Gérard Pourcel
The beach is reached from a turnoff on Route 362 between Saint-Irénée and Les Éboulements. The descent along a narrow, winding road is quite steep. At the foot of the slope, a second, very narrow road on the left is marked “Plage.” Continue for a few hundred metres to a parking area facing the shore, bounded by the tracks of the Charlevoix tourist train. The municipality has installed a dry toilet, a welcome amenity. Especially on fine summer days, the parking area may be full, and drivers will need some ingenuity to find a small space along the edge of the narrow road. Even though getting around is a little complicated, I have never seen an inconsiderate motorist block a private entrance or the road itself.
This is paradise before Adam and Eve, although their story predates Catholic iconography by a considerable margin. According to Michel Onfray, the three monotheistic religions share the story of Adam and Eve’s lost paradise, itself derived from the Greek myth of Pandora. At the northeast end of plage de Cap-aux-Oies, Eden is restored, without a vine leaf in sight. Onfray also notes that a vine leaf would be climatically implausible and that a fig leaf makes more sense. Either way, at plage de Cap-aux-Oies, no one cares whether the leaf is vine or fig.
In practice, the beach is loosely divided into three sections, without this causing any difficulty. The first, near the stairs, is heterosexual and clothed. Farther to the left is a heterosexual section where clothed and nude mix, followed by a naturist area populated chiefly by “Adams.” And should anyone partake of the forbidden fruit, which is by no means required, it will not fulfil the biblical injunction: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth…”
The beach itself is a very beautiful broad cove backed by the mountain, with many secluded and shady spots, but it is the sense of freedom that takes hold fairly quickly. Having visited several times, I have never felt uncomfortable there. There is no harassment. Sunbathers range from young people with sculpted bodies to much older people marked by the years: tall and short, heavy and thin. In late August 2024, I even saw a naturist walking with a cane. My impression is that everyone feels comfortable and free of self-consciousness. The beach is very clean; I have never seen greasy wrappers, old soft-drink cans or other litter. Farther northeast is another small, more secluded cove of fine sand, accessible only by walking a few hundred metres alongside the railway track.
I wish you paradise not at the end of your days, but the next time you pass through Charlevoix in summer.
Reference: Michel Onfray, Traité d’athéologie, Livre de poche/Éditions Grasset, 2005.