Canoe-camping: a unique experience with nature

La Mauricie National Park

In the backcountry, 40 sites, with a total of 136 campsites, are waiting for nature lovers. Accessible by canoe, the sites are spread over 12 lakes.

For more details or for proposed itineraries, please refer to the canoe-camping guide.

To see all the details and to book you stay: www.reservation.pc.gc.ca.

Wood is no longer provided at backcountry campsites. Canoe campers wishing to build a fire must purchase firewood at one of the park's location and transport it to their fire site.

Bringing firewood into national parks from outside is prohibited . It is important to purchase wood from the park and burn it on site. Diseases and insects can survive in the wood and spread to the surrounding forest. A single log can destroy millions of trees. It is also forbidden to light or maintain fires other than in fireplaces and to use dead or live wood from the park forest.


Reservation
People camping in wooded areas

All canoe-camping sites can be reserved using the Parks Canada Reservation Service under the heading “Backcountry Camping”. This service has all the information you need concerning reservation procedures and refund policy.

Start of reservations: March 15, 2023, from 8 am
Internet: www.reservation.pc.gc.ca
Telephone: 1-877-737-3783 (1-877-RESERVE) from 8 am to 6 pm
Telephone (Outside of North America): 1-519-826-5391
TTY: 1-866-787-6221

You do not need to print your reservation. Simply present a digital copy or your reservation number at your arrival.

A maximum of two people is allowed per tent pad. If two people are accompanied by children in a single tent, an additional campsite must be reserved to respect the capacity of the site in the interest of resource conservation and environmental integrity.

It is possible to rent a canoe or a kayak for your stay.

Fees

Schedule

From May 18 to October 8, 2023.

* If you wish to go kayak-camping, we recommend this activity for the more experienced.

** Restoration efforts to improve the ecological integrity of the park will take place on weekdays on lac des Cinq from June 15 to September 15, 2023. Work crew activities may be heard on the lake during weekday daylight hours. For everyone's safety, please avoid driving near the unloading areas and the floating work platform.

Equipment and facilities
A young family on their canoe-camping site

Canoe campsites are located on lake:

  • Anticagamac*
  • À la Pêche
  • Baie Cobb
  • Baie des Onze Îles
  • Du Caribou
  • Des Cinq*
  • Dauphinais*
  • Édouard
  • Isaïe
  • Marie*
  • Waber*
  • Wapizagonke

*Campsites without picnic table

Available on each campsite:

  • a maximum of four tent platforms, which are quite spread out
  • a picnic table
  • a dry toilet
  • a bear-proof food hanger
  • a fireplace (where wood fires are permitted).
Equipment to bring

Canoe-campers must see to bringing whatever other supplies and equipment are required for their entire length of stay. The following is a non-exhaustive list of things to bring:

Canoes and equipment on a beach
  • Sleeping bag, blankets and ground sheet
  • Canoe, paddles and life jacket
  • Food, drink and container for water
  • Clothing
  • Dishware, cookset
  • Rope for hanging food
  • Flashlight
  • Firewood*, matches or lighter, fire starter, kindling paper
  • Insect repellent

* You must purchase your firewood at one of these six locations:

  • At the park's three semi-serviced campgrounds: Mistagance, Rivière-à-la-Pêche and Wapizagonke.
  • At boat rentals at the park's three picnic sites: Shewenegan, Édouard Lake and Wapizagonke.
Regulations

In addition to the national park’s general rules, canoe-campers must follow a few additional rules:

A young man splits a wood log to fuel the campfire.
  • Subject to fine and/or expulsion, it is forbidden to:
    • behave in a way that disturbs others (partying, etc.);
    • keep one’s site in a condition deemed unsatisfactory by the park superintendant.
  • Canoe-camping is permitted only on designated sites.
  • No domestic animals are allowed in boats or in the backcountry.
  • Motorboats are prohibited on all park lakes.
  • It is forbidden to light or maintain a fire anywhere except in fireplaces. It is forbidden to use dead wood or wood taken from the forest to light or maintain a fire.
  • You must collect your garbage and leave it in the receptacles designed for that purpose.
Table of departures

Canoe-campers must respect the times of departure, arrival at the site, quiet hours and check-out time from the site during their stay at La Mauricie National Park.

West Sector Lakes Maximum check out times from May 19 to September 5 Maximum check out times from September 6 and October 10
Anticagamac Lake 3 pm 2 pm
Cobb Bay 3 pm 2 pm
Baie des Onze Îles 3 pm 2 pm
Lac du Caribou 4 pm 3 pm
Waber Lake 3 pm 2 pm
Wapizagonke Lake 6 pm 5 pm
East Sector Lakes Maximum departure times from May 19 to September 5 Maximum departure times from September 6 and October 10
Lac à la Pêche 5 pm 4 pm
Dauphinais Lake 2 pm 1 pm
Lac des Cinq 2 pm 1 pm
Édouard Lake 6 pm 5 pm
Marie Lake 3 pm 2 pm
Isaïe Lake 5 pm 4 pm

The following schedule must be complied with:

  • Arrival time on site: After 3 pm
  • Check-out time: by 11 am
  • Quiet hours are in effect from 11 pm to 7 am

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