Canadians are proud of the newest addition to their national parks, and we can see why. Parc National d'Opémican is a true example of heavenly Canadian wilderness. In this post, I'll be sharing what you can do in Canada's newest national park.
Escape Into Nature in Parc National d'Opemican
Picture this…the city around you is about to shift, like a scene change in a lucid dream. The houses around you turn into trees, a gust of wind blows the asphalt roads into hiking paths, strip malls dissolve into lakes. The city noises fade into caressing leaves in the breeze. All of a sudden, you’re not looking down at the sidewalk or your phone, but you’re looking up at the branches and clouds. The air is fresh. Each breath is a reminder that you’re where you need to be. That’s how we felt when we arrived at our Ready-To-Camp site in Canada's newest national park, standing under 40 meter pine trees, while admiring our surroundings before unpacking for the weekend.
We spent three nights in Parc National d'Opemican, located on the border of Quebec and Ontario, 4.5 hours north from Toronto. It was nostalgic being in a canoe again on a silent lake, with the occasional mystic call of a loon. Kristen and I spent our summers as kids in camping in Northern Ontario, now we were back, this time traveling with a baby and a dog of our own. The park is very family friendly with tons of hikes, biking trails and shorelines to discover. Dogs are permitted almost everywhere, so our pup Atlas was beaming with joy the whole trip.
While you’re planning a trip to Parc National D’Opémican, here are our top recommendations for what to experience:
Le Grande Chute (The Big Waterfall)
Le Grande Chute is a local favourite and hidden spectacle located in Canada's newest national park. To get there, you'll need to take a short off-road drive and 5-minute hike to view the Kipawa River collapsing into the misty waterfall. Relax here a bit, close your eyes and feel the tiny droplets hit your cheeks.
Ready-to-Camp sites
Experience glamping at many of the Ready-to-Camp sites. Stocked for the family with 3 beds, fridge, propane cooktops, dining table and everything you need to whip up a meal after a day outdoors. The sites are surrounded by tall pine trees next to Temiscaming Lake.
Canoeing around Strawberry Island
Enjoy the archipelago of the Strawberry Island area. You can hire a guide or go on your own. We chose to go with a guide who knew Canada's newest national park very well. This swiss cheese formation of islands within Lake Kipawa is the perfect way to unwind and reconnect with nature. You can even camp here too and stargaze from your own private island.
Rent a Mountain Bike
Rent or BYO bike to cruise through the forest and along the lakefront. Some of the trails are pet friendly so your furrball can get some exercise too (if you can hold a leash and ride a bike that is). The trails aren’t long so you can easily ride multiple in a day.
Dinner by Fire
Our campsite came with a nice sized firepit and all the fixings. Wood can be purchased from the registration office and comes in a reusable pouch…green points for D’Opémican! After our day canoeing on the lake, our guide prepared a barbaric (vegan) meal with too many sausages and a mountain of fresh veggies. The fire adds that smoky flavour that’s a regular kitchen just can’t compete with.
Who plans to add Canada's newest National Park to next year's summer travel plans?
Full disclosure: We were invited by the team at Opemican to visit the National Park and share our experiences with you, however our words and emotions are our own. We will always be authentic and write our personal reviews as they happen.
24 Comments
Looking at going there this summer. Is there a boat launch for a 16foot fishing boat into lake Temiscaming??
We are going there this summer, Booked into site 4 can can you tell us a little about the sites in this park? Thanks so much
The life-saving jacket looks so cute on Atlas! Can’t wait to be there with my dog. I wonder if she will stay as quiet as yours. Thanks for sharing this beautiful experience
Excellent article, Canada is one of the destinations I am most looking forward to
Wow! Somehow this brings me a lot of memories. I grew up near the coast, so my friends and I would always make bonfires during the summer and canoe in the mornings.
It´s been a long year for everyone with the lockdown and reading this has encouraged me to put Parc National d´Operimican in my travel plans for next year. Sounds like the perfect place to have a getaway. Thanks for your content!
Hi Kristen and Siya
We are planning on a family trip to this park this weekend and came across your site. Your blog was very informative and you have us quite excited about the trip. Are you able to provide us with a link or information for the guide/boat that you hired while you were there please.
This is a nice and informational blog. Loved to go National Parks. Thank you for sharing this kind of blog. It is useful to many.
An operational management board and a regional management board, based on a consensus model, will be established for the national park reserve, is it right?
Parc National d\’Opemican is nice park. Iove it to spend time with family and pets. Thank for sharing!
I’m really keen to visit Calgary. I just love all that natural Canadian landscapes. I was just going to make a quick trip but I might have to add on a few more days. Thanks for this great guide.
Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Very helpful information.
Thanks for the amazing article
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Thank you for sharing such a nice experience. This place seems wonderful. I would love to visit this place once, just added it to my bucket list.
Yeah its indeed look great, something worth exploring out, thanks for sharing the next time I visited Canada hast something I would definitely gonna checkout!
Wow! what a wonderful article. Really glad to know that you had a fantastic time with your family out there. After reading your blog I think I should keep it in my bucket list. Thank you so much for sharing this post with us.
You’re very welcome! It’s a great park for families. We’d highly recommend it 🙂
What a great park! It really seems you had a fantastic trip! Canada it’s a very beautiful place and it has a lot of things to do, I only went once but it was a very nice journey!
Amazing blog! Thanks for sharing!
Amazing blog! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading/watching 🙂
What a great place to experience glamping and to dine by the fire. Do you see a lot of stars at night there? Your vlog is really well put together!
You do see stars on a clear night! Lots of them 🙂
Wow, I really love the picture where the 4 of you are on the raft, it’s very cute, it looks like you had a great time, blessings and good luck on your next adventure.
Thank you Alex! It was really great to be on the canoe all together. It was our first time canoeing with Kai and Atlas and they really enjoyed it.
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