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Mont Saint-Hilaire Biosphere Reserve

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Explore Orchads

  • Sepia photograph of a wood cabin with blooming apple trees
  • Two small girls holding hands, walking through a prairie with yellow flowers and blooming apple trees
  • Blooming apple trees in a prairie of yellow flowers, with a wooded area in the background
  • Apple tree with a twisted and split trunk and ripe apples
  • Black-and-white photograph of an old tractor among the apple trees
Bouton fleche gauche Bouton fleche droit

Photo: Frederick Brault

Photo: G. Marchand

Photo: France Leduc

Photo: Jason Iplunshu

Photo: Robert Pinsonnault

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Explore ORCHARDS

The first orchards in the Mont Saint-Hilaire Biosphere Reserve date back to 1751. Many orchard plots have disappeared over the past century, making way for forests or urban development. However, some orchards still exist around the edge and along the sides of the Mont Saint-Hilaire, which gives it a bucolic feel in the springtime, and adorns it with colour in the fall. The orchards form a protective green belt around the mountain, which is why it is important to maintain these productions. This combination of mountain and orchards is likely what draws so many visitors to this area during apple season, and why apple growing is so successful in this region. The apples and cider from these orchards give the city its regional and international renown.