# Mékinac

Mékinac Regional County Municipality (MRC Mékinac) is a rural area in Mauricie.

## Cities

* 46.726944-72.5644441 Saint-Tite — features the "Festival Western de Saint-Tite"
* 47-72.752 Trois-Rives — A vast territory for recreational and tourist activities: vacationing, camping, nautical activities, outfitters, ZECs and the Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve.
* 46.8167-72.76673 Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac — A locality of nautical activities (marinas) and camping, with the most beautiful cliffs along the St-Maurice.
* 46.6833-72.73334 Grandes-Piles — A picturesque and recreational tourism town (resort, nautical activities, hiking trails, camping) on the edge of Saint-Maurice river.
* 46.6667-72.61675 Hérouxville — Locality with three recreational and tourist activity centres: Tavibois, Camp Val Notre-Dame and Lac-à-la-Tortue (eastern part).
* 46.8167-72.56 Sainte-Thècle — A picturesque locality full of recreational tourism activities: camping, boating, hunting & fishing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, and equestrian sports.
* 46.8667-72.47 Lac-aux-Sables — A super touristic locality for vacationing, camping and other recreational tourism activities.
* 46.866667-72.3333338 Notre-Dame-de-Montauban — Location of the Montauban Falls Park on the Batiscan River, the mining village of Montauban and part of the national hiking trail.
* 46.7333-72.43339 Saint-Adelphe — An atypical locality crossed by the Batiscan river which is spanned by a majestic railway bridge. Recreational tourism activities focus on the Batiscan River (resort, boating, swimming, water skiing, fishing) and sport hunting.
* 46.6667-72.510 Saint-Séverin (Mékinac) — It has old mills (saw and flour) and an old hydroelectric dam in the village. The two roads along the Des Envies river offer agricultural and forest landscapes of the course of the river.

## Other destinations

Controlled harvesting zones (ZEC) in the region:
* 47.18333-71.866671 ZEC Batiscan-Neilson
* 46.90579-72.93372 ZEC du Gros-Brochet — A first reception station is located at the southern end of the territory, just south of Lac des Pins-Rouges, accessible via route 131 via Saint- Michel-des-Saints. The second reception station is on the east side of the Rivière-aux-rats bridge which spans the Saint-Maurice river.
* 46.90579-72.93373 ZEC du Chapeau-de-Paille — This ZEC covers 1,270 km$^2$ (490 sq mi).
* 47.0297-72.50014 ZEC Tawachiche — ZEC located mainly in the municipality of Lac-aux-Sables (Hervey-Jonction sector), and partly in the unorganized territories of Lac-Masketsi and Lac-Lapeyère. This area is south of the ZEC de la Bessonne. The Tawachiche and Tawachiche Ouest rivers cross its territory. This ZEC in Moyen-Mauricie is popular for recreational and tourist activities.

## Understand

The name Mekinac has an Algonquin First Nations origin that means "turtle".

## Get in

From Montreal or Quebec City, take Highway 40 to Trois-Rivières or Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, then head north.
The principal highways into the region are Route 153, Route 155, and Route 159. There are no autoroutes into the region.
The nearest airport is in Trois-Rivières.

## See

The Musée Souvenirs d'autrefois in Saint-Tite is a museum that pays homage to the ancestors of the Mauricie region with well-reconstructed buildings: a kitchen, a bedroom, a chapel and a barn.
The Village du Bucheron in Grandes-Piles tells the story of the forestry industry of the Saint-Maurice valley since 1850.
The Bordeleau covered bridge on route Dessureault spans the Rivière des Envies, between Hérouxville and Saint-Tite.
See the waterfalls in Notre-Dame-de-Montauban's Parc des Chutes-de-Montauban.

## Do

The region's biggest draw for visitors is the Festival Western de Saint-Tite, the most important western festival in Eastern Canada. It has great shows and equestrian competitions in September.
Hike the 19 km (12 mi) Saint-Tite to Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac panoramic route, or the 13-km Sentier National - Tronçon Père Jacques-Buteux near Grandes-Piles.
Head to Trois-Rives where outfitters will get you set up for climbing, rafting, kayaking, kayaraft, canyoning, and other outdoor sports.
The Mauricie International Canoe Classic in early September includes a canoe rave over 200 km (120 mi), in three stages between La Tuque and Trois-Rivières), and other sporting and cultural events.
Cruise on the Saint-Maurice river on board the Windigo from Grandes-Piles.
Drive the winding, scenic road from Lac-Édouard to Rivière-à-Pierre (112 km) through the forest. Or from Sainte-Thècle, the Tour vers le Lac du Jésuite. Take the 134-km Route pittoresque entre Carignan vers Hervey-Jonction to see the highest railway bridge in Quebec near Lac-aux-Sables.
From Hérouxville, you can walk or cycle the Tour du Lac à la Tortues or the Route de la rivière Mékinac du Sud.
The Tour of the Batiscan river between Saint-Stanislas and Saint-Adelphe is a 31-km route is a good way to see the Batiscan river.
The Panoramic route of the mills of the Des Envies river from Saint-Sévérin.