Market
Val-des-Bois Christmas Market
Val-des-BoisBefore the holidays · 2026 dates to be announcedA fixture on Val-des-Bois' calendar, often run together with Bowman. The date goes out in Le Valboisien and on Facebook.
Town · MRC de Papineau
Val-des-Bois
Half of it is the Papineau-Labelle reserve. The other half lives along Route 309.
- Population
- 1 027 (2026)
- Area
- 243.75 km²
- Founded
- 1885 (cantons unis de Bowman-et-Villeneuve); nom de Val-des-Bois en 1958
- Town hall
- 595, route 309, Val-des-Bois (Québec) J0X 3C0 · 819 454-2280
Early 19th-century travellers already called this the "Vallée du Bois". The municipality was set up in 1885 as the united townships of Bowman-and-Villeneuve. Bowman broke away in 1913, and Villeneuve became Val-des-Bois in 1958, a name the post office had used since 1878.
The forest still feeds the village, just differently now: hunting, fishing, four campgrounds, trails, snowmobiling and ATVs. The Papineau-Labelle wildlife reserve covers nearly half the territory and its welcome centre is right on Route 309 in the village. In summer the population swells with campers and cottage owners, many from Gatineau and Ottawa.
Almost everything is on the 309: bakery, hardware store, convenience store, gas station. If your kids are learning to fish, Lac Vert in the village is stocked with trout every year.
Good to know
- Town hall: 595, route 309.
- Route 309 along the Lièvre River.
- Papineau-Labelle wildlife reserve welcome centre on Route 309.
- Lac Vert: no gas motors, stocked with trout every year.
- Albatros trail: 19.5 km from the village to Lac Écho, closed during deer season.
- Four campgrounds; High Falls dam (1929) on the Lièvre.
Events in Val-des-Bois
Community
Easter Trail
Val-des-BoisEaster Saturday, registration required · 2027 dates to be announcedA family Easter trail put on by the municipality. You have to sign up ahead, usually about a week before.
Festival
Val-des-Bois in Music
Val-des-BoisThree nights at the end of August · 2027 dates to be announcedThe town runs this festival itself, capped at 4,000 people, with free shuttles and campsites for festivalgoers. 2026 had Éric Lapointe…
Places in Val-des-Bois
Restaurants & cafés 5
IllustrationRestaurant
Casse-croûte Chez Paul
The self-styled king of fries. A summer snack bar, closed off-season.
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Casse-croûte La Fringale
Fried chicken, pizza, poutine and homemade lasagna, with a heated patio.
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Waterfield Auberge Restaurant VDB
Roadhouse-style bar and restaurant on the 309: smoked meats and oven pizza.
Groceries, bakeries & butchers 5
IllustrationBakery
Babine, tartes et crème glacée
Pies made with local ingredients, ice cream and coffee. Open May to late October.
IllustrationBakery
Boulangerie Val-des-Bois
A bakery in the middle of the village since 1977. Closed in the off-season.
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IllustrationIllustrationGrocery
Station Sport Nature (Petro-Canada)
Gas, groceries and a hunting and fishing shop in one stop.
Farms, sugar shacks & drinks 1
Where to stay 10
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IllustrationIllustrationCampground
Camping Val-des-Bois
A big family campground with a beach, splash pad, fishing and ready-to-camp units. 250-plus sites, May to September.
IllustrationLodging
Chalet Colette
A cottage on a private lake: kayaking in summer, a rink in winter, close to Papineau-Labelle.
IllustrationLodging
Chalet Petit Bonheur
Four-season cottage on Lac Vert with a hot tub, private beach and kayak. Sleeps nine.
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IllustrationIllustrationIllustrationOutdoors 2
IllustrationTrail
Sentier de l'Albatros (Sentier national)
19.5 km of National Trail between the village and Lac Écho in the wildlife reserve. About a kilometre from the end you get two big views over…
IllustrationTrail
Sentier du Lièvre
An easy walk through a pine stand along the Lièvre, made for families. There's a free all-terrain wheelchair to borrow, and an outdoor art walk…
Lakes, beaches & marinas 6
IllustrationBoat launch
Débarcadère de la rivière du Lièvre
The ramp onto the Lièvre in Val-des-Bois. A free boat-washing station is right nearby on chemin Legris.
IllustrationIllustrationBoat launch
Débarcadère du lac Vert
A small ramp for canoes, kayaks and pedal boats on Lac Vert. No gas motors.
IllustrationLake
Lac de l'Argile
A lake shared by Val-des-Bois and Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette. Lake trout, bass, pike and bullhead, with lake trout protected at 55 cm. Fishing wraps…
IllustrationLake
Lac Vert
The little lake right in Val-des-Bois village. Stocked every year, no gas motors, and open for trout summer and winter.
IllustrationLake
Rivière du Lièvre (secteur Val-des-Bois)
The Lièvre means bass, walleye and even muskie. From Val-des-Bois you can run the river between the Rapides-des-Cèdres and High Falls dams.
Culture & heritage 4
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Val-des-Bois–Bowman Library
The library Val-des-Bois shares with Bowman lends passes to the big Ottawa-Gatineau museums and for cross-country skiing in Gatineau Park. Handy…
IllustrationAttraction
Val-des-Bois mural
A big spray-paint mural by Maria-Rosa Szychowska: the Lièvre, the High Falls dam and log drivers on the logs, as it was more than 60 years ago. Log…
IllustrationAttraction
L’énergie de la Lièvre (art public)
Eight sculptures from the 2019 symposium, inspired by the Lièvre River, its power and its history. They stand near the community centre.
Shops & makers 3
Services 9
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Caisse Desjardins de la Petite-Nation et du Lièvre, centre de services Val-des-Bois
Val-des-Bois service centre on Route 309. The caisse's head office is in Buckingham.
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Caisse Desjardins du Cœur-des-Vallées (Val-des-Bois)
Desjardins service centre in the village.
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Municipalité de Val-des-Bois
Town hall sits on Route 309, with the library in the same building. Mailing address: P.O. Box 69.
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Station de lavage à bateau de Val-des-Bois
Free station to wash your boat before launching. That's how we keep invasive species out of the lakes.
IllustrationHealth & wellness 2
Groups & organizations
Health & support · Val-des-Bois
La Mie du Partage food bank
The food bank for Val-des-Bois and Bowman, run entirely by volunteers. Emergency food help, community kitchens, a Christmas 'Magasin-Partage' and an annual food drive.
Arts & culture · Val-des-Bois
Val-des-Bois and Bowman Arts and Culture Movement
MAC organizes and backs arts and culture in Val-des-Bois and Bowman, and puts local artists and artisans in front of people. Anyone who supports its mission can join.
Community · Val-des-Bois
Val-des-Bois and Bowman Women's Circle (Cercle de Fermières)
Going since 1938, this circle has about forty active members doing textile crafts, cooking and helping out. They run the Christmas bazaar and the bingo at the country festival, and give handmade pieces to seniors and the sick.
Every Thursday, daytime
Volunteering & mutual aid · Val-des-Bois
Knights of Columbus Council 6045
Knights of Columbus Council 6045 for Val-des-Bois and Bowman, a Catholic fraternal group focused on charity and helping out locally.
Seniors · Val-des-Bois
Les Bons Copains Golden Age Club
Val-des-Bois's 50-plus club. Military whist on Tuesday afternoons from September to May; in summer, Tuesday morning games (pétanque, mini-golf, horseshoes, bean bags) and a picnic in August.
Tuesdays 1 to 4 p.m. (Sept. to May); Tuesdays 10 to 11:30 a.m. (June to Aug.)
Faith communities · Val-des-Bois
Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde Parish
Val-des-Bois's Catholic parish. It relies on tithes and collections to keep the church open; you can give by mail, at church or online through the Gatineau diocese.
Volunteering & mutual aid · Val-des-Bois
Val-des-Bois/Bowman Volunteer Firefighters' Association
Every firefighter on the brigade belongs to it, and they show up at community events in both towns. A good chance to go say hi.
Lake association · Val-des-Bois
Lac de l'Argile Protection Association
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.
Lake association · Val-des-Bois
Lac de l'Orignal Property Owners' Association
Active since the early 1990s, APLO brings together shoreline owners and those with deeded lake access on Lac de l'Orignal. It puts out a newcomer's guide and keeps an eye on environmental rules.
Community · Val-des-Bois
Val-des-Bois/Bowman Recreation Committee
The recreation committee shared by the two villages, listed in Bowman's directory of groups.
Sports & recreation · Bowman
Bowman/Val-des-Bois Hunting and Fishing Club
The hunting and fishing club for Bowman and Val-des-Bois, listed in Bowman's community directory.
Community · Bowman
Bowman/Val-des-Bois Country Festival
The group behind the two villages' country music festival. The local Cercle de Fermières runs its yearly bingo there.
Youth · Bowman
La Voix des Parents (parents' group)
A parents' group listed in the Bowman and Val-des-Bois community directory.
Sports & recreation · Val-des-Bois
Club Chasse et Pêche de Val-des-Bois/Bowman
The hunting and fishing club for the Lièvre side of the MRC. It runs youth fishing intro days and an ice-fishing day open to everyone. Reach the club through the Val-des-Bois town office.
Magazine
Where to stay in La Petite-Nation, from inns to teepees
A log château, an 1898 Victorian full of artists, an old post office, teepees next to the wolves. Our rundown of the ways to spend the night out here.
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.
Lake associations, the volunteers keeping our water clear
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.
Nearby: Bowman · Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette · Mulgrave-et-Derry · Montpellier · Mayo