About 40 km north of Gatineau, Val-des-Bois has been timber country for two centuries. Travellers in the early 1800s were already calling it the Vallée du Bois, and after Napoleon's 1806 blockade, local timber went to British shipyards. The town was founded in 1885 as the United Townships of Bowman-and-Villeneuve and took the name Val-des-Bois in 1958.
The forest still pays the bills, just differently. Hunting, fishing, four campgrounds, trails, snowmobiles and ATVs. Summer brings campers and cottagers, plenty from Gatineau and Ottawa. Almost everything happens on Route 309: the bakery, the hardware store, the dépanneur, the gas station that also sells hunting and fishing gear.
What makes Val-des-Bois
Papineau-Labelle reserve
The Sépaq wildlife reserve covers close to half the municipality, with its welcome centre right on Route 309.
Lac Vert
In the middle of the village, no gas motors, stocked with trout every year. A good place to teach kids to fish.
The Lièvre between two dams
The river is navigable between two dams within Val-des-Bois. The High Falls dam went up in 1929.
Sentier de l'Albatros
19.5 km from the village to Lac Écho in the reserve, with 6 km of snowshoe trail in winter. Closed during deer season.
Val-des-Bois en musique
Three days of country, rock and folk by the Lièvre, with a free shuttle. The last announced edition was in late August.
A few local businesses in Val-des-Bois
- Babine · pies and ice cream · Route 309
Handmade pies with local ingredients, open May to late October. Their year-round shop is in L'Ange-Gardien. - Domaine Lac Vert · family outfitter · Route 309
Four cottages on Lac Vert, two sandy beaches, kayaks and pedal boats, open year-round. - Camping Val-des-Bois · campground · chemin Mimeault
More than 250 full-hookup sites with lake access, May to September. - Petro-Canada Station Sport Nature · gas, food, hunting and fishing gear · Route 309
Gas, snacks and hunting and fishing supplies in one stop. - Dépanneur du Village · convenience store and dairy bar · Route 309
The village dépanneur, with a dairy bar for summer. - Pièces VR Bernard · RV parts · Route 309
RV parts and equipment, handy in a village with four campgrounds.
Getting found in Val-des-Bois
In Val-des-Bois, the search usually starts in Ottawa or Gatineau on a Thursday night. Campground on the Lièvre, cottage rental with a beach, trout fishing Outaouais. Then, once people are here, it's the phone: where to buy bait, who's open for a pie, who can fix the trailer. A lot of local businesses are seasonal, and that's where things go wrong: July hours still showing in November, or no hours at all. We'd start with a Google profile that follows your seasons, photos of the lake and the site, and a bilingual page that says plainly what you offer. We're in Montpellier, same MRC.
Val-des-Bois has a population of 1,027 (2026), according to the Quebec government's population order.
Petite Nation Numérique is not affiliated with the municipality or the MRC; this information comes from public sources.
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DetailsFrequently asked questions
My campground is full all summer. Do I really need a website?
To fill spring and fall, yes. And to stop answering the same phone questions about rates, services and whether dogs are allowed.
Most of my customers are from Ottawa. Should the site be English first?
We do both at once. English written for Ottawa, French for Gatineau and the rest of Québec, each with its own search terms.
Do you come to Val-des-Bois?
Yes. We are based in Montpellier and meet clients in person anywhere in the MRC de Papineau, including Val-des-Bois. We can also work entirely online.
My business is small. Is an online presence worth the investment?
Yes, particularly in a rural region. A complete Google profile and a simple site are often enough to stand out from competitors who aren't online. We start with what pays off most for your budget.