Mont Royal Guided Tour
Explore the geology, biodiversity, culture and history of Mont Royal
All images by Ingrid Birker unless attributed otherwise.
This tour features 8 pinned stops that take you on a tour of Mont Royal in Montreal, Canada. Each stop tells a story about the geological foundations, the cultural development, and/or the biodiversity of this large intrusive rocky hill in the city of Montreal , immediately west of Downtown Montreal , Quebec , Canada . There are 3 extra stops, numbers 9 -11, that highlight the biodiversity of McGill University campus on the slopes of Mont Royal.
Mont Royal has three peaks or summits: Colline de la Croix (or Mont Royal proper) at 233 m (764 ft), Colline d'Outremont (or Mount Murray, in the borough of Outremont ) at 211 m (692 ft), and Westmount Summit at 201 m (659 ft) elevation above mean sea level.
Land Acknowledgement
McGill University is located on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg nations. McGill honours, recognizes and respects these nations as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which we meet today.
You can access the story of each map point by scrolling through the images.
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1
Rutherford Reservoir
The reservoir was constructed between 1852 and 1856 and uses the natural rock of the site to hold water, with some masonry on the south side. Initially called the McTavish Reservoir, this reservoir was not covered until 1957. It is now owned by the City of Montreal as a recreational site. The cliff created in the construction of the reservoir exposes layers of sedimentary rock deposited here over 400 million years ago during the Ordovician . At this time most of northeastern North America was submerged as a deep inland coral sea. The animals that lived in this coral sea included now extinct trilobites , brachiopods and bryozoans . You can find all these fossils in the gray limestone blocks used to construct many of Montreal's historic buildings.
In 2013 a pipe in the reservoir burst, sending a torrent of water down McTavish Street. You can watch a v ideo of a young student being swept down McTavish street by the flood waters. It was not the first time that the reservoir has caused damage to McGill: during its construction in 1852, blasting propelled large rocks through the roof of the McGill College Building, now its Arts Building.
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McTavish monument
This monument is located at the base of Mount Royal near the Peel street entrance.
Simon McTavish was born in Scotland in 1750. The family was poor and at age 14 Simon moved to New York where he began work as a merchant. He became a leading business figure in the fur trade, but in later life had diversified his business interests to include agriculture, flour and saw mills in the Montreal region.
It’s interesting that the monument was erected by 2 of his nephews – William and Duncan McGillivray. McTavish had four sons, but they all died in their 20s. As a wealthy businessman, McTavish had paid for his nephews schooling in Scotland and they later joined him in Montreal to work for his company – William being the successor to Simon upon his death on July 6, 1804. The Allan Memorial Institute was built on the site where the McTavish manor house used to be.
The street named after Simon McTavish runs from the former Mansion entrance to the river and is part of a municipal project to make this a pedestrian walkway from the mountain to the river. The plantings of hardy species such as Day lily and Wild Roses in this area are all part of this project.
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Serpentin and chemin Olmsted
The road zigzags here, giving this short stretch the name “Serpentin.” It passes some beautiful stone houses to the left. If you want to bypass some of the zigsags use any of a number of paths for a shortcut—but stay only on established trails to prevent erosion. This main roadway is called Olmsted Road, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It was built at a gradual grade so that horse-drawn carriages could pull their loads up the hill at a steady pace and not be affected by the pull of a steep incline.
You can learn about the trees and plants of Mont Royal from the website of Les Amis de la montagne . The various forest stands that compose Mont Royal include maple, oak and ash groves. Today, mostly sugar maple and bitternut hickory trees thrive in the sector near Outremont; red oak and white pine on its summits; and white birch on some slopes. In addition to these trees, many of which are over 100 years old, the woodlands of the mountain include over 700 plant species. Certain rare and endangered plants like the Mayapple or other vulnerable plants like the white trillium or bloodroot need special protection.
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Dikes and trees
This birch tree has held onto the side of the stone outcrop by firmly planting its roots into the softer section where a feldspathic dike has formed in the layers of Ordovician limestone. Many rare minerals such as Dawsonite have been found near these dikes on Mont Royal. This type of feature is very common in the Monteregion hills, which includes Mont Royal. First described by McGill University geologist Frank Dawson Adams in 1903 , this geological area is composed of a semi circular ring of 10 hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachian Mountains .
A 2015 article gives more insight into the geology and petrology of Mont Royal .
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Erosion and pathways
Take your shoes off to walk up these steps. Feel the soil. This was a pathway for indigenous people about 600 years ago. It probably led to a summer camp near the Mount Royal cemetary. Mont Royal has been a choice location for indigenous peoples travelling through the region for thousands of years. The mountain is a rich source of hornfels , sharp-edged rocks used instead of flint to make tools and weapons for hunting.
Over time, indigenous populations would have used the mountain’s wood to build villages and its fertile land to grow their main agricultural crops—corn, squash and beans—known as the Three Sisters .
Like many other mountains, Mont Royal was undoubtedly a place of great importance in the cultural and sacred landscape of the people.
Settlers on Mont Royal - On his second journey to the New World, Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River where he was welcomed by the indigenous villagers of Hochelaga who led him up a nearby mountain covered with magnificent woods and offering impressive views.
In awe of the luxuriant landscape, or perhaps in honour of his king, Jacques Cartier named this mountain “Mont Royal”.
On December 24, 1642, a torrential downpour threatened the colony of Ville-Marie. Fearing the rising waters of the St. Lawrence River, Paul de Chomedey , Sieur de Maisonneuve, prayed to the Blessed Virgin, promising her a cross on the mountain if she spared them from a flood.
His prayers were answered and, in the early days of January, Maisonneuve carried a wooden cross on his shoulders to Mont Royal.
The university and the mountain - The mountain’s fresh air, fertile soil and bucolic landscape attracted rich businessmen such as James McGill. Having himself attended the University of Glasgow, this Scottish trader bequeathed his domain on the mountain in 1821 so that it would become a school. Education began to thrive on the surrounding slopes of Mont Royal as Collège de Montréal moved to Sherbrooke West in 1870 and Collège Notre-Dame to Côte-des-Neiges in 1881. The Université de Montréal inaugurated its new campus on the mountain in 1943.
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Abrevoir chemin Olmsted
Visible from afar, the Mount Royal canopy of mature tree crowns is a significant component of the mountain’s landscape. The various forest stands that compose it include maple, oak and ash groves, for the most part.
The extremely varied flora of Mount Royal has undergone several transformations over time. Given that the best lands were cleared for agriculture purposes, many orchards at the base of the mountain and to Mont Royal’s southwest (now Westmount, Côtes-des-Neiges and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce) were famous for their produce. The creation of two cemeteries and Mont Royal Park in the mid-1800s also greatly altered the plant composition of Mont Royal, in particular through the introduction of new horticultural species.
Natural and human changes - The flora of Mont Royal experienced numerous upheavals over the years. Notably, in 1950, the municipal authorities carried out a radical clearing of the undergrowth to allow better visibility in the forest and control activities that were deemed “undesirable.”
Referred to as “morality cuts,” these interventions greatly damaged the oak grove. As a result, thousands of white spruce and red pine trees were planted to control the erosion of exposed soils, in addition to a large number of Norway maples. Invasive species, such as common buckthorn and wild parsley, appeared and spread on Mont Royal, taking advantage of disturbances caused by felling and planting to invade the undergrowth.
More recently, the 1998 ice storm caused heavy damage to the woodlands of Mont Royal. Approximately 5,200 trees were cut down in Mont Royal Park alone, and another 45,000 trees required significant pruning.
Given the effects of climate change and global warming, the woodlands of Mont Royal are not immune to the arrival of new exotic insects that pose threats to certain tree species. For instance, the Emerald ash borer , which first appeared in Montréal in 2011, has already affected numerous ash trees on the mountain, in Mont Royal Park and elsewhere. See this information sheet on the emerald ash borer .
Added to these threats are the numbers of users and visitors hiking off trail, picking plants or practising sports that are harmful to the natural habitats. Learn more about the issues and challenges affecting the protection of natural environments of Mont Royal.
Thanks to natural regeneration and conservation efforts by the City of Montréal assisted by Les amis de la montagne and volunteers , the woodlands of Mont Royal remain natural havens offering exceptional biodiversity in the heart from the city.
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Kondiaronk Belvedere and cross
By 1701, after an exhausting half century of war, peace was in everyone’s interest. The Huron-Wendat leader Kondiaronk advocated a peace treaty that would include all nations involved in trading and exchange. More than thirty nations attended a peace conference on the slopes of Mont Royal, conducted according to Indigenous conventions. Under the resulting treaty "de la grande paix" former enemies agreed to free prisoners and settle future disputes through diplomacy. The Haudenosaunee agreed to remain neutral in future French-English conflicts. The signatory nations agreed to share access to resources while respecting each other’s territories. The original Great Peace 1701 agreement is preserved in France, at les Archives nationales d'outre mer (ANOM ).
In 1859 a land owner cut down the trees on his vast Peel Street lot next to the mountain to sell as firewood. A decision fully supported by the community was then made: there would be a park on the mountain. As of 1872, the City of Montréal undertook the necessary land purchases for the future park. In 1874, the already well-known landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted was commissioned to design the new park.
On May 24, 1876, the official inauguration of " Mount Royal Park" drew a large crowd. Despite the lack of landscaping and notable departure from Olmsted’s initial design, one thing was clear—the park was set to become a very popular site.
In 1874 the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste expressed the wish to create a cross on the mountain in memory of the one erected by De Maisonneuve in the 17th century. It was erected in 1924 with financing from a major Quebec-wide public fundraising campaign. Designed by a Sulpician priest (Pierre Dupaigne), the illuminated cross rises to a height of 30 m from the summit of Mont Royal. Under the Cultural Property Act, the Government of Quebec adopted the decree creating the Mont Royal Historic and Natural District , a first in the province of Quebec. By this dual status, the Government of Quebec undertook to protect and promote the harmonious development of this unique collection of assets for its cultural, natural and landscape heritage value.
Today, the territory is recognized as a heritage site by the Government of Quebec.
Created in 2005, a working table called Table de concertation du Mont-Royal (TCMR) brings together key stakeholders concerned with the future of the mountain, including Les amis de la montagne and representatives of several institutional, community, governmental and municipal operations.
Other resources
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Beaver Lake
The Beaver Lake is an artificial basin created in 1938 on a former swamp located on the summit of Mont Royal. It was designed by architect Frederick Todd . It takes its name from an old beaver dam discovered during the work.
With thanks to Les amis de la montagne for helping to keep this mountain green.
Connect with Les amis de la montagne at these links: Plan your visit , Things to do , Public Programming, Kids & Families, Schools & Children Groups ; Groups, Eco-Friendly Activities ; History , Issues and Challenges , Territory
