National Parks have always been one of the best destinations for outdoor activities. Since ancient times, children, adults, and even elderly aged persons have preferred to roam around the parks and spend quality time with their friends and family.
But just roaming around the park can sometimes become boring. The thrill doubles when you have multiple activities to keep your hands on. The trip becomes even more exciting when you can explore multiple activities at a single destination.
Very few parks have facilities other than fun rides and attractive scenic views. However, Yamaska National Park offers you the same and is a perfect fit for you.
Yamaska National Park
Located between Montreal and Sherbrooke, Yamaska National Park is a magnificent park standing on the choinière reservoir.
It is popularly known in French as Parc national de la Yamaska. It was built in the year 1977 and covers an area of around 12.89 square kilometers.
Swimming, hiking, camping, boating, Yamaska National Park has everything that you can ever ask for. However, you must know all the important facts before planning your trip. Let us explore each one of them.
Yamaska National Park Address
Yamaska National Park is located in the valley of the Appalachian lowlands. Centrally, it is located in the northeastern part of Quebec in the Choiniere reservoir.
The park is only 94 km away from Montreal, one of the reasons why Yamaska National Park is a must-visit destination.
How to Reach Yamaska National Park from Montreal?
If you have arrived safely in Montreal, reaching your dream destination is not a big thing anymore. You can book a bus or taxi or you can also drive yourself to double your excitement.
On average, traveling by any of the above-mentioned means will take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach Yamask national park.
How Can You Extract the Best from Yamaska National Park?
Yamaska national park is not just a normal park. It has numerous activities to offer that you would never have imagined.
Can you imagine a park where you can enjoy hiking, boating, camping, surfing, fishing, and much more?
This is not a joke and such a park does exist in reality. Yamaska national park is one such park where you can fulfill all your dreams that you have ever dreamt of, either knowingly or unknowingly. You need a long vacation break to extract the best from Yamaska National Park.
1. Hiking
Hiking involves going on long walking trails to explore nearby attractions with your friends or family members.
There are awesome lake views, and varieties of natural vegetation, flora, and fauna which can give you a real picture of how breathtaking nature can be.
Owing to the variety of natural vegetation, the park has very fresh and pure air to relieve your mind and soul from the pollution of the city.
Both beginner-level hiking and advanced-level hiking are possible on the roads of the famous national park.
You can have your camera with you. If you have good photography skills, the amazing scenic beauty of Yamaska National Park can help you with brushing your skill efficiently.
2. Cycling
The park has given special attention to cycle-loving tourists as it has a 19 km long cycling trail surrounding the Choinière reservoir.
You can enjoy your fun ride while enjoying the splendid natural beauty and the typical valley of the Appalachian lowlands.
How about competing with your friends or siblings as to who can cover the distance in the minimum time? Experiencing the same around the lovely park would be even more enthralling.
3. Swimming
Long walking and cycling trails can be hot and sweaty. To cool yourself, you can dive deep into the Choinière reservoir and refresh yourself from the tiring outdoor activities and discoveries of the Yamaska national park.
Don’t worry if you don’t know about swimming, lifeguards are present near the reservoir to help you in gaining swimming experience. However, you must confirm their presence before going into the reservoir.
4. Kayaking
Kayaking is everyone’s favorite. If you want to witness the same views but with a different perspective, you must go kayaking. The unseen variety of fishes present in the park can be seen floating underneath your kayak.
If you have small kids with you, kayaking would be the best way to let them know how beautiful aquatic life can be and introduce them to these small animals and fishes.
5. Explore the Yamaska Beach Area
Only a fool would return from Yamaska without visiting the Parc National De La Yamaska beach. The beautiful still water of the beach equipped with the bright beauty of the sun is a perfect place to relax and forget all your worries for a time.
Kids can have a perfect time on the beach as they can play around without any fear and make sandcastles on the epic beach.
Not only this, volleyball and other popular beach activities combined can make your trip even more memorable. Volleyball courts are available on the beach and you can utilize them to the fullest.
6. Take a Pause and Look Around the Numerous Varieties of Flora and Fauna
Yamaska National Park is gifted with a wide variety of flora and fauna that are generally not found while walking around the streets of your city.
These natural creatures and vegetation are precious and you must make sure not to harm them by any means.
The park consists of around 40 species of trees which include white pine, basswood, sugar maple, red maple, American elm, grey birch, eastern hemlock, and much more.
Yellow lily and bloodroot are some of the vulnerable species of plant occupying the natural vegetation of the park.
Besides, the park also has 19 species of fish, 40 species of mammals, 16 species of amphibians, 5 species of reptiles, and 240 species of birds. It seems very interesting and fascinating to witness such great species in person.
With every step, you will witness a new and exciting surprise in the form of these lovely and gifted creatures of nature.
However, care must be taken to ensure that these species are not harmed due to the careless behavior of tourists.
7. Go Boating or Surfing
Both the boating and surfing facilities are available in the choinière reservoir. Both pedal boats and row boats are available to effectively meet the needs of its tourists.
You can opt for pedal boating if you want to explore the awesome lake for hours and enjoy the magnificent beauty of the water.
Pedaling a boat while singing with your friends or family members can be a good combination. Parents should encourage their kids to pedal the boat.
With this, they will become more confident and aspire to learn something new during the whole journey.
However, pedal boating can be tiring if opted for a long duration of time. In such a case, you can opt for motor boats, which can give you a small yet memorable glimpse of the beautiful lake.
If you know about surfing, you can get paddle boards and start your journey of exploring aquatic life. The waters of the reservoir are calm and composed, which is well suited to the long and wide surfing board available near the beach.
You can stand and test your balance before actually going on for a ride. Once you have your balance, take a long breath and start your beautiful journey.
8. Fishing
No one will ever miss the chance of seeing the 19 species of fish available in the choinière reservoir. There are varieties of fish like perch and carp which are very fascinating to watch from the naked eye.
You can engage yourself for hours while exploring plenty of aquatic animals. However, to enjoy fishing you need to have a Quebec fishing license. You must keep all your documents ready to avoid any last-minute hustle.
Also, note that motor boats are not allowed during fishing and you have to arrange your means if you want to go deep into the reservoir. Nevertheless, you will enjoy fishing, no matter what way you do.
9. Camping
Yamaska National Park offers as many as 147 cool camping sites to witness the beauty of the park while resting in the tent provided in the park.
You can cool yourself down during hot summer days by placing a tent at night under the moon and stars.
Enjoying a cold drink or ice cream with your friends or family in quiet private camping sites seems to be a good idea. During winter, you can have a bonfire or you can give some movement to the strings of your guitar.
Varieties of tents are available to suit your purpose. There are electric-powered tents to give you a home-like experience. On the other hand, there are some cheaper tents which will just have a camping space and a washroom facility.
10. Biking
A bike ride has always been a fascinating experience. Riding a Royal Enfield on the famous roads of Ladakh is still a dream of many young girls and boys.
Yamaska National Park can give you a mini experience of such awesome rides.
If you have walked for long hours, you can give rest to yourself and opt for a bike ride. A bike ride can be pleasant and soothing as the fresh air will strike your face and blow your hair giving you relief from a tiring journey.
11. Winter Activities
You can make your winters extra cool by putting your hands on various winter activities available in Yamaska National Park. Ice fishing, snowshoeing, winter hiking, and various other activities can be tried in this epic park.
Playing and surfing in the snow can be a lot more enjoyable, especially for small kids. Fat Bikes are available to discover the park during winter. They are specially designed to impart greater friction on smooth surfaces covered with snow.
You must have gotten excited by imagining yourself doing the above-mentioned activities. Yamaska national park can be considered a hidden gem and one of the best fun-filled destinations in the world.
A typical valley of the Appalachian lowlands, Yamaska Park is a stunning and great location to freshen up your boring scheduled life with so much color, love, memories, and happiness. If you want to witness the mesmerizing beauty of this park, you must take a leave for at least one week.
The scenery is extremely beautiful here and you can go on roaming around the park whether you are on foot or on a bicycle.
The awesome lake view, morning weather outlook, bright and nice beach, varieties of water bikes, sailboat bicycles, and other walking trails can offer you a wonderful family escape.
Competing with friends and making fun of each other while you are on a hike or a camp can be overwhelming and over-exciting.
This is why it is one of the most popular destinations for locals and travelers coming to visit Canada.
But before planning your trip, you must get detailed information about all the necessary things like the best nearby restaurants, ongoing and return tickets, etc, do stick to the time decided.
Once you have all this, you are ready for a long roller-coaster ride filled with memories and happiness.
Camping is another activity that can be experienced by tourists while being in Canada or exploring Yamaska national park.
The Last Word
After reading about the Yamaska national park, it is understood that you will definitely plan a trip to this plan anytime soon. It is a must-visit place in Canada for a reason that you read already. Spending time with your friends and family, is the best option.
This place ensures that you will have a bucket full of memories after you return from your trip. After you return from your trip, your days and weeks will be spent only discussing and reminding you of the lovely memories of the trip.
The outstanding memories and moments of the trip will last for ages and you would remember them every now and then.
