Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc travel guide

Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc is a parish municipality of the Maskinongé Regional county municipality (MRC de Maskinongé), in Middle-Mauricie, in Quebec.

Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc is the last relay village before reaching the southwest side of La Mauricie National Park; starting from the village of Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, take Chemin St-François to access this entrance to the national park.

Its population increases seasonally in a significant way, as well as a floating population. This locality is crossed by road 351 which connects Shawinigan to Yamachiche, forming a semi-circle facing north.

Understand

History

The Catholic parish of Saint-Mathieu was founded as a service in 1872. Saint-Mathieu is one of the four evangelists. The civil erection of Saint-Mathieu-du-Lac-Bellemare was formalized in 1887. In 1998, the municipality was renamed Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, following the creation of the Mauricie National Park in 1970.

The church was built in 1913 on the current site. In 1918, the village school was destroyed by fire. In 1919, a major forest fire surrounded the village, which escaped unscathed. The covered bridge was erected in 1936 over the Shawinigan River.

A disaster destroyed the church and half of the village on September 24, 1948; 21 families lost their homes and 4 stores there. Thanks to the development of route 351 and Chemin Saint-François, the resort is experiencing significant development. The establishment of La Mauricie National Park in the early 1970s greatly strengthens the recreational tourism vocation of the locality.

Geography

The village of Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc is boxed in between the surrounding mountains formed in the Precambrian era. During the last ice age, a thick cover of ice (estimated to be 1 to 2 km thick) covered the region, leveling the relief, subsiding the earth's crust and carving out valleys. Debris from the earth's crust was then carried far south by glaciers. However, as it melted, this glacial crust left much debris in the area.

An example of this ice age debris is the Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc esker, a geological phenomenon that consists of an elongated mound stretching 7.5 kilometres with an average width of 76 metres. The route of this esker begins on the north shore of Lake Goulet and passes to the bottom of the lake. This geological strip created the island at Lac Brûlé. This esker continues along Chemin Saint-Édouard to stretch to Lake Trudel towards the centre of the village; in passing, this esker separates Lake Bellemare into two parts. It creates two peninsulas which meet at the bottom of the lake. The route of this esker passes through Lac Vert. In the end, the route of this esker ends at Gareau lakes. The route of route 351 passes over this esker, that is to say between the small and the large Gareau lake. An esker is a rather rare geological phenomenon present in some regions of Quebec.

The municipality covers 220.15 km2 (85.00 sq mi) in the northern part of the MRC de Maskinongé; it is the second largest municipality in the MRC, behind Saint-Alexis-des-Monts. It also has the second smallest population density with 6.1 inhabitants/km².

The territory of the municipality has 80 lakes covering a total of 1,165 hectares. The Shawinigan River is the main waterway in municipal territory. Sport fishing for brown trout and rainbow trout is popular on this stream thanks to regular stocking. A significant effort is being made by the municipality to protect the riparian strips.

Economy

The main economic activities are silviculture and recreational tourism (La Mauricie National Park, resort, camping, hiking trails, observation of flora and fauna, maple groves, mountain biking, snowmobiles, cycling, hunting and fishing).

Get in

The village of Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc is accessible by road, snowmobile and all-terrain vehicles.

By car

• From Montreal (164 km (102 mi), 2 hr 6 min). Take Highway 40 (north shore) eastbound, to Trois-Rivières; take highway 55 (northbound) to Yamachiche; take route 153 (northbound) through the village of Saint-Barnabé, then route 351, passing through the village of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, to the village of Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc.
• From Quebec City (171 km (106 mi), 2 hr 2 min). Take Highway 40 (westbound), to Champlain; take route 359 (northbound) through the village of Lac-à-la-Tortue; take route 153 (west); take Autoroute 55 (southbound) to Chemin de la Vallée-du-Parc; take the Chemin des Pommiers (westbound); take the Main road (south direction); take route 351 (westbound) to the village of Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc.

Get around

• Electric charging stations, 1890, chemin Déziel, ☏ +1 819-299-3830. 240-volt terminal (type 2).

See

Heritage tour

• Église Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc (Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc Church), 1890, chemin Principal, ☏ +1 819-532-2124.
• Saint-Mathieu covered bridge, 1391-1371, chemin de la Terrasse des Chutes. This covered bridge spans the Shawinigan River. The covered bridge path connects the Terrasse des Chutes path (along the north side of the river) and the St-François road, along the south side. The Domaine du Pont Covered (chalet rental agency in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc) is located on the south shore, next to the bridge.
• Site de partage de la culture Autochtone Mokotakan et le Musée de la Faune (Mokotakan Wildlife Museum and Indigenous culture sharing site), 2120, chemin St-François, ☏ +1 819-532-2600.
• Parc national de la Mauricie (Mauricie National Park), chemin Saint-François, ☏ +1 819-538-3232. Park with more than 150 lakes. Many recreational tourism activities offered: camping, hiking trails, cycling, observation of flora and fauna, and fishing.

Do

• Labyrinthe coureur des bois, 1329, chemin St-Joseph, ☏ +1 819-532-2068. Guided tour from Thu to Sun. Two options: autonomous course from 09:00 to 15:00 on site or online. Two challenges lasting approximately one hour. Radisson game lasting about 2 hours.
• Sentier national. The National Trail in Mauricie is a linear hiking trail that crosses the Mauricie region from west to east (or vice versa). It begins in the Lanaudière region and stretches to the Quebec region. The website of the National Trail in Mauricie describes the open segments, as well as the GPS tracks accessible free of charge by the public. This site has a Stories section that shows the adventures of hikers on this trail. The National Trail concept was established on January 9, 1990. To date, 1041 km have been approved. The "Devil's Fall" section (3 seasons) begins at Lac en Croix in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc and ends at the Parc Récréoforestier in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc. While the Le Trappeur section (3 seasons) begins at Parc Récréoforestier and ends at Parc national de la Mauricie (4 seasons) in Saint-Gérard-des-Laurentides.

Events

• Halte du parc (Park stop).
• Marché de Noël (Christmas market).
• Journée de l'environnement (Environment day).

Buy

Food

• Épicerie A Langlois (Grocery store A Langlois), 1910, chemin Principal, ☏ +1 819-532-2303.
• Des Jardins au bord de l'eau (Gardens by the water), 1020, chemin Principal, ☏ +1 819-532-3323. Fruit and vegetable kiosk. Greenhouse grown.

Arts

• Atelier Libellule (Libellule (Dragonfly) Workshop), 1971, Principale, ☏ +1 819-532-1007. Workshop in crafts, design and textile printing founded in 1998 and operated by Lucie Chamberland, textile designer.
• La petite Place des Arts (The little place of the arts), 1781, Principale, ☏ +1 819-532-2000. Organization of exhibitions of artists of the arts. See the website for current exhibitions.
• Maison La Tradition (House Tradition), 1210, Principale, ☏ +1 819-532-2641. Organization mostly about art.
• Artisanat Mass'art (Crafts Mass'art), 563, chemin Déziel, ☏ +1 819-532-2434.

Well-being

• Fondation l'Art de Vivre (Sri Sri Ayerveda Institute for Education and Wellness), 13, chemin de l'infinité, ☏ +1 819-989-0433. Spa offering courses on the art of meditation or the art of silence.
• Institut de santé Immunicas (Immunicas Health Institute), 2403, chemin St-Édouard, ☏ +1 819-532-1200.
• Bianka Lamarche - Massothérapeute, 110, chemin ma tante-aline, ☏ +1 819-805-0910.
• Chantal Ménard - Massothérapeute, 920, chemin de l'Esker, ☏ +1 819-532-3346.

Eat

• Snack Bar chez Mélo casse-croûte (Snack Bar at Mélo snack bar), 1891, chemin Principal, ☏ +1 819-532-2203.
• Café Bistro du Village (Village cafe bistro), 1901, chemin Principal, ☏ +1 819-532-1062.
• Auberge Refuge du Trappeur (Trapper's Refuge Inn), 2120, chemin St-François, ☏ +1 819-532-2600.
• Auberge Saint-Mathieu-du-Lac (Saint-Mathieu-du-Lac inn), 2181, chemin St-François, ☏ +1 819-532-2600.

Sugar shack

• Cabane à sucre St-Mathieu-du-Parc (St-Mathieu-du-Parc sugar shack), 1421, chemin Principal, ☏ +1 819-532-1553. Artisanal sugar bush. Maple products offer.
• Cabane à Sucre La Chanterelle (La Chanterelle Sugar Shack), 1140, chemin Principal, ☏ +1 819-532-2021.
• Érablière Martin Quessy (Maple grove Martin Quessy), 1301, chemin St-François, ☏ +1 819-532-1416.

Sleep

Chalet, gîte, inn

• Au balcon chez Juliette (On the balcony at Juliette's), 1051, chemin du Lac Goulet, ☏ +1 819-532-1126.
• Auberge Mandala, 1891, chemin Principal. Friendly youth hostel in Mauricie.
• Auberge Refuge du Trappeur, 2120, chemin St-François, ☏ +1 819-532-2600. Located at the entrance to La Mauricie National Park and the Recreational Forest Park. On

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Wikivoyage. “Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc” from Wikivoyage, by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changed here: set as a page; edit links, maps and listing metadata left out; each photo under its own licence, credited in its caption.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.