Asbestos

The open-pit mine crater shapes the character of Asbestos in a striking way: the mine is one of the largest in the world, and the crater has a diameter of 2 kilometres. Its creation is linked to more than 120 years of mining. If you are looking for a place where landscape, mining history and cultural discoveries come together, Asbestos offers several specific points of interest for your trip.

Experience the open-pit mine crater

A path of about 800 metres begins at the Observatoire du puits minier et sentier and runs along the open-pit mine crater. It passes the Halte VR and continues to Place de la Traversée. The route gives the crater a distinct place in your travel plans as a landscape feature: rather than viewing it as just a single attraction, you can take in the path and its stops as one continuous discovery. The distance of about 800 metres refers to this path along the crater.

Place de la Traversée is also a destination for views of the open-pit mine. This public space offers a panoramic view of the crater. That gives you two different perspectives to choose from: a route along the edge of the crater, and a viewpoint where the panorama takes centre stage. If mining history and the striking landscape are especially important to you when choosing your vacation rental, these places are defining themes of your stay in Asbestos.

Art and minerals

The Espace Galerie in the Espace Culturel offers another perspective on the town. It showcases visual art by artists from the region and elsewhere. The programme includes solo and group exhibitions; six exhibitions are planned each year, each lasting two months. Art lovers can therefore include changing exhibition formats in their travel plans, alongside the history of the open-pit mine.

A wide variety of catalogued minerals from the Jeffrey Mine is also displayed in the Asbestos library. This collection adds concrete mineralogical exhibits to the story of mining. For travellers interested not only in the crater itself but also in materials from the local mining history, it is a distinct point of interest. The gallery and mineral collection have different focuses: visual art in solo and group exhibitions in one, and catalogued minerals from the mine in the other.

Discover local history your own way

The Géorallye de Val-des-Sources offers three free rally routes covering different themes in the local historical heritage. The range of themes offers several ways to explore the town’s history, rather than limiting every discovery to a single focus. You can choose one of the three routes based on which aspects of the historical heritage interest you most.

Another unusual point of interest is the 200 tons Haul truck at the entrance to Asbestos. It is located in the parking lot of the Connie-Dion Arena and is set up as a self-guided stop. Together with the crater, the path and the cultural sites, it expands the range of possible discoveries with an object directly connected to mining. When planning your vacation rental in Asbestos, you can consider whether your trip will focus more on the landscape around the crater, art and minerals, or the different ways of exploring the local heritage.

More local pages: Danville, Saint-Joseph-De-Ham-Sud, Saint-Adrien.

For the main travel overview: Asbestos.