Town · MRC de Papineau
The Lièvre River, Route 309, and clay soil running up to the hills.
Before it was Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, this was Portland township. Irish, French-Canadian and even Norwegian settlers came from the 1840s on. The current name only dates from 1966. Everyone here knows April 26, 1908: a section of the Lièvre riverbank slid into the river across from the village and 34 people died.
Merged into Buckingham in 1975, it got its independence back in the late 1970s, then moved from the Collines MRC to Papineau on January 1, 2022. The village is about 30 km from Gatineau on Route 309, and lots of people commute to the city.
In summer, Lac de l'Argile fills with campers. Fall and winter belong to hunters, ATVs and snowmobiles. The town says it has the best ball field in the Lower Lièvre. We'll let them have that one.
Fair
Ploughers of every age, from here, elsewhere in Quebec and Ontario, cutting furrows in front of a crowd. A farm day for the whole family.
IllustrationCampground
A 326-site campground on Lac de l'Argile with ready-to-camp units, a beach, a pool and the golf course next door. May to mid-October.
Illustration
IllustrationGolf
An 18-holer along Lac de l'Argile, at the edge of the Papineau-Labelle reserve. The bistro patio looks out on the 9th.
IllustrationBoat launch
A launch onto the Lièvre along Route 309 in Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette.
IllustrationLake
The lake gets its name from its clay bottom. Camping, a beach and fishing a few minutes from the village.
IllustrationLibrary
At the municipal office, during office hours. It even lends VR headsets and museum passes.
IllustrationHeritage
About 200 steps up to a cross that lights up at night, with a view over the village and Route 309. A place for quiet and memory, in a village marked…
IllustrationHardware
The old Comptoir agricole Salette, now run by Émile Charette & Fils of Buckingham. Hardware and farm supply.
IllustrationShop
On Route 309 in Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, one of the licence vendors along the Lièvre.
IllustrationService
Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette's elementary school, on the same street as the town hall.
IllustrationService
Municipal office on rue des Saules in the village, near the Lièvre. Call for hours.
Lake association · Val-des-Bois
A five-person volunteer board working with Val-des-Bois, Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette and Camping Royal Papineau to keep Lac de l'Argile healthy, invasive species included. Plenty of people say it's the best swimming lake around.
Community · Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
A citizens' group working to make La Salette a good place to live, helping people put together events and activities for families.
Community · Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
Weaving, quilting, crochet, knitting and embroidery classes at the old rectory every Wednesday.
Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 51 rue des Saules (old rectory)
Seniors · Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
Started in 1981, Groupe Soleil gets the 50-plus crowd out of the house, with volunteers running the activities. Meets two Wednesdays a month.
2nd and 4th Wednesdays, September to May, 49 rue de l'Église
Seniors · Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
Free exercise program for people 50 and up, Wednesday mornings at the old rectory.
Wednesdays 9 a.m., 51 rue des Saules
Community · Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
A friendly ploughing match, by tractor or by horse. A tradition that brings the village and its neighbours together.
Youth · Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
Going since 1975: dance, baton, pompoms and ribbon for local girls and boys, plus an adult group. Weekly practices in the École de la Montagne gym.
Weekly, September to May, École de la Montagne gym
Faith communities · Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
Mass Sundays at 9 a.m. (in the sacristy from December to April). Every third Sunday of September there's a pilgrimage to Mont-Saletin with lunch at the school.
Sundays 9 a.m.
Sports & recreation · Mulgrave-et-Derry
Trail club maintaining about 155 km of trails, from Lac La Blanche to Thurso and from Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette toward Montpellier and Duhamel. Featured on the Mulgrave-et-Derry town website.
Kayak sentinels on Lac Gagnon, water samples on Lac des Plages, an old guard on Viceroy since 1973. Who watches over our lakes, and how cottagers can pitch in.
A lookout tower on Mont Grand-Pic, 400-year-old trees, a cable raft across the Preston River. Our 12 favourite trails, from easy family loops to the Sentier national.
Military whist on Tuesdays, weaving on Monday mornings, bingo at $1.25 a card. The seniors' clubs, Fermières circles and social groups starting up again this fall, village by village.
Nearby: Bowman · Val-des-Bois · Mulgrave-et-Derry · Mayo · Lochaber-Partie-Ouest
