Neil Peart's Lake House in Lac Saint-Victor Morin-Heights Quebec

Neil Peart, renowned for his many skills and adventure travel books, often described his lakeside retreat, a haven for both summer and winter getaways. 

Although the property has been sold following his passing, its history remains a fascinating topic for fans and admirers. Here, I offer a look at where it was once located, as well as a few other easter-eggs! (Please be patient as the animated map animation below loads.)

Google Map locations

The map below shows a few key locations in Morin-Heights, Quebec. This includes Le Studio, Neil's Lakeside home, Science Island and the tower noted in Neil's "The Quest for Phantom Tower" chapter.

Neil Peart's Former Lake Home in Quebec, Morin-Heights

In Science Island we discover that the property he purchased (built) included a small island. He generally refers to the lake as "Lac St-Brutus" - after his close friend, but it is actually located on Lac Saint-Victor. 

In fact - the image used by Google for Lac Saint-Victor is of Neil Peart's private Science Island! An Easter Egg for us Rush fans? 

We get a glimpse of "Eagle Rock" which is a large boulder situated in the center of the island on maps and in the places main photo:

Below is an image of the area where Neil's home and island might be. There are others like this in the area, so this may not be the exact location. 

With these details, we can more accurately see the island on Google Maps and where Neil's home maybe was situated. This is a complete guess.

Neil Peart's dock and distance to the island(?).

It is a bit hard to make out "Eagle Rock" - but it seems to be there!

Another nice looking property:

The house below (public image captured here) has the same balcony that Neil Peart winter marimba picture had, so this one may be it as well. Less likely, although the chimney matches the picture Neil posted long ago of the inside room.

Where is Lac St Brutus in Quebec?

While "Lac Brutus" does exist in Quebec, "Lac St Brutus" as referred to by Neil Peart does not. You can see the confusion amongst fans discussing this 'lake' on this reddit thread. 

I believe it was his way of being able to refer to the lake in books and writings without giving away the actual location. 

Did the Peart Family Sell the Home in Morin-Heights?

It seems likely. I will remind readers that this is all public information gathered from his own writings and the web. No nefarious actions were taken to gather any of this info. I just took the time to compile it, since it's clear people are looking for it online.

Here is a screenshot from a public real-estate listing I found (now archived):

The home is now off the market - so we can safely assume it sold. 

The experience slips away, but check out the estate's Facebook Group. 

Lac St. Victor Estates has some great photos on their website. Some posted below:

From the real-estate sale listing:

Located in the prestigious Lac St-Victor Estates which is renowned for its peaceful natural setting, quality, clean lakes and non- motorized environment. Domain Lac St-Vicor is completely surrounded by protected crown land including an extensive network of nature trails for outdoor enthusiasts. Only minutes away from downhill skiing in Morin Heights, Balmoral Golf Club, 20 mins from the village of St-Sauveur and 1 hour 15 mins from Montreal. MAIN HOUSE Main floor: - Very warm and inviting atmosphere boasting an open concept design with abundant fenestration - Charming country kitchen has a large pantry, granite counters and gas stove - Boudoir with slate floors could serve as a mudroom or office area - Powder room with integrated laundry facilities - Access to lovely screened veranda Upper Level: - Vast mezzanine with stunning views - Spacious master bedroom with his & her closets - Full bathroom with double vanities, bath, bidet and separate shower - Large cedar closets - High speed internet Lower level: - Family room with wood stove and access to the exterior - 2 bedrooms - Full bathroom with steam shower - Storage and mechanical room EXTERIOR - Private atmosphere with 300 li.ft. of shoreline on Lac St-Victor - Boat house - Large flag stone walkways - Balcony, lake side - Large dock with electricity outlet to charge battery - Fenced vegetable garden - Attached single garage - Double carport with storage PRIVATE ISLAND - Dock - Quaint fishing shack - Island has WiFi internet and phone connection - Walking trails 

The Quest For Phantom Tower: Mystery Solved

In his "Quest For The Phantom Tower" we are shown glimpses of the surrounding area. Neil took a photograph of the new tower several years back (images credits to Neil Peart and ).

An angle from Neil's kitchen window:

About this new addition to his surroundings Neil writes:

"As a symbol, it is rather too obvious, and a red light bulb in the sky is not the world’s biggest problem, I know. Given that most people in the western world dwell in a sea of artificial light anyway, they might not even comprehend the problem. But it’s different for those of us who choose to live in the woods, and that man-made intrusion was a serious blight on my personal soulscape. I can’t help but wonder why it is possible for some corporation, and some cooperating government agency, to commit such an invasion of a person’s night sky—of so many people’s night sky. In those low, glacier-raked mountains of forests and lakes, that beacon was surely visible for hundreds of square miles—which would be its purpose, of course, but considered as a first-class felony of “light pollution,” it was pretty heinous."

Turns out the area itself started getting more profitable as the years went by. Pressure from developers most likely also helped council in Morin Heights push for the teardown of Le Studio in 2021. 

In these new photos, we see the lot is completely empty. (The raft Neil used for his Tama drum shoot still lives on after all these years - bottom photo just off center).

Compared to some older photos (note in the one below the building had already burned, someone created this listing as a historical landmark - please leave a review on the profile to show some love!)

Side note: Special thanks to Jean-Christophe Robitaille for taking this 360 view prior to the building being vandalized and disappeared. It is THE ONLY one available and provides a nice view. I'd like to express my gratitude to everyone who keeps contributing to the listing. It's a dynamic and evolving legacy.

In summary, the newly designated zone could accommodate one or two homes, each potentially selling for over 2 million dollars. Given the high demand for real estate in this region, and considering the average age of Morin-Heights residents is 47, the area appeals to affluent individuals who, while not necessarily retired, are likely to be prosperous weekend vacationers.

Ok - back on topic here!

As the community expanded, so did the need for certain intrusive - yet essential - facilities. When searching for the tower, I was unable to locate it on maps. This difficulty in identifying it could be due to its relatively small size or the angle at which satellite images are taken.

Neil does mention an old logging trail in the story - and it being key to finding the tower. 

I was familiar with that part of the so-called Aerobic Corridor from a couple of mountain-bike rides out that way years ago, and on Google Earth, I had spied a small logging road that would take us to where the tower was supposed to be. The clues all added up.

Here is what I found when looking for the Aerobic Corridor - we can see it would make sense it could be seen from his home:

It appears that this is the right perspective to view the tower from Neil's house. Coincidentally, I am now employing the same method they used to locate that elusive tower, but this won't be the case for much longer.

I have an additional strategy to use! Not sure why his pilot buddy did not think of this one.

Using the our beloved Canadian radio tower finder, I was able to located several in the vicinity of Neil's Lac St-Victor home.

This one map notation looked particularly suspect:

I then pulled the station location and geo-coordinates:

Station Location: Lot 2-182 - Chemin des hauteurs 

Latitude: 45.8972

Longitude: -74.2831

Site Elevation: 442

Antenna Height: 52

Ladies and gentlemen: we got it.

Well, that mystery is solved. The tower looks huge, even on maps! In Neil's writings he hiked to the tower in the winter, which is why the cabling is much more visible in his photo:

Get the flavor of Lac Saint-Victor in wintertime! Some amazing views from a nearby listing.

Here is their promotional video for the estate:

In conclusion, I hope your appetite for uncovering mysteries laid out in Neil's writing is solved. Or, maybe you want to learn about why so many people search for Neil's religious beliefs and God!

----

Dedicated to the more curious fans of Rush and Neil Peart.