Lac Dumont, located almost two hours north of Shawville along MRC Pontiac’s eastern border, has long been a haven for those who enjoy the outdoors.
A sandy beach stretches for several hundred meters along the north shore of the lake, making it a popular summer destination for those wishing to get some time in the wilderness.
But the site has also been a victim of its own success.
Marc Soulière, the head of the non-profit organization Amis du Lac Dumont, has been working to clean up the site and make it more accommodating to families. Just a few years ago however, things weren’t nearly this tranquil.
“I discovered that lake in 1986, when it was [ . . . ] more snapping turtles than humans,” he said. “After that it got known, and it was a small beautiful place hidden in the woods. It was lawless, so it got really crazy with raves and whatnot.”
He said that in the early 2000s, thousands of ravers and weekend warriors descended on the beach to party it up, leaving mountains of trash and causing headaches for the local community. Though the lake is situated in MRC Pontiac’s TNO Lac-Nilgaut region, the easiest and most accessible route to the beach is via MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, and the little community of Cayamant.
The shallow water meant riders would often rip through the water at high speeds on off-road vehicles. Glass from broken bottles would litter the sand, making it dangerous to go barefoot.
MRC Pontiac territory director Jason Durand has long been a visitor to the lake, both by way of the various resource management jobs he’s worked on the territory, and simply because he loves the outdoors.
“There were raves and things like that, people would race in the lake with their trucks and things like that, while kids were swimming, because the beach is so shallow for so long,” explained Durand recalled. “I’d already seen cars getting burnt right there, literally burnt, so it was sort of in chaos.”
MRC Pontiac regional inspector Richard Marenger has also made many a trip up to Lac Dumont.
“I remember one time I went there to clean [ . . . ] Just the green propane cans alone filled the full box of my truck,” he said.
Trying to get a handle on the situation, various authorities attempted to close off access to the beach, dropping concrete barriers along the access road. Soulière said that these obstacles were pretty easily bypassed by industrious visitors with off-road vehicles.
Over the years he said he started encouraging people to keep the site clean and respect fellow beach-goers by minding speed limits and other basic rules. “I just try to educate people,” he said, about his non-confrontational approach. “It’s all in the way you do things.”
He said that posting positive messages about taking care of the site on social media helped get other like-minded individuals on board.
Durand said eventually, with support from the MRC, a meeting was secured with Soulière and Quebec’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests to see if the Ministry could create a lease for the beach alone, that could be managed by Soulière.
“In other words he would have the right to charge people, not to bleed them out, but just at least to control the place and keep it clean and all that,” Durand said.
In 2023, after years of working to clean things up voluntarily, Soulière said he officially secured a community lease from the ministry, which now allows him the ability to charge a nominal fee for access in exchange for managing the beach site and keeping it clean. This year, day passes will be $10 for adults, or $20 for overnight camping. Children under 18 years old get in free.
“Yeah some people were disappointed because they always went there and never had to pay,” Durand said. “But it’s only the beach area [that falls under his lease], so there’s still the whole lake.”
According to the province, the lease for the property is for non-profit community use. This allows for “activity accessible to all citizens or a category of citizens without mandatory membership or affiliation to a club, association or private interest group for the practice of such an activity, free of charge or at a cost based solely on operating and maintenance expenses.” The ministry states that the lease will be renewed every year so long as Soulière remains in conformity.
Durand said that having someone like Soulière there to keep a handle on things is key to keeping the area from returning to the law of the jungle.
“Having Marc there, he’s not the typical individual to have, but he’s the man of the hour,” Durand said. “Because people that were the problem there, they’re not the type of people that anybody can deal with. He was the right in between.”
Soulière said that he plans to open in June this year, adding more toilet facilities and keeping the rustic feel that people love about the place.
“Everybody that comes here, everybody [says] it’s jaw-dropping. It’s like a drug, it’s in your veins,” he said. “It’s a place where you come and everything goes away. All your worries, everything goes away.”
