Hiking Mount Royal: Outremont Summit is a secret worth sharing

PART ONE OF A FOUR-PART SERIES
Mount Royal is more than Beaver Lake, the chalet lookout and the Camillien-Houde belvedere. And it’s best enjoyed on foot.
So I set off to hike the mountain, walking four distinct routes that took me through lush forests, along steep escarpments and to quiet corners so far from Montreal traffic, noise and crowds that I could have been in the backwoods.
Along the way, I took in impressive vistas from some of Montreal’s highest points, and learned about t