The scree of 1864 and 1896 occurred at Bon Désir, forced the displacement of several families of colonists leaving behind them a lunar landscape on which the forest will gradually regain its rights until allowing the establishment, from the mid-century, a magnificent campsite and a natural park still very popular with tourist campers. Bon-Désir campsites [1].
It was impossible to miss such a preamble explaining in a poetic way how this magnificent piece of land became vacant. Acquired a few years later by the Municipality of the Canton [2], the piece of land was laid out in 1965 by Joseph-Louis Gauthier, a carpenter from Bergeron. Basically, the infrastructure (toilets, reception desk) is made of round wood. As was common at the time, several volunteers took part in the work on the site. First designed to be a park where township citizens could picnic and relax on the water's edge, some avant-garde and marginal people see this place as a tourist potential. Although they are trying to set up a camping area, it never becomes profitable.
When tourism got involved, in 1980, the Municipality of Bergeronnes set up the Tourist Corporation which, among other things, was responsible for managing the place. The organization is responsible for its management until 2014, when the municipality takes over the reins.
[1] Rambaud, Pierre. Si Bergeronnes m’était conté, Les Éditions du Cyclope, 2015, 180 p. O.F.V.
[2] At the time, Les Bergeronnes was divided into two distinct municipalities: The Canton and the Village.