Outfitters: A Family Affair

In Mauricie, don’t be surprised if you find that some of the outfitters’ hosts bear a family resemblance. In fact, it’s not rare to see two or sometimes even three generations of an outfitter family on hand to welcome visitors. At many Mauricie outfitters, the family ties are tight. Here, grandparents have often helped build fishing camps, maintain forest roads and run the first outfitter camps, now transformed into grand year-round lodges run with just as much love and care by a whole new generation.

Michel et Max Béland (subtitling available in FR / EN) View this video with a transcript (EN)

For the children of these pioneers, being raised in a family outfitting business unmistakably leaves a mark. It’s a real privilege to live in natural surroundings, to play outside from morning to night, to dive into the clear, cool water of lakes shrouded in morning mists, to pick wild mushrooms and to cast your line into waters teeming with fish. So much so that today, their own children have taken over the operation and entire families help out with the day-to-day tasks, some in the woods, some in the kitchen and many out on the water, guiding clients to tranquil lakes and revealing their secrets.

The Scalzo Sisters (subtitling available in FR / EN) View this video with a transcript (EN)

What do all these uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters and cousins have in common? A fierce love for the great outdoors and an innate sense of hospitality. Their goal? To help you experience the same thrills and excitement they have felt since their childhood. They are living proof that it’s possible to enjoy the wild without becoming wild ourselves. In their company, it’s hard not to feel like family.

A family affair for over 20 years