Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard is true lake country — a scenic four-season nature and recreational retreat in the Laurentian Mountains northwest of Montreal, with nearly 85 lakes and a long tradition of cottage and waterfront living.
Notable lakes & waterways: Lac Saint-Joseph, Lac Sainte-Marie, Lac à la Loutre, Lac Gémont.
With nearly 85 lakes, Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard is one of the Laurentians' most popular destinations for water sports, swimming and lakeside cottage getaways. The Mont Avalanche ski hill offers downhill skiing and snowboarding in winter and mountain biking in the warmer months, while the Centre Plein Air maintains extensive networks for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and hiking — making it a genuine four-season community.
The town's tourism story began with the creation of Camp Otoreke, the start of a wave of visitors that never dried up. In 1926, Msgr. McShane founded Camp Kinkora on a three-square-kilometre property for English Catholic children, and philanthropist Charles Pripstein built a camp for Jewish children; vacationers came from across Quebec, Canada, the United States and even South America. On the French-language side, the Sulpician Arthur Guindon founded Camp Goéland on Lac Gémont as a summer retreat for the clergy, which from the 1940s also welcomed students from Collège Grasset.
In the village, boarding houses run by the wives of Freddy Lajeunesse, Wilfrid Massie and Léo Corbeil welcomed many guests, and Mrs. Charles Rinfret's La Paix offered French courses for $28 a week, room and board included (1939). But it was the Villa Howard — with its individual cottages, large beach and evening fireworks — that earned the finest reputation, coined the “Miami of the Laurentians” in the 1950s.
As with anywhere in the Laurentians, a few local factors shape value here: the specific lake and its motor rules, whether the property has four-season municipal road access or a private road, and the condition of the well and septic system. Shoreline protection rules (the riparian strip, littoral and flood zones) also affect what you can build or modify near the water.
Morrie can walk you through what to expect in Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard specifically — and surface opportunities, including off-market ones, that fit what you're after.
For a full walk-through of the process, see the complete guide to buying waterfront property in the Laurentians.
Talk to Morrie about current and upcoming waterfront listings in the area.
514-814-8801 Contact Morrie