Saguenay National Park

The Saguenay National Park perched on almost 284 sq. km of capes, stretches over the shorelines of the Saguenay fjord, offering to everyone a number of outdoors and interpretation activities.

The uniqueness of the Saguenay fjord, its rash and natural beauty, its cultural and historical singularities call out to tourists.

The park's hiking trails stretch out for 120 km through nearly all of Quebec's ecosystems. From marine environments to the alpine tundra, visitors will be astounded by the enchantment, uniqueness and the vastness of the land, its untamed capes, the bays' chaste sandbars and the myths hiding in its deep coves.

Behind the towering walls and impressive capes of the fjord, Saguenay City and a series of villages decorate the travel route that lets you discover the magical land. When winter invades the park, hundreds of small colourful ice-fishing cabins with smoking chimneys suddenly appear on the ice. This is where fishermen may fish cod, smelt and redfish. Alpine skiers enjoy the snow covered mountain slopes, and cross-country skiers tackle the fresh snow covered trails.

Vacationers experience the wilderness of the northern forest on snowshoes, with snowmobiles or with dogsleds. There are numerous different activities in the summer: large scale live stage shows, hiking, camping, kayaking, sailing, boat cruises, and visiting nature centres, museums and historic sites. Leisure-seekers, golfers and art lovers will also find something for their tastes. The Saguenay fresh waters and salt waters shelter some 75 fish species while over 60 of these are found exclusively in the fjord. One can find fresh water fish like the speckled trout or the rainbow smelt as well as typical salt water species like the cod, Atlantic redfish, rainbow smelt, brook trout, American eel black sturgeon, and even the enigmatic Greenland shark, also called "Laimargue". The Saguenay fjord is an ecosystem with very little phytoplankton.

These organisms are much more abundant in salt water. In the fjord, the layer of fresh water at the surface considerably limits their growth. In fact, plankton growth is a phenomenon that depends on high turbidity and it allows very little light to pass. The thin photic layer that allows light to penetrate is what mostly slows down the proliferation of these plant planktonic organisms. The phytoplankton found mainly consists of freshwater species, a few of which can tolerate water salinity.

Besides, the Saguenay fjord is the habitat of a wide variety of benthic marine organisms that include starfish, sea urchins, marine worms, bivalve mollusc and gastropods. There are about 410 species of invertebrates and the majority, as those of the estuary, have a northern affinity.

The fjord has a greater proportion of arctic distribution species, 18 of which are exclusive to the fjord.

The Saguenay National Park area is an ideal tourist destination offering unusual and majestic landscapes, magnificent scenery and memorable sensations.

In winter, you can experience escaping into the wilderness of these northern forests on snowshoes, with snowmobiles or with dogsleds. There are numerous different activities in the summer: large scale live stage shows, hiking, camping, kayaking, sailing, boat cruises, and visiting nature centres, museums and historic sites. Photo : © V. Petrovskiy

The people are authentic, joyful, and warm and express their appreciation of the fjord through their music, theater performances, dancing, literature, arts and culture. Photo : © V. Petrovskiy