Route description: Papineau-Labelle Posted by msandwun Date posted Jul 21, 2005 Date last travelled The Papineau-Labelle reserve is about 3 hours away from Ottawa, a mix of creeks, beaver ponds, and large bayed expanses. The terrain is not all that rugged, and portages are generally longish but easy going. No reservations are required, a blessing for last minute getaways to the interior, and a curse when hunting for campsites on Sept-Freres or one of the other readily accessible lakes. To get there, take highway 50 out towards Montreal, and when it ends, head south on the 315 to hit the 148. Follow this through to Papineau, then turn north on the 321 and follow this through to Duhamel. It took about 2 hours from the shed to Duhamel by this route. Stay on this road through Duhamel - the village is very spread out. Eventually the road hits a T, close to a general store and restaurant. Turn right here, there's a sign saying Papineau-Labelle reserve. Follow this road to Accueil Gagnon - note the road turns to gravel about 10 minutes further, and there is a large lake on the right. As an alternative, you can follow the gravel road around Lac LeBlanche. This is marked as the 315 on the map, and connects to the end of Highway 50 - turn north instead of south if following this. The road is a little shorter, as the crow flies. This particular crow was stunt flying while laying out this route - be prepared for a slow, albeit scenic, drive. This route joins with the 321 at Cheneville. Register at the Gagnon park office - camping is $8/person, and you will get one parking permit good for all vehicles. (i.e. have license numbers, car descriptions handy if someone is meeting you later). To get to Joinville/Lac Sept Freres, continue on this gravel road, and a few minutes further, turn left onto Road 6. Go over the bridge, continue on Road 3. At the junction with Road 4, continue straight, and go north on Road 3. About 15 minutes further, there is an intersection with Road 5, turn right onto this and continue through to Joinville. This particular circle route is probably a 2C, just because of the difficulty of making a loop in this reserve without at least one long portage. There is a "jumping-off" site just before you reach the warden's office at Joinville - this is for backcountry campers who arrive late. It's on the right, and looks onto the long sand beach at the foot of Sept-Freres. You can camp overnight, but must leave vehicles at the parking lot 2 minutes up the road at the cabins, where the river crosses from Joinville to Sept Freres. It is useful to leave cars in a cluster with the vehicle with the parking permit. For this route, drive back along the Sept Freres brook till you come to Road 64, a disused gravel road that emerges from the left. The trip starts where this road crosses the stream, with a 700 m portage down to where the stream emerges into Montjoie. It is possible to make this portage much shorter in higher water, just carrying around the shallow sections. there are marked mini-portages. You need to drive the cars back to the parking lot and hike the 2 km back. Cross Lac Montjoie heading north east, and carry into Lac Marceau, and then almost immediately into Lac Wee. This portage is marked as both 1150 m, and 1350 m, and feels like 1500 m. Immediately on the other side of this small lake is a liftover into Lac Petit Wee - turn north at this point, and head up to the portage next to the rapids emptying into the lake. This is an excellent swimming spot. The river going north involves a fair bit of lining, lifting over sand bars, and portaging around a collapsed log bridge. There are no campsites on the river, but where it connects to Lac Jean, there is an excellent large (6 tents +) campsite on the east side, marked with an official marker. This is not even marked on the map, and was the only campsite found on this side of the route. The route continues into a Lac des Grandes Baies, which has motor boats, cottages, etc. This part of the trip is about 8 km - head north and then turn the corner to head towards Lac Mercier. There is a campsite on the west side after the lake narrows, with a lot of space. The exit from the lake is a bit deceptive - continue down the inlet to the very end, where you meet a beaver dam. Lift over - the portage out is another half km through the beaver pond. Lac Mercier has only one campsite on it - it's large though. It's not the best site ever seen for swimming access, but the water is deep and the site looks out onto the hills. It's on the east side of the lake, and is visible only if you're close to shore, where the marker can be seen. To continue this route, head south west to round the corner into Lac Lartigue with a small lift-over. There is an alternate creek exit from this lake, which might be passable in high water but has a lot of beaver dams and shallows. The route ends with a 400 m portage into Lac Diamond, and a 200 m portage into Lac Sept Freres. There are good campsites on both Diamond and Lartigue lakes, albeit small. Swimming spots are excellent on Sept-Freres - there's a rocky islet opposite the portage from Diamond that has a picnic spot. The return to the parking lot is about 8 km along the length of the lake. Note that most campsites in the reserve are small, and unable to accomodate more than 2 or 3 tents.
