This national park is Quebec's largest protected region, as well as the first national park established in the province. In addition to the majestic Laurentian mountains, the park is home to many lakes, rivers and a network of hiking and cross-country skiing trails.

The Parc du Mont Tremblant, a 1500-square-kilometre wilderness parkland at Tremblant’s back door, is coming into its own as a major eco-tourism experience. Its lush mountain forests, more than 400 lakes, two rivers and countless streams are home to hundreds of species of fauna and flora.

In recent years, almost half a million people have been visiting the conservation park yearly, many of them to experience a canoe-camping trip down the Diable River. Canoeing through the wilderness area has become so popular that park authorities have developed several trip packages including:

• Canoe
• Life jackets
• Land transport
• Lunch
• And a guide

Trips in large war canoes with several paddlers have caught the imagination of many would-be Indians or coureurs de bois, the name given to French-Canadian fur trappers in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. For those who want to go a step further in their desire to be close to nature, some packages include an overnight stay in a rustic log refuge.

Besides canoeing, the park has 26 hiking trails of various lengths and levels of difficulty. Dirt roads offer all kinds of thrills and challenges for mountain biking. On foot, on a bike or in a canoe, visitors stand a good chance of seeing some of the park’s wildlife along the way.

A 1500-pound moose can be an impressive sight! It’s the largest animal to be seen in the park but there are other smaller species that are just as fascinating. Bears, wolves, wolverines, coyotes, deer, eagles, hawks, loons, wood turtles, muskrats … all make the park their habitat.

The park also offers nature interpretation talks. The life of the wolf is featured in one of these educational sessions around an evening bonfire. Bears are the center of attention in another series of these captivating talks in the afternoons.

Another series, held on the shores of a lake, unravels the mysteries of the loon. Check with the park for schedules.

Its address is Chemin du Lac-Superieur