These mythical and protected islands are perfect for extraordinary vacation stays. From west to east, each of them has its own personality and unique attractions. They can be visited for a day, half-day, or during an overnight stay. Monoliths, minke whales and seals, puffins, flora, and fauna are exceptionally close to you.
Parks Canada has been attracted to the Mingan Archipelago for a long time; the islands were noticed by locals and researchers, explains Marlène Arseneault, visitor experience manager of the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve. Its potential was recognized, particularly for botany. Roland Jomphe, poet, sacristan, and treasurer-secretary of his village, Havre-Saint-Pierre, made the Mingan Islands known. He enjoyed naming the monoliths after their shapes and bringing many visitors to the islands.
"Our parents and grandparents were also ambassadors of the islands; we went there for picnics and activities when we were young." In 1978, the archipelago was decreed a natural district, a first recognition at the provincial level. Parks Canada had the privilege of acquiring it in 1984 to create a national park reserve. The organization protects and enhances the largest concentration of limestone monoliths in Canada, as well as the natural and cultural resources of the archipelago.
Marlène Arseneault, a resident of Havre-Saint-Pierre on the coast, does not have a secret or favorite spot to tell you about in the archipelago because "there are many things that impress me, and each island has its personality." She speaks with renewed delight about the puffins and the cliff of Parrot Island, walks among the monoliths of Naked Island or on the 10 km of trails of Quarry Island, The Castle of La Grande Île (monumental limestone formation), Ghost Island with the minke whales coming very close to the coast, among others.
Various reception offices and accommodations
In addition to its mandate to protect the archipelago, "the park reserve team works for people's happiness!" so that they can enjoy the place, ideal for getting away and relaxing for vacation. Visitors can inquire at four locations, with receptionists in Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan and Havre-Saint-Pierre, and with employees of the municipalities of Baie-Johan-Beetz and Aguanish with which the park reserve collaborates. Exhibitions will be presented in Havre-Saint-Pierre and Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan during the summer of 2021, and visitors will be able to purchase souvenir products sold there, "this year we are able to do it, in compliance with health measures."
Accommodations offer a nice variety: traditional camping, reserved for Minganie people (according to the traditional camping definition), regular camping with about forty sites, oTENTik tents, and the famous Ôasis units in the shape of water bubbles, which are the novelty of the year. The hostel on Parrot Island, in the lighthouse station, allows you to sleep in great comfort by booking with the Corporation of Parrot Island.
Your stay in the archipelago will leave you with a giant memory for which your memory will undergo no erosion, for sure. You will leave with saltwater in your veins for the rest of the year, according to the famous words of local poet Roland Jomphe.
Written by: Christine Gilliet (Mots et marées)
Click here to listen to the episode of the Bonjour Côte-Nord podcast on the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve with Olivia Jomphe:
