La Tuque Region (Agglomération de La Tuque) is a huge municipality in the Mauricie region of Quebec, covering 28,000 km². It is a bit smaller than Albania, but larger than 34 United Nations member countries. Most of the municipality population lives in the town of La Tuque.
As the gateway to the upper Mauricie, La Tuque's economy also offers outdoor tourism opportunities and caters to hunting and fishing trips in its large hinterland, which is partially regulated by controlled harvesting zones (ZECs).
Controlled harvesting zones (ZEC) and ecological reserves in the region:
This vast territory, especially forest, has 65 outfitters including 21 with exclusive rights and nine "zones d'exploitation contrôlées" (controlled exploitation zones) (ZEC). In addition, La Tuque has 4,100 chalets linked to holiday leases on public land, spread over a hundred places inhabited year round. This vast territory is served by approximately 30,000 km of forest roads which have mainly been developed by logging companies.
The local economy centres on pulp and paper; the city has a pulp-milling centre and a major hydroelectric station.
The main highway is Quebec Route 155 that connects La Tuque with Shawinigan to the south and the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region to the north.
Train service is provided once a week on Friday by Via Rail from Montreal to the La Tuque railway station (5 hr, $50 one-way, as of 2021) and Parent railway station, with request stops at Fitzpatrick, Oskélanéo, and Clova.
The La Tuque Airport (IATA: YLQ) is directly south of the town's centre on Route 155.
See the La Tuque article for more information.
Many forest roads provide access to remote hunting and fishing camps, and the village of Parent is accessible by a 175 km long gravel road from Mont-Saint-Michel in the Laurentides region. These roads may not be suitable for smaller vehicles.
La Bostonnais has two covered bridges.
Scenic road 155 from Grand-Mère to La Tuque is a 119-km panoramic route in the Saint-Maurice valley with bucolic scenery, especially in the autumn when the leaves change colour.
The scenic road from Lac-Édouard to Rivière-à-Pierre is a 112-km route through the forest.
The Classique internationale de canots de la Mauricie, in early September, is a canoe, kayak and rabaska competition that follows a 200-km route from La Tuque to Trois-Rivières.
There are lots of opportunities for outdoor sports on trails around La Tuque: cycling, mountain biking, Fatbiking, hiking, snowmobiling, and off-road vehicle sports.
The First Nations reserve of Wemotaci hosts an annual pow-wow in early September with shows of Indigenous dances and ceremonies.