After the long Fortune Hill climb tops out, you are treated to a most pleasant stretch of winding parkway, with Lakes and marshes on one side and a few rocky road-cut cliffs on the right. The road is also pretty flat along this section, only undulating mildly. After a bit, the Fortune Parkway ends at a T-junction with the Champlain Parkway. The route turns right and continues along the Champlain Parkway.
It is only a short moderately uphill ride to the first of a series of panoramic lookouts over the Ottawa Valley. However, before reaching these lookouts, there is a small short gravel road that leads north a few metres to one of Gatineau Park's huts. These are year-round publically-accessible huts that can be used for rest stops and using washroom facilities. This particular hut, called the Huron Hut, has nine or ten tables inside.
The lookouts come in rapid succession: the Huron Lookout is first, followed by the Etienne Brule lookout, and then after a dip in the road, the parkway ends at Champlain Lookout. Champlain Lookout is the highlight of the ride. It offers the best and most panoramic view, and looks westward over a wide swath of the Ottawa Valley. It also offers a great look along the Eardly Escarpment. The Escarpment marks the boundary between the hilly Canadian Shield region and the flat lowlands of the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence Rivers.
On busy days, especially busy fall days, these lookouts are packed with people and cars.
Here at Champlain Lookout, you are at the farthest point from the start of the ride (and pretty much the highest point), and from here, the route starts its way back. The first part of the return route follows the upper bit of the Champlain Parkway that was just ridden, back past all of the lookouts. Eventually, the junction with the Fortune Parkway is reached - but this time, the route continues straight ahead, continuing on the Champlain Parkway.
Relaxing at Etienne Brule
The route back along the Champlain Parkway is mostly downhill, although there are many small uphills interspersed with the larger downhills, so not all of the work is over. One particularly nice long downhill is the Black Lake Hill, which starts just after the King Mountain Parking lot. Its a nice, long downhill with sweeping curves, and you'll likely maintain a 50-60 km/hr average speed over most of this descent.
Stillness at Lake Bourgeois
