Lanaudière

In the heart of Lanaudière, the Matawinie regional county takes up two thirds of the region all on its own. That tells you how vast the territory is: fifteen municipalities, twelve unorganized territories and the Atikamekw community of Manawan, spread across the foothills of the Laurentians.

The name comes from the Algonquian Matawane, meaning "river that falls fast" — a nod to the Matawin River, the main tributary of the Saint-Maurice in this area. The county has officially carried the name since 1982, and Rawdon is its seat.

You come here for the water and the forest. Hundreds of lakes, salmon rivers, waterfalls, ZECs and outfitters make up a playground where the outdoors sets the pace in every season. The farther north you go, the wilder the country gets: the Haute-Matawinie, which takes in Saint-Zénon, Saint-Michel-des-Saints and Manawan, truly marks the end of the roads and the beginning of the open wild.

And yet all of it sits three and a half hours from Quebec City. A complete change of scene, without having to cross the province.

At 340, rue Saint-Maurice Est, right in the heart of the village of Saint-Michel-des-Saints and on the bank of the Matawin River, Au Vieux Moulin à Scie is an institution of the Haute-Matawinie. And the name isn't just for show: the building is a genuine sawmill dating from 1937, converted into a restaurant in 1975.

That's exactly what gives the place its charm. The room has kept its old-time character, with a rich collection of antiques recalling the flourishing days of logging in the region. You are literally eating inside the village's history, and the warm atmosphere takes hold the moment you walk through the doors.

The menu is deliberately varied, enough to suit a relaxed family meal as readily as a more polished evening. The house is particularly known for its table d'hôte menus, its steaks and its seafood, but you'll also find simpler dishes — burgers, poutine, moules-frites, souvlaki — and even a fine breakfast offering.

The service is attentive and the welcome frankly warm: it comes up in practically every review, and it's deserved. With a rating of 4.6 across more than 340 reviews, the place has everyone in the area agreeing.

Good to know: the restaurant is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. It opens at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and from 8 a.m. Thursday through Sunday — so you can have breakfast or lunch there too. Nine motel rooms adjoin the restaurant, reachable from inside as well as outside, for anyone who'd rather not get back on the road after dinner. A terrace rounds things out in the warmer months.

An essential stop for anyone heading up into the Haute-Matawinie — and the kind of village address you're glad to find at the end of the road.

After three and a half hours on the road from Quebec City, we treated ourselves to something a little different: a suite at the Hôtel Matha, at 2650, route Louis-Cyr in Saint-Jean-de-Matha. This isn't camping in the strict sense — and we fully own the gap, same as with our dome in Baddeck!

The place isn't a simple hotel either. Expérience Matha is a four-season complex that brings together on one site a mountain golf course, water activities on lac Rond, the Super Glissades — among the best known in Quebec for more than 40 years — a thermal area and the Bistro Matha. As the house puts it nicely: here you don't choose between the golf and the lake, between the adrenaline and the unwinding. You take it all.

The lodging counts 36 units in three formats: 22 spacious rooms with two queen beds, designed for families and groups of friends, 8 suites built for two, and 4 condos. Our suite came with a king bed, a whirlpool tub, a fireplace, a full bathroom, a coffee maker and a fridge. After a day on the road, let's just say the whirlpool tub was warmly received.

The detail that changes everything: access to the thermal area is included with every stay, whatever the room or package you choose. You'll find two outdoor hot pools with complementary moods — one for unwinding quietly while taking in the view, the other for stretching out the relaxation after activities — a dry sauna and an outdoor fire area surrounded by nature. No supplement, no complicated booking.

For dinner, the Bistro Matha seats you indoors or on the covered terrace. And for golfers, the mountain course is open from May to the end of October; it has been there since 1972 and a number of players find it has the quality of a private club.

A real favourite for a getaway as a couple, and a fine way to start a weekend in the Matawinie on the right foot.