7 Bizarrely Named Towns In Quebec

These seven bizarrely named towns in Québec may surprise you. The names reflect a patchwork of Irish counties, Scottish homelands, and French turns of phrase stitched together over centuries. Towns can be named for popes, hats, or playful exclamations in a province where Catholic saints meet Celtic heritage and rural humor. Mayo even borrows its name straight from a county in Ireland. The result is a map dotted with names that surprise, delight, and sometimes puzzle, each carrying the echoes of the settlers, priests, and explorers who christened them.

Mayo

The small town of Mayo was founded in 1864 and initially called the Parish of St. Malachy, after the much-loved 12th-century bishop, St. Malachy, who later became the first Irish saint canonized by Rome. The town’s name was changed to Mayo in 1954, inspired not by the condiment beloved, especially by the French, for dipping French fries, but by the county of Mayo in Northern Ireland. Today, the small rural town in the Ottawa Valley has deep Irish Catholic roots. Even if you’re not particularly religious, a visit to St. Malachy’s Church is worthwhile to see a replica of the Our Lady of Knock Shrine in Knock, County Mayo, Ireland, where an apparition of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and John was famously reported on August 21, 1879.

Mayo is also home to the over 5,000-acre Forêt-la-Blanche Ecological Reserve, an old-growth forest beloved by wildlife photographers, bird watchers, and outdoor enthusiasts who can hike over 7.5 miles of trails through the ancient forest, stopping at lookouts like Lac la Blanche. Along the trails, enjoy the numerous interpretative signs, highlighting the history of the forest, tree species, geological formations, flora, and fauna.

Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!

Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, located in Québec’s Témiscouata Valley, may be the only town in the world with two exclamation marks in its name. While the precise origins of the unusual moniker may never be known with any certainty, some say that when explorers first saw Lake Témiscouata, they shouted, “Ha! Ha! There’s the lake!” in joy after a 35-mile portage through the forest. Finally, the semi-official word is that the French expression, “Le haha,” means a dead end, referring to the bay at one end of the lake. Whatever it means, it’s a fun name to pronounce in a town halfway between Rivière-du-Loup and the U.S. state of Maine.

The best spot for outdoor adventurers, the bizarrely named town has the first cycle path in Canada, the Petit-Temis, linking Québec and New Brunswick. The path, a repurposed railway line, traverses over 80 miles of gravel, entirely reserved for cyclists and pedestrians, with stops for picnicking, hiking, and overnight camping.

Gore

Despite its macabre-sounding name, more suited to an 1980s horror film, Gore is a peaceful township in the Laurentians at the southern edge of the province. It is surrounded by old-growth forests, small mountains, and numerous lakes. Founded in 1840, it was named after the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Francis Gore, and settled by emigrants from Scotland and Ireland.

An outdoorsy haven, 740-acre Lake Beattie Park is your all-season playground for outdoor recreation where you can rent kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddle boards from the traditional Mongolian yurt at the park’s entrance. Sport fishing is also a popular pastime, where you can expect to catch Northern pike, smallmouth bass, speckled trout, and rainbow trout.

Scotstown

Steeped in Scottish history, Scotstown comes from the influx of Scottish immigrants who settled in the small rural town on the spectacular Route des Sommets, a 120-mile route through the Eastern Townships, dotted with mountains, rivers, and 18 beautiful villages. Step back in time in Scotstown along its heritage trail, where stunning ancestral homes proudly display flags bearing the name and clan tartan of the Scots who once lived there. Enjoy a poutine, an iconic Québec delicacy of French fries and curd cheese smothered with gravy at Cantine Ma-Tania, then stroll to Walter-Mackenzie Park for a picnic by the Salmon River, and see a replica of a Scottish thatched croft cottage. Make a pit stop at the artisanal butcher Charcuterie Scotstown and indulge in more rustic Québecois delicacies like cretons, maple terrine, and smoked sausages.

La Tuque

La Tuque takes its French moniker from a nearby mountain shaped like a triangular woolen hat, known as “a tuque” in French. The word “tuque” is also used in the popular Québecois expression, “attache ta tuque,” which loosely translates to “hold on tight.” La Tuque is the second-largest city in Québec, almost as big as the country of Belgium.

Located on the banks of the majestic Rivière Saint-Maurice, La Tuque is equal parts nature, culture, and history. Discover this eclectic mix of activities in the Chutes-de-la-Petite-Rivière-Bostonnais. In this four-season urban park, you can rent a bicycle and explore over five miles of trails, view a 115-foot waterfall, climb the observation tower, or visit one of six cultural interpretation centers in the park, like the Saint-Maurice River Interpretation Center, the Nature Interpretation Center, or visit the Anne-Stillman- McCormick Center and learn about the storied past of Anne Stillman McCormick who married the grandson of John D. Rockefeller.

Saint-Pie

A small town on the Rivière Noire, named after Pope Pius V (his Holiness from 1566 to 1572), is an unlikely location for a popular racetrack. Still, Saint-Pie is home to the Sanair Super Speedway, a motorsports complex with multiple tracks, a drag strip, an asphalt stock car racetrack, two road circuits, two karting circuits, a motocross circuit, and seating for 2,000 motorheads.

Unwind after the adrenaline rush at Ferme Équinoxe and spend time picking from over 12 varieties of organic blueberries from the five acres of fields. The farm also taps maple trees for syrup and grows asparagus in season. Stop at the farm shop for maple syrup, a container of asparagus velouté, and a blueberry pie, a fitting end to a day in Saint-Pie.

Hinchinbrooke

Originally called Saint-Patrice-de-Hinchin(g)brook(e), the town’s long-winded name comes from an ancient country estate that is now part of the town of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. It was later shortened to Hinchinbrooke and settled around 1820 by Irish and Scottish immigrants, reflecting the strong presence of early English-speaking settlers in an otherwise predominantly French-speaking province.

Perched on the Canadian-New York border, Hinchinbrooke is where the rugged beauty of the Boisé-des-Muir Ecological Reserve meets the clever engineering of the Powerscourt Cover Bridge. The reserve protects 28 acres of old-growth forest, home to 300-year-old sugar maple and American beech trees. At the same time, the bridge, alternately known as the Percy Covered Bridge, is a top site for engineering enthusiasts. Not only is it Canada’s oldest covered bridge, but it’s also the only surviving bridge in the world using the McCallum truss. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1984 and a Monument Historique of Québec in 1987.

Though the province of Québec is often defined by its world-renowned cities of culture like Montreal and Quebéc City, its charm runs deeper, spilling into the small rural towns brimming with history, natural beauty, and bizarre names. From cobblestoned streets and centuries-old architecture to lakeside retreats, waterfalls, and speedways, these seven towns offer you the chance to change gears and experience the province’s warmth and character beyond the big city hustle and bustle.