Lac-Mégantic

Lac-Mégantic was established in 1884 as a stop on a former Canadian Pacific Railway line which ran from Montréal and Sherbrooke eastward across northern Maine to Saint John, New Brunswick. The region is 98% francophone and relies heavily on tourism from other French-speaking settlements such as Sherbrooke and Quebec City.
A small lakefront town in an isolated location on the Québec-Maine border, Mégantic was built largely on forestry and natural resources. Hunting and fishing have traditionally been popular locally. The region is mountainous and well known for its granite. The town's slogan used to be « de la voie ferrée à la voie lactée », "from the railway to the Milky Way", a reference to a dark sky preserve and observatory based in a nearby provincial park.
Lac-Mégantic had a charming, historic town centre until a runaway crude oil train derailed overnight on 6 July 2013, incinerating much of the historic district and contaminating the rest with enough oil and benzene to require its demolition. The village church, because of its hilltop location, survived - creating a surreal image of a statue of Jesus helplessly watching firefighters from near and far grapple for two days to extinguish an inferno which cremated forty-seven townsfolk alive.
While the rest of the town remained open and functional throughout the lengthy local recovery process, the downtown main street (rue Frontenac) didn't reopen until 2016 - and then only as a collection of open spaces and new construction sites. Many landmarks at the centre of the destruction, such as the Musi-Café and the local library, were rebuilt elsewhere in the town. Veterans Park and the marina eventually re-opened in their original locations. A few businesses, including the l'Eau Berge inn, never returned. A $133-million project to re-route the rail line to bypass the town was announced in 2018.
Visitor information may be obtained by calling +1 819-583-5515 or +1-800-363-5515.

There are no passenger trains through Lac-Mégantic.

By car

One can reach Lac-Mégantic from Sherbrooke (100 km, 60 miles) by taking Québec Route 108 east to the village-relais of Stornaway, then following Route 161 South through Nantes. Route 161 becomes the town's main street. From Quebec City (200 km, 120 miles), take Autoroute 73 to Beauceville, then Route 108 West to Route 161.

By bus

• Autocars la Chaudière

  phone: +1 819-583-5349
  address: 4323, rue Laval G6B 1C1 (Dépanneur du Coin)
  Operates a bus to Quebec City via Saint-Georges with stops in multiple cities.

By boat

• Marina Lac-Mégantic

  phone: +1 819-583-5085
  address: 3535, boulevard Stearns
  Municipal marina with 115 reserved slips and five spaces for short-term visitors. Fuel, sewage pumpout, boat launch ramp, equipped platform for sailboat mast installation.

The "Mégantic" tourist region is not just the town itself but a wide rural area 50km (30 miles) in radius encompassing a lake, two major provincial parks and a large amount of mountainous terrain. While there are good cycle paths (des pistes cyclables) in the area, this is a lot of ground to cover and an automobile will prove invaluable.

By car

Rue Frontenac (Quebec Route 161) was closed at the edge of downtown but has now re-opened; boulevard Jean-Marie Tardif or rue Papineau are possible bypass routes to cross the Chaudière River.

By bicycle

Cycle trails and bicycle rentals are available at various in-region points, including Frontenac National Park.

By taxi

• Taxi Mégantic

  phone: +1 819-583-0583

• Astrolab

  address: Mont-Mégantic National Park
  Mountaintop astronomical observatory and Mount Megantic Popular Observatory at the summit of Mont Mégantic, includes access by shuttlebus. Guided tours. Events include the Popular Astronomy Festival, the Perseid Festival (August 10–14) and snowshoe hiking (raquette au flambeaux) in winter.

• Concerts Entre chien et loupWeekly open-air show featuring local and emerging musical talent.

• Sainte-Agnès Church

• Maison du Granit

  phone: +1 819-549-2566
  address: 301, route du Morne, Lac-Drolet G0Y 1C0
  Museum in former granite quarry site, 20km north of Lac-Mégantic.

• Moulin Bernier

  phone: +1 418-483-5646
  address: 100, rue du Moulin, Courcelles
  Museum and old mill, conference and exhibition facilities, Internet access, park with former Quebec Central RR caboose and Expo-Train.

• Parc de la Croix-Lumineuse

  address: rue Lafontaine, Frontenac
  A prime lookout point to view the region from the Rencontre au Sommet (signpost at 500 m altitude); bring your binoculars. Picnic tables. Accessible by motorcar.

• Route des Sommets157-km (100-mile) signed tourist route from La Patrie to Stratford through the mountains.

• Centre Sportif Mégantic

  phone: +1 819-583-0630
  address: 5400, rue Papineau
  Open skating, swimming and badminton. Arena for 1200 spectators, indoor pool and gym constructed in 2011.

• Cinéma Mégantic

  phone: +1 819-583-4970
  address: 1977 route 161, Lac-Mégantic G6B 2S1
  Two 3-D movie screens, English-language films shown Thursdays.

• Club de golf de Lac-Megantic

  phone: +1 819-583-4810
  address: 1039 route 161, Lac-Megantic G6B 2S5

• Complexe Baie des Sables

  phone: +1 819-583-3965
  address: 2370, chemin du Lac
  Beachfront park on the shore of Lac Mégantic. Cabins, camping, canoeing, kayak and pedal boat rental. Restaurant and bar on-site. Playground, picnic area, docks and boat launch.

• Le Vent du Sud

  phone: +1 819-583-0202
  address: 254, rang des Grenier, Piopolis
  Equestrian centre. Lessons and one-week summer camp available.

• Mont Gosford

  phone: +1 819-544-9004
  address: Woburn
  Tallest summit in southern Québec, hiking and cycling trails. Camping $8-24, chalets $82-140.

• Frontenac National Park

  phone: +1 418-422-4021
  address: 177, route du parc de Frontenac, Saint-Daniel
  Provincial park with campgrounds, boating, canoeing, snowshoeing, hiking and cycling on the shores of Grand lac Saint-François. Refuges for close to 200 bird species and over 30 mammal species.

• Mont-Mégantic National Park

  phone: +1 819-888-2941
  address: 189 Route du Parc, Notre-Dame-des-Bois J0B 2E0
  Provincial park with two mountains (Saint-Joseph and Mégantic) to climb on foot or by motorcar. ASTROlab astronomical interpretation centre on-site. Open year-round. Hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowshoe hiking, bird and nature watching. Park is 50 km (30 miles) from Lac Mégantic village.

• Théâtre de la première scène

  phone: +1 819-582-4158
  address: 160 Route 263 South, Marston
  French-language live summer theatre.

Events

• Grand tour du lac Mégantic

  phone: +1 819-583-5515
  Annual bicycle tour, early June.

• Traversée internationale du lac Mégantic

  phone: +1 819-583-0007
  Annual swim meet, early August. Competition between swimmers from around the world, entertainment for all ages, shows by renowned artists, fireworks.

• Marché Public

  address: 5400, rue Papineau
  Public market with opportunity to sample local and regional produce, on sport centre grounds (or indoors in case of rain).

• Aux Jardins Couverts

  phone: +1 819-583-3498
  address: 1919, route 161, Nantes
  Pick your own strawberries, raspberries and blueberries in-season. Maple products and organic vegetables.

• Auberge au Soleil Levant

  phone: +1 819-583-5697
  address: 499, rue Principale, Piopolis
  Restaurant, pub and four-room country inn on waterfront, near snowmobile trail.

• La Berge Glacée

  phone: +1 819-583-4541
  address: 5600, rue Papineau
  Ice cream dairy bar with patio.

• Restaurant Le Renato

  phone: +1 819-583-5585
  address: 3423, rue Laval

• Resto-Brasserie le Moulin

  phone: +1 819-583-0886
  address: 3164, rue Laval
  Steak, seafood, Greek and Italian foods, pizza and subs, breakfast.

• Brasserie Laval

  phone: +1 819-583-2524
  address: 4661, rue Laval
  Bar with patio, live music some weekends.

• Musi-Café

  phone: +1 819-583-4433
  address: 5601, rue Papineau
  Bar with live music, obliterated by the 2013 train derailment with much loss of life; reopened as a Musi-Café.

• Resto-Bar Le Friand

  phone: +1 819-582-4242
  address: 3280, rue Laval
  Restaurant and bar. Breakfast, steak, seafood, pizza, pasta.

• Au Ruisseau Jaseur

  phone: +1 819-583-2494
  address: 337 Rang des Grenier, Piopolis
  Cottage rentals on the Lac Mégantic shore in Piopolis.

• Auberge et Chalets sur le Lac

  phone: +1 819-583-0293
  address: 2000, chemin du Motel-sur-le-lac, Frontenac
  Rooms and chalets for rent, refrigerators, boat docks on-site, outdoor pool. Whirlpool bath in some rooms. Additional charge for pets.

• Le Quiet

  phone: +1 819-583-6666
  address: 3284 Laval St
  47-room hotel/motel, wi-fi, meeting facilities, restaurant adjacent.

• Les Victorines du lac

  phone: +1 819-583-6904
  address: 1886 Route 161 South, Frontenac G6B 2S1
  17-room country inn with dining room, meeting facilities for up to thirty people.

The Lac-Mégantic downtown post office has been relocated to Carrefour Lac Mégantic (3560 Laval Street); Main Street post offices in Piopolis (415, rue Principale) and Nantes (1267, rue Principale) remain open. Wi-fi is available at McDonald's on Laval Street.

• Médiathèque municipale Nelly-Arcan

  phone: +1 819-583-0876
  address: 3700, rue Lemieux
  New public library opened May 2014 with Internet, photocopy, computer lab.

• Beauce
• Magog and Sherbrooke