Loons Refuge is a four season wilderness Laurentian lakeside retreat. 31 day rental.

The first-floor front porch leads steps to ample parking and a view of the shed/remise where firewood can be found on the right hand side. On the left-hand side of the remise are some cottage games and some things for the lake. The cottage front is a nice flat space suitable for various activities.

The swimming is excellent with very few boats around and lovely mountain creek fed water. You can dive in off the dock. You can use the water from our taps for cooking, and while the water tastes great we recommend you use the small filtered tap water in the kitchen for drinking or bring bottled water.

There is fishing off the dock or around the lake for small mouth bass, pike and even some brook trout in the creeks in the spring. Lures or worms are good but do not use other live bait. We want to preserve the ecosystem. Use the pedal boat or the sit on top kayak to get around.

Notre Dame du Laus:

Notre Dame du Laus has a good full-service grocery store on the main street (Marche Tradition de la Lievre) with an SAQ/liquor licenc. A nice wood fired bakery (Boulangerie Daoust & Fils) is one block behind the main street, near the grocery store. Try the gallettes or petes des soeurs. There is a Pharma Prix and BMR hardware store. Nino has a used item store (furniture and collectibles). It is worth a visit for great deals. She is just south of the bridge in town. Drive down her driveway, open on a seasonal and weekendish basis. La Poissonerie at the south end of town boats an impressive array of frozen seafood. Chez Julie is a nice local restaurant just before the bridge heading south. A specialty is the club sandwich and poutine.

On Ruisseau Serpent you will find the library, recreation centre and rink. EV charging is also available here (level II). A park behind the recreation centre hosts various events throughout the year (Fete St Jean, Country Festival etc…).

If you are into day or overnight canoe camping, hiking, xc skiing or snow shoeing Parc Regional Poisson Blanc is not to be missed. It is the gem of Notre Dame du Laus. It has a truly beautiful setting of islands and mountains with some spectacular hikes and views. It is a must see. Cross the bridge in town and turn right and go for approx 10 km. You'll need to book ahead for overnight camping but ample watercraft (canoes, kayaks, SUPs) are available to be rented. A small boutique with coffees and hot chocolate can be found at the main office. Hours are seasonal and worth checking ahead of time. On your way to or from Poisson Blanc check out Le Cerpail where Alain offers up excellent pate campagne, smoked trout, sausages and more. His season is short though (June- early Sept).

Around & About:

If you want to play tennis you can drop beside the school in Pontmain north on highway 309. You can get gas here or in Val des Bois south on 309. If you want to explore more, consider hiking Le Petit Castor in Lac du Cerf. It's a pretty drive further north from Pontmain. On top of hosting a spectacular waterfall board walk is a further hike to a wonderful view. About 50 minutes from our cottage is Mont Laurier, a fully equipped town. There is a great micro brewery with restaurant and an excellent golf course plus a variety of shops and other restaurants.

Cross country XC skiing can be done out the door of the cottage but there are not set track trails. If you use local trails laid down for the ski doos you need to go early in the morning, wear bright visible clothing/ headlamp/ reflectors and listen for ski doos and stand well to the side of the trail if/when they come by. Best is to go on to Poisson Blanc for set track trails or for longer trails go to Mont Laurier (Centre de plein air Mont Laurier) or south to Renards Blancs near Buckingham. For a real treat try the virtually unequalled trails and huts in Gatineau Park about 1.25 hrs away.

Downhill skiing is best at Tremblant which isn't far as the crow flies but because of the gorgeous Reserve Faunique Papineau Labelle between us and it you need to go up or down and around it. It takes about 2 hours each way. A stop in Montebello to see this huge log cabin resort is well worth it. Edelweiss and some other choices for downhill skiing is about one hour away, closer to Wakefield.

You are in the countryside, and many services are seasonal, irregular or weather dependent. It's worth checking out websites or calling ahead to confirm things are open on the day you are thinking of going.