Fair
Plaisance Fall Fair
PlaisanceOctober 23–25, 2026A new fall fair, first held in 2026: growers, makers, farming, exhibits, shows and a karaoke night. Three days celebrating Plaisance's…
Town · MRC de Papineau
Plaisance
Waterfalls, marshes and thousands of geese every spring.
- Population
- 1 205 (2026)
- Area
- 50.29 km²
- Founded
- 1900 (paroisse); nom de Plaisance en 1931
- Town hall
- 275, rue Principale, Plaisance (Québec) J0V 1S0 · 819 427-5363
The parish was founded in 1900 with a mouthful of a name, Cœur-très-pur-de-la-Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie-de-Plaisance, and became plain Plaisance in 1931. Older still is North Nation Mills, the sawmill village Joseph Papineau built near the falls in the early 1800s. A local group has protected the site since 1990.
Plaisance is all about water. The national park covers 28+ km² of bays and marsh on the Ottawa River, with more than 40 km of bike paths. The Plaisance falls on the Petite Nation River drop 63 metres and have been run by Sépaq since 2024. In spring, geese land by the thousands and birders follow.
For families it has the basics: elementary school, library, day camp, youth centre, seniors' house, soccer and ball fields. And the Centre d'art populaire du Québec, which is unlike anything else around.
Good to know
- Town hall: 275, rue Principale.
- Route 148; Gatineau is about 70 km away.
- Plaisance national park: camping, cycling, a floating boardwalk through the marsh.
- Plaisance falls on rang Malo: 2 km return trail to the lookout.
- Services: elementary school, library, youth centre, seniors' house, town water and sewer.
- Centre d'art populaire du Québec on rue Desjardins.
Events in Plaisance
Market
Plaisance Christmas Market
PlaisanceLast weekend of November · 2026 dates to be announcedPlaisance's Christmas market, announced by the town and on Facebook.
Holiday
Lighted Tractor Parade
PlaisanceEarly December, a Saturday night · 2026 dates to be announcedTractors covered in Christmas lights parade through Plaisance. It pulls thousands of people every year, so bundle up the kids.
Holiday
Saint-Jean in Plaisance
PlaisanceJune 23 or 24 · 2027 dates to be announcedSaint-Jean in Plaisance. The town posts the lineup on its Facebook page.
Festival
Plaisance Clay Festival
PlaisanceMid-September, one weekend · 2027 dates to be announcedAround twenty ceramics, pottery and glass booths inside the national park, with demos and workshops. Free admission.
Places in Plaisance
Restaurants & cafés 2
Outdoors 3
Lookout
Chutes de Plaisance (Chutes du Moulin)
The Petite-Nation River drops more than 35 metres right next to the remains of North Nation Mills, the old mill village. A 2 km return walk, some…
IllustrationATV club
Club Quad Petite-Nation
The club behind most of the ATV network in Petite-Nation, more than 315 km of trails. You can start near the Ottawa River and ride all the way up to…
IllustrationPark
Parc national de Plaisance
Bays, marshes and little peninsulas along the Ottawa River. Thousands of Canada geese stop here in spring, and in summer it's flat, easy cycling and…
Culture & heritage 5
IllustrationLibrary
Plaisance Public Library
Books, e-books, magazines and museum passes to borrow. Open two evenings a week.
IllustrationMuseum
Quebec Folk Art Centre
Self-taught makers from all over Quebec who turned wood, fabric, metal and everyday junk into art. Moving sculptures, larger-than-life characters…
Heritage
Chutes du Moulin and North Nation Mills
Falls of more than 35 metres on the Petite Nation and, all around them, traces of North Nation Mills, the mill village that kicked off the region's…
IllustrationAttraction
Stone Park
At the corner of rue Principale and chemin des Presqu'îles: a big open book carved from Baie Noire quarry stone, with sculpted geese pointing toward…
IllustrationAttraction
Peuples des rivières (art public)
Seven works from 2017 at the Dollard-des-Ormeaux picnic area and on the town hall facade, including an osprey by Mustapha Chadid.
Shops & makers 1
IllustrationMaker
Carole Lavigne, artiste peintre
A Plaisance painter inspired by nature, shown in Québec and across Canada.
Services 4
IllustrationService
Bureau de poste de Plaisance
Small post office in Plaisance village. Location from OpenStreetMap; check hours with Canada Post.
IllustrationIllustration
IllustrationService
Terapro Construction & Agriculture
CASE and New Holland dealer for farm and construction equipment.
Groups & organizations
Youth · Thurso
Salon des jeunes Le Spot
Thurso's youth drop-in at 134 rue Alexandre: games, sports, homework help and prevention work for ages 8 to 17. The same team runs the Plaisance drop-in on rue Guindon.
Plaisance drop-in: Tuesday to Friday, 4 to 9 p.m. during the school year
Seniors · Plaisance
Club de l'Amitié de Plaisance
Plaisance's seniors' club at the Place des aînés, 62 rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Supper dances, whist tournaments and even a play staged in the church in spring 2026.
Magazine
25 things to do in La Petite-Nation this fall
A Notre-Dame de Paris organist in Montebello, a square dance in Saint-Sixte, punk in Ripon and a hundred watercolours on Thanksgiving. Our list for October and November.
Winter in La Petite-Nation, from cross-country skis to snowmobiles
Free ski trails behind the high school, 40 km groomed by volunteers for $15, hundreds of kilometres of snowmobile and ATV trail. Your winter guide, club by club.
A day in La Petite-Nation with kids, never more than 20 minutes in the car
Parc Oméga's elk, build-your-own ice cream, a giant sundial, a waterfall that's free for kids and sculptures that move. Never more than 20 minutes in the car between stops.
Nearby: Lochaber · Papineauville · Thurso · Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours · Saint-Sixte