Beaulac-Garthby, Quebec: History, Things to Do and Travel Guide
Beaulac-Garthby is a Lac Aylmer municipality in Quebec’s Chaudière-Appalaches region, where Route 112 meets a lakeside village, marina, parkland, and rail-based recreation. The community sits in the MRC des Appalaches, south of Disraeli, with the lake shaping both its history and its visitor appeal.
This is a small community with a clear travel identity: water access, Parc Bellerive, summer recreation, and a place-name story that reaches back to township colonization, forest work, parish life, and the 2000 merger that created the present municipality.
How Beaulac-Garthby Started
Beaulac-Garthby’s present name dates to March 15, 2000, when the village municipality of Beaulac and the township municipality of Garthby were combined. The older stories sit on each side of that hyphen.
Garthby began as a township landscape. Quebec’s place-name record says the township was opened to colonization in 1848, proclaimed in 1855, and connected to a township municipality created in 1874 after Garthby and Stratford were separated. Early development was difficult because the soil slowed settlement. A chapel appeared in 1849, the Saint-Charles-Borromée-de-Garthby mission began in 1851, and the parish later received canonical and civil status in the late nineteenth century.
Beaulac grew from the lakeside part of that territory. The former village municipality was detached from Garthby and incorporated in 1896. Its name points directly to the setting: the attractive shore of Lac Aylmer.
What Beaulac-Garthby Is Like Today
Statistics Canada counted 931 residents in Beaulac-Garthby in the 2021 census. The MRC des Appalaches describes the municipality through Lac Aylmer and Route 112, with Parc Bellerive and the marina acting as the main public-facing waterfront features.
The community is compact near the lake, then quickly becomes rural and wooded beyond the village. Visitor activity is seasonal. Summer brings boating, fishing, cycling, picnics and velorail rides; quieter months shift the focus toward local services, lake views and travel through the Appalaches foothills.
Its present-day identity is practical and relaxed. Beaulac-Garthby is not a resort complex, but it has a clear public waterfront, a recognizable lake landscape, a small service centre and a regional road that keeps it connected with Disraeli, Thetford Mines and the rest of the Appalaches.
Things to Do and Places Nearby
Parc Bellerive is the easiest starting point. The MRC notes its picnic areas, rest areas, lakeside walking path, interpretive panels about municipal origins, and marina access with a boat launch. Lac Aylmer is used for fishing and water activities, so travellers should check local marina conditions, weather, and watercraft rules before planning a lake day.
Les Vélorails de Beaulac-Garthby add a distinctive local activity at Parc Bellerive. The non-profit attraction opened to the public in 2012 and uses rail equipment for family rides through the countryside. Its current season and reservations should be checked before arrival.
For a wider Appalaches itinerary, Beaulac-Garthby fits naturally with Disraeli on Lac Aylmer and Thetford Mines as the larger service centre for the region.
Quick Facts
- Province: Quebec
- Region: Chaudière-Appalaches
- Municipality type: Municipality
- 2021 census population: 931
- Official website: Municipalité de Beaulac-Garthby
- Main water feature: Lac Aylmer
- Main visitor areas: Parc Bellerive, marina, Les Vélorails de Beaulac-Garthby
- Key route: Route 112
Travel Notes
Beaulac-Garthby is easiest to plan in summer, when lake access, Parc Bellerive, and velorail operations line up. Reserve ticketed activities ahead of time, confirm marina access, and bring supplies if you plan to spend most of the day on or near the water.
Route 112 gives the municipality a straightforward road approach, but winter weather and shoulder-season business hours can affect small-community travel. Plan Beaulac-Garthby as a quiet lake stop with limited services, and build extra time into any Lac Aylmer circuit.