Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts

Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town of 10,000 people (2016) in the province of Quebec.

Understand
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a service centre for the surrounding region: its economy is based on tourism activities that include, in the summer, horse-back riding, boating, fishing, and lakeside recreation, and in winter, cross-country skiing, dog-sled racing, skating, and ice hockey. While the train is no longer in service, there is an extensive bike path that has replaced it called "Le Petit Train Du Nord". It directly connects to other paths that extend as far as Montreal.

The town is characterized by its history and tradition of B&Bs, inns, hotels, and spas. As a growing municipality, it has a developing service area that includes a new Walmart, Super 8, and Jean Coutu (among others) strategically placed on the edge of the town so as to not affect its village atmosphere.

Canadian author Mordechai Richler set his novel The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts. Former Quebec premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand (1916 - 1973) was a native of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts.



History
In 1849, the first European families arrived on the northern fringe of the area. Beginning in 1850, a rapid colonization of the region began. The arriving families were primarily of French Catholic background. In 1865, the land on which the church stands was donated to the parish by Dr. Luc-Eusèbe Larocque, brother of the Monsignor. Dr. Larocque had amassed a fortune in the California Gold Rush and had decided to live the life of a seigneur. He bought several farms around Lac à la Truite (Trout Lake) and area but was too kind-hearted to ask for the rents. The English Protestant community grew from the time the train first arrived in 1892.

With the completion of a railway to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts in 1892, the town experienced a rapid increase in population. Between 1892 and 1911, spas and hospitals were established. In 1899, a tuberculosis hospital was founded by Dr. Arthur Richer. Elizabeth Wand, a nurse from New York City established a spa, which still operates as Auberge Tour du Lac. It was believed at the time that fresh mountain air could help cure tuberculosis and other pulmonary diseases.

By 1910, many wealthy families from Montreal and northern United States had built residences along the shoreline of Lac des Sables. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the town was a popular tourist centre with large resort hotels and many shops and restaurants. In the 1980s, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts grew as a four-season tourist destination.

Next to Mont Tremblant, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts has the largest population of English-speaking summer cottage residents in the Laurentians (with a smaller but still sizable winter cottage population as well, particularly on the weekends). Generations of cottagers from English Montreal, Ontario, New York, and New Jersey vacation amidst the lakes and mountains surrounding the town.

By car
Two highways enter Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts


 * Autoroute 15, a freeway from Montreal that ends just north of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, where the highway combines into Highway 117. At 95 km in length, the fastest route to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts from Montreal on Autoroute 15 to Exit 86, then west on Route 117.
 * Route 117, a highway running northwest and south-east. Route 117 is part of a branch of the Trans-Canada Highway, that starts from its interchange with Autoroute 40 (Trans-Canada Highway's main route) in Montreal, which becomes Highway 66 in Ontario.  Highway 66 ends as part of the Trans-Canada Highway about 14 km west of Kirkland Lake, where Highway 66 intersects with Highway 11, which is another branch of the Trans-Canada Highway.

By plane
The nearest big airport is Montreal Pierre-Elliot Trudeau International Airpor t.

By train
The closest train station served by VIA Rail is in Montreal.

Do

 * Downhill skiing and snowboarding at Mont Blanc and other famous resorts such as Mont Tremblant, all within a 25-minute drive.
 * Tessier Beach, 35 Rue Major, in the middle of town. Changing rooms, bathrooms, snack bar, volleyball net, swings, and slides, lifeguard.
 * Boat cruises - discover the beauty of Lac de Sables (Sandy Lake) in Ste-Agathe-des-Monts