush back of Bristol — no signage, no real surface, just a worn line under the pines. Quiet to the point of solitude, and best left to people who already know the area. Don't count on cell service.
One of a handful of named paths winding through the woods up toward Fort-Coulonge — short, twisting, and rooty, more of a ramble than a route. Worth it for the trees and the quiet if you are already up that way.
Trail data sketched from public OpenStreetMap traces. The polylines on this page approximate the actual routes — your Foray app will resolve precise geometry when you tap into a trail. Got a correction? sundaylabs.app@gmail.com.