Enjoy all the sensations that Québec’s parks and reserves offer, and create lasting memories. Take in the luscious scent of the undergrowth while hiking. Sip your morning coffee, admiring the mist rising from the lake or the snow on the fir trees. Each season has its own adventures, and tales for you to tell.
Seasons
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To be discovered absolutely
National parks of Québec and Canada and wildlife reserves... Let us explain!
Sépaq – Québec’s national parks
When it comes to our parks, we talk in superlatives. We’re very proud of them but, quite honestly, there’s something extra special about them: they’re bigger, with prettier beaches, more beautiful skies, more fossils, more fun, more memories. Québec has 29 national parks maintained by the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec, Sépaq.
Each park is a protected area and the discovery activities showcase the landscape and the biodiversity of its ecosystem. Depending on the area, you can swim, hike, bike, ski or observe the sky, and in all of the parks you can dream— in a tent or in the comfort of a cottage.
Québec’s national parks comprise more than 200 hiking trails.
Canada’s national parks
Like Sépaq, Parks Canada’s mission is to protect unique ecosystems. We’re lucky because this gives us four additional playgrounds that are not only fun, but educational too.
Mauricie, Forillon, Gatineau and the Mingan Archipelago—a wonderful quartet. And there’s also the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, a national jewel governed jointly by Sépaq and Parks Canada.
Observe over 1,800 plant and animal species in the marine park.
Its rocks, woodlands and waters protect the rich biodiversity of the estuary and fjord. The quality of marine wildlife sightings makes the park a favourite spot for whale-watching. In the campground at night, next to the bonfire lighting up the sky, the sounds of the loons and whales will lull you until the early morning.
Sépaq – wildlife reserves
Sépaq also operates 13 wildlife reserves. Like the parks, they offer a host of outdoor activities for you to enjoy. Yes, it’s time to get outside and play. In summer, you can canoe, kayak and hike. In winter, you can cross-country ski or snowshoe along short or long trails. Or you can just lounge on the shores of a lake, dreaming about the rest of your vacation.
We have 500 cottages and rustic shelters, as well as campgrounds.
Wildlife reserves are a wonderful blend of sustainable development and ecotourism adventures. Unlike parks, forestry and hunting activities are permitted without depleting resources. And the Port-Cartier–Sept-Îles wildlife reserve boasts the deepest lake in Québec: Lac Walker is 280 m deep and 33 km long.
