Baie-Johan-Beetz

Baie-Johan-Beetz (formerly called "Piashtibaie") is a small riverside municipality on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the region of Minganie, on the North Shore in eastern Quebec. It is on the Route des Baleines and the Route Nature aux mille délices (gourmet route).

Baie-Johan Beetz is a paradise in the heart of nature on the Whale Route. This village offers services to travellers on route 138. The main attractions of Baie-Johan Beetz are:
 * Watshishou Bird Sanctuary (and located east of White Ridge and shared with the Municipality of Aguanish);
 * the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve (French: Réserve de parc national de l'Archipel-de-Mingan) with limestone monoliths shaped by the waves;
 * the archipelago of about a hundred islands near the coast of the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence;
 * Johan-Beetz, Quetachou and Pontbriand bays (shared with the municipality of Aguanish) overlooking the Jacques-Cartier Strait; these bays are good for boating and fishing; walking on the pebble shores makes you appreciate the sea air, the spectacles of the nature of the gulf and to observe the avian fauna and the marine mammals;
 * the salt lakes (on the course of the Piashti river and accessible to the sea by boating), Turgeon, Tanguay, Piashti, Cabane Brûlée, Véronique, Petit lac Véronique; these lakes are used in particular for vacationing, nautical activities and sport fishing;
 * its six rivers; they are renowned for sport fishing and nautical activities;
 * its hiking trails, including the Spar Mica peninsula (east side of Piashti Bay) and Quetachou Falls;
 * its campsites near the village and their access to hiking trails and the waterfront promenade on Johan-Beetz Bay;
 * its outdoor activities, including: kayaking, picnicking, swimming in the Piashti River, hunting, fishing;
 * its trails for ATVs and snowmobiles;
 * its legendary Château Johan Beetz, which has a long history in the Nordic hotel industry.

Geography
Baie-Johan-Beetz is located directly opposite the middle of Anticosti Island (distance of 58.9 km between the shores of Pointe-à-l'Épinette (Anticosti Island) and a peninsula located 3.9 km southwest of the Highway 138 bridge over the Piashti River).

The municipality of Baie-Johan-Beetz includes the townships of Des Herbiers (western part of the municipality) and Johan-Beetz (eastern part).

From Route 138, a road leads north to the west shore of Salt Lake and the Piashti River, to serve resorts and recreational tourism activities (hunting, fishing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, etc.).

Get in
The Route 138 bridge spanning the Piashti River in the village of Baie-Johan-Beetz is located 283 km by road, east of downtown Sept-Îles.

By car
Route 138 from Sept-Îles is the only national road in the region. It continues east through Havre-Saint-Pierre (67 km), Natashquan (83 km) and up to Kegaska (135 km) where Route 138 ends. route 138 reappears approximately 400 km further on at Vieux-Fort, near Blanc-Sablon.

Route 138 arrived in Baie-Johan-Beetz in 1996. For 20 years, from 1976 to 1996, Havre-Saint-Pierre was the end point to the east of Route 138, which runs along the north shore of the river and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; which generated a considerable tourist development. The engineers' challenge was to build infrastructure to span several rivers, including (in order from west to east): Moisie, Matamec, Loups Marins, Pigou, Bouleau, Sault Plat, Tortue, Sault Blanc, Manitou, at Graines, at La Chaloupe, Sheldrake, Couture, Jim-Hearst, Moyac, Duck, at Tonnerre, Brûlée, Béline, Magpie, Saint-Coeur, Saint-Jean, Mingan, Kamenakapeu and Romaine. In 1996, another segment of Route 138 was opened up to Natashquan, further east. Finally, in 2013, the final segment of this road reached Kegaska.

By plane
The seaplane base is at the wharf on the west shore of Johan-Beetz Bay.

Get around
Route 138 (east-west direction) is the main road through Aguanish.

Connect
The three main cellular/mobile telephone networks provide coverage in and around the municipality; however, there are large areas along the routes to Sept-Îles and Kegaska (December 2018) not served.