Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan

Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan is a recreational tourism municipality in the Minganie region, on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. It is the gateway to the Mingan Archipelago, renowned for its rocky islands shaped by the sea, on the Route des Baleines and the Route Nature aux mille délices (gourmet route)

The main tourist attractions of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan:
 * its immense beaches (27 km between the Saint-Jean River (to the west) and the Mingan River (to the east)) of fine sand on the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; a long wooden sidewalk delimits the beach at the height of the village allowing hiking with the gulf as an impregnable natural backdrop and the famous Anticosti Island in the background;
 * its boat trips on the gulf to the legendary Île aux Perroquets which offers a great history of navigation with its old lighthouse and outbuildings;
 * its boat trips to the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve and the other islands of the archipelago, to discover the artistic talents of the sea in sculpting the rocks of the islands of the archipelago;
 * sport fishing on the sea, on the Saint-Jean River or in the backcountry;
 * sport hunting (including trapping) in the backcountry;
 * its aerodrome located near Lake Patterson, which was a former military air terminal during the Second World War (1939-1945);
 * its immense and wild territory allowing you to practise snowmobiling or mountain biking, in an idyllic forest environment;
 * its trails or roads offering hikes in the great outdoors, including biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing;
 * its marine mammal interpretation centre.

Understand
In 1976, the segment of Route 138 passing through the village was connected to the rest of the province's road network; this connection allowed a significant influx of travellers, especially tourists in summer. From now on, provisions and goods arrive mainly by land rather than by sea. In addition, the village is now served by the bus service from the north shore to Havre-Saint-Pierre.

This atypical municipality has an almost exclusively French-speaking population of 434 inhabitants in 2016.

Geography
The Jacques-Cartier Strait, located between Anticosti Island and the North Shore, is well frequented by fishermen, boaters and boaters visiting the rock islands sculpted artistically by the sea in the Réserve de Mingan Archipelago National Park.

La Longue-Pointe, located in the township of Mingan, between Mingan and Magpie, is the shortest distance (34 km) between the continental north shore and Pointe Nord (Cap-de-Rabast) on the Côte de la Discovery (north side) of Anticosti Island. To connect the two points, you have to cross the Chenal de Mingan (near the Côte-Nord coast), the Chenal aux Perroquets, the Îles de Mingan and the Strait of Jacques-Cartier.

History
The local history is rich in significant events: numerous shipwrecks, storms on the sea, fishing expeditions and caplan fishing, the hordes of tourists visiting the Parc national de l'archipel des Îles de Mingan, the arrival of Route 138 in 1976, the isolation of a remote riverside village, the period of supply ships, the telegraph, the arrival of the first car, the first plane, the snowmobile, electricity, telephone, television, municipal erection, seafood processing, and military airfield.

Thadée Leblanc was the first European to settle in Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan; he came in 1849 with his family from Anse du Cap (Cap-d'Espoir) in Gaspésie. The establishment of a hamlet was based on the economic vocation of cod fishing. This economic activity mainly attracted Gaspesians from around Paspébiac, Grande-Rivière and Port-Daniel. On November 2, 1942 (in the midst of World War II), the PBY Catalina, an amphibious aircraft of the United States Air Force, crashed off the Canadian coast near the village of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan. This tragedy occurred after the plane hit high waves after taking off from the airfield. The town's fishermen then braved the stormy waters of the Gulf to find four crew members clinging to the fuselage before the plane sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Five other Americans, including the pilot, were trapped inside the seaplane and lost their lives.

By car
The distance from Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan to the following major cities is:

Get around
The main road traffic route is Route 138 which runs along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This road crosses each of the villages up to Kegaska to the east.

Connect
Wireless high-speed Internet service is offered in Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan by several service providers, thanks to networks of ground relay stations; on route 138 outside the villages, this wireless service could be irregular or not accessible depending on the location. In addition, satellite communication services (e.g. Starlink) are accessible everywhere in remote territory such as the North Shore; they allow you to make video calls, play online games, view streaming video, and perform other high-speed activities.