How we maintain our physical, mental and spiritual wellness in the rapid-fire modern world is one of the big questions of our age, and mindful living is what many people believe to be the answer. One of the core principles of mindfulness is to pay deliberate attention to the present moment, something we practise naturally every time we drive. At Mazda, this philosophy of purposeful living informs everything from the interior design of the cabin to the seamless ease of escaping the stresses of city life. Instinctively, the open road feels freeing, heading away from bright screens and overflowing inboxes and towards nature and calm.
In Canada, this philosophy is so widely shared there’s even a phrase for it – “going to the cottage”. A time-honoured tradition, it refers less to the type of building you visit and more to the practise of escaping the demands of urban life and reconnecting with the natural world. Cottage escapes are, of course, not unique to Quebec or even to Canada, but remain so much part of life here that there are magazines, merchandise — even a television channel — dedicated to all things cottages. Here, a cottage or chalet can mean almost anything, from a humble wooden cabin to a glass-fronted modernist palace, but what matters is less the architecture and more the proximity to nature and the accompanying sense of escapism. With that in mind, I’m getting behind the wheel of the new Mazda CX-50 PHEV and heading north from Montreal, to explore what Quebec has to offer the urban escapee.
Only an hour out of the city, I already feel a world away. The Laurentians, or Laurentides to the locals, is quintessential cottage country, stretching from Quebec all the way to the wilds of Labrador in the north east. Vast boreal forests of spruce and fir and some of the province’s finest ski slopes make the region a beloved escape for frazzled city dwellers hungry for nature and an antidote to modern life.
Driving the CX-50 in EV mode seems only appropriate as I approach my first stop, a fairytale tree house concealed by lofty pines. All I can hear as I approach my first cottage is the muffled wind eddying among the trees and branches shrugging off thick quilts of snow.
Built by Antoine Palangie, the L’Épervier treehouse is charm itself. Three stories of wooden cabin, balconies and nooks, perched on stilts, it reaches high up into the canopy. Constructed from untreated timber with a minimal footprint, L’Épervier is sustainable in every detail. Water is supplied by a deep local spring; the furniture is carefully crafted from recycled materials and waste is treated by a pebble filtration system.
A committed conservation scientist, Antoine explains how being surrounded by nature here helps soothe him. “This is a wonderful place to be still and reflect. It helps calm my eco-anxiety,” he confides. “It gives me peace and hope”. We watch the woods for while hoping to see deer, or hear coyotes, and discuss the importance of being enveloped in nature.
“Research is really advanced in this field,” says Antoine. “Scientists have found that even just knowing you are close to a park has a beneficial effect on health. It’s so important”. We talk about how Japanese physicians have been promoting immersion in nature for decades through the practice of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing). In Canada, too, doctors now prescribe free passes to national parks to reconnect patients with the natural world, so manifest are the benefits to our health.
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As the temperature drops and my fingers tingle with the bite of the cold, I head to the CX-50 and defrost my hands on the heated steering wheel, with the panoramic moonroof keeping me connected to the outside. Snowflakes swirl above me as I roll away down the driveway.
I join Route 327, a road popular with bikers for its smooth curves and gentle hills, and use MiDrive to switch into Sport mode as the near-empty road draws me north. Everyone else, it seems, is avoiding the inclement weather in their cottages, leaving the roads open for me to enjoy.
I glide past industrious snow machines and twinkling ski slopes, while a lone skier carves down the mountain. Situated close to Mont Tremblant National Park, one of Quebec’s oldest, the Miro house in La Conception is for those who like their views epic. Its sleek clean lines are a more contemporary take on the cottage and its myriad glass panels reflect the sky high up on a hillside.
An exercise in restrained minimalist design, the focus is firmly on what is outside La Conception’s cabin – nothing but treetops and the heavens for miles and miles. Out on the balcony, it feels like floating and the whole building seems designed to draw the sky inside.
That said, I’m still to reach the last cottage before the sun tucks behind the horizon at dusk. Back in the CX-50, I skirt past glassy Lac Quenouille, one of the area’s 9,000 lakes which in turn make up just a fraction of the million lakes in Quebec.
Icy rain falls in splinters as I make my way to the L’Évasion retreat, a cluster of spacey domes cocooned by powder laden firs. The terrain is challenging, but the CX-50’s Trail mode makes light work of it. Eager to stretch and explore the area, I try snowshoeing for the first time – the human equivalent of off-roading. My performance is a little less stable than that of the CX-50, but after a few ungainly steps I get the hang of it and crunch happily through knee deep drifts, slow but sure, serene among the trees.
Back at the dome, amber light glows through the geometric windows, cosy against the dimming light, but I’m reluctant to go inside. L’Évasion’s owner, Marc-André, is ex-military and makes fast work of building a crackling fire for us to enjoy. Here, he lives onsite with his family, landing here after many years spent adventuring.
“We call this place the playground or backyard of Montreal; there’s so much to experience,” he explains. We rub our hands by the fire companionably, breath frosting. Snowflakes settle on my lashes as the stars begin their show. It feels like I’m on another planet. My shoulders drop and time slows. Cottage or no, this is the life.
Words Jenni Doggett / Images Daphné Caron / Films Ben Cox