Lochaber-Partie-Ouest

The township is at the southwest tip of the MRC, on the Ottawa River, in the lowlands just before the first hills of the Canadian Shield. That means good soil and pretty farm country. In 1802, around 400 Scottish Highlanders arrived to start a farming colony. The big township later split in three, and Lochaber-Partie-Ouest became its own municipality in 1891.

Farming still drives the place, with a wave of agritourism since the early 2000s: pick-your-own, meat sold at the farm gate. Route 148 brings plenty of people out from Gatineau. In 2020 it was the first municipality in the MRC and the Outaouais to build sustainable development and farmland protection into all its planning bylaws. Worth knowing before you build.

The township shares a wildlife refuge along its Ottawa River shore with Gatineau. For history buffs, St. Thomas Anglican church dates from 1876 and Lochaber Bay cemetery from 1845.

Good to know

• Town hall: 1370, montée du Quatre.
• Route 148; Highway 50 nearby.
• Wildlife refuge along the Ottawa River, shared with Gatineau.
• St. Thomas Anglican church (1876), corner of rang 5 and montée du Quatre.
• Pick-your-own orchard: berries early summer, apples from late August, squash in the fall.
• Planning bylaws built around sustainability since 2020, so check before building.