Ah! To find oneself amidst Québec's finest scenery and highest peaks! Sweet daydreaming that could so easily be translated into blissful reality, as all regions boast their very own earthly paradises featuring extraordinary ecological surroundings: Québec's national parks. Most of them are equipped with picnic areas, cycle tracks and interpretative signs. Canoe, kayak, sailboard, cross-country ski and snowshoe rentals are often available, as well as various accommodation options. The land's more than 1700 km criss-cross of hiking itineraries may very well lead trekkers to many an uncharted natural wonder… Everything to please the outdoor type is within reach, all year-round!

World-renowned parks

The Parc national de Miguasha, on the Gaspé's Chaleur Bay, is featured on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This unique fossil repository is well-known for the abundance, diversity and quality of preservation of its plant and fish specimen, which could very well be 370 million year old!

The Charlevoix region, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, conceals two magnificently panoramic parks. The Parc national des Grands-Jardins, with its summits well over 1,000 meter high, provides outstanding viewpoints. The Park, with its nordic flora-taiga and tundra-is also visited by herds of caribou, a rare occurrence in this latitude.

The Parc national des Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie is indeed something else, with its steep rock faces-at 700 metres, the highest in Eastern Canada-and its Rivière Malbaie, into which flow countless streams and 100 metre high waterfalls.

Québec has more than 22 national parks and each one of them is blessed with a distinctive appeal. As they all abide by the guidelines of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), hunting is strictly forbidden. Yours to discover!

Most of Québec's national parks are run by Parcs Québec. However, the La Mauricie and Forillon National Parks, as well as the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, are run by Parks Canada. Both agencies are jointly responsible for the good husbandry of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park. The Gatineau Park comes under the authority of Canada's National Capital Commission.