Hmmm unless you're a serious hunter or fisher (and willing to pay out the a$$ for access to fish or…read moreto hunt): skip this campground.
Location: Above Mont Tremblant. It's beautiful and totally disconnected (except for the loggers that bomb through). In the middle of an absolute ZERO SERVICE area. A good 20 kms from the camp Acceuil you lose total cell and internet service, no data, no bars. Nada. Don't be dumb like me: warn your family before you hit the park that you'll be outta service! Nearest gas station is in Labelle a good 30 minutes away, so make sure you fill up before!
Campsites: Confusing as fook. I would love to have included a map here (and I've done my best folks, see photos), but there's not much of a coherent map that really shows everything in a glance. This park is HUGE in all sense of the word and I highly recommend just contacting me directly if you're planning a trip here. I can help you try to plan the best possible option for you. Using the website is only half helpful, unfortunately. That being said, we did actually enjoy the shitty placement of our tiny campsite number 35 when we came.
More about the sites: definitely use the website for photos of them (every site is extremely different), but it is worth mentioning that the only 5 sites you can stay in (with a dog) anywhere near the Acceuil/bathrooms/water points are sites 35 through 39 which are literally right in front of the Acceuil, visible through the trees. Every single vehicle that passes by and checks in is visible and audible. Still, when no cars were passing it was extremely peaceful with barely any visitors between.
Site 35 had a nice forest on one side and luckily with no neighbors at site 36* it made for a fairly private experience, considering.
*36* is actually the nicer waterfront site than ours- it has a lovely little private rock beach just big enough for 2.
Scenery: Trees and lakes and mountains. Pretty. And that's about it. No hiking trails no gorgeous viewpoints. Typical Québec forestry.
Weather: We were lucky, no rain. Unlike other mountainous territories we've been in, surprisingly here clouds don't ALWAYS mean rain, so relying on the weather app BEFORE you arrive is a good way to plan your stay. Weather was pretty much exactly as Google said it would be for that area, if not slightly more warm.
Commodities/Accommodations:
Park store is the entrance kiosk "Acceuil la Macaza"; there are touristy souvenirs to buy (tshirts, sweaters, waterbottles etc), though I'm not sure why anyone would feel the need to commemorate their visit here. They also sell:
- Ice (~4$ per bag of block or cubes)
- Wood (~6.5$ decent sized bundle, burns great, but quick, kept dry inside the store)
- other items: variety of emergency-type camping gear; ice cream; worms etc
- Fishing permit 21$ PER PERSON (on top of buying your Québec fishing license they charge you PER DAY HERE TO FISH, plus you can ONLY fish on a boat, no shore fishing except at some of the much, much, much, more isolated campsites)
- Hunting permit: yes you would have to pay daily for this too, but I don't hunt and can't imagine how much more they must charge for THOSE rights ..
Bathrooms: one full service flush toilet shower even laundry bathroom all the way at the beginning of the campsites in Lac Sucrerie, otherwise a few porta pottys scattered about.
Water: is drinkable, thankfully, but there are no water access points whatsoever past the Lac Sucrerie campsite area. Even from site 35 we had to walk 10 minutes to and from the nearest faucet.
Activities: If you bring your dog and don't want to pay any $$$ extras then there's literally absolutely NOTHING to do. Nothing at all. Can't fish off your site. No hiking trails (but that's for everyone, not only if you have a dog). No access to any beach. Nuthin. Bupkiss. So if pure relaxation is what you're after: this is your spot, there's nothing to do BUT relax.
Wildlife: saw a doe run across the highway a good 10-15km from the entrance on our way in, no other deer sightings though. Supposedly bear country, but it just didn't have that "feel" to it. Also, the park didn't have a single strict sign explaining how you can't leave anything at all on your site in bear country which I found recklessly odd considering it says it is bear country. Supposedly wolves too, but didn't see any evidence either. Buncha kool lil birds, as usual, some woodpeckers, not many birds of prey as I was expecting (don't think we saw any..). Coupla frogs. Chipmunks. Pretty standard fare, but surprisingly boring for a reserve.
So we had a very pleasant weekend relaxing, the staff were very sweet, but we will never be back and said as such in our Sépaq survey.