Oka National Park - Best Trails and Hiking Guide

During the summer, Oka National Park is primarily known for its long beach, the largest one you can find anywhere near Montreal. But the park is also home to several great hiking trails, including one that takes you through a series of historical chapels built in the 1700s, making it one of our favorite National Parks near Montreal. The park is filled with a network of hiking and walking trails and a few scenic lakes as well. So to help you discover this beautiful area, we put together this Oka National Park Hiking Guide.

Table of Contents — Oka National Park Best Trails and Hiking Guide

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You might also be interested in these pages:
Best Hiking Trails Near Mont-Tremblant
Best Hiking Trails Near Montreal
Best Hiking Trails in the Eastern Townships
Quebec Hiking Trails that Are Stunning in Winter

Oka National Park Location and Map

Mont Saint-Bruno National Park is located (link to Google Maps) within the western end of the Montérigie region of Québec, in between the towns of Saint-Bruno and Sainte-Julie, both of which are considered suburbs of Montreal.

How to Get to Oka National Park

The easiest way to reach the National Park is by car.

From Montreal: about a 45 min drive (60 km)

From Ottawa: about a 2-hour drive (165 km)

From Sherbrooke: about a 2h15 min drive (210 km)

If you need to book a rental vehicle for your hiking excursion, we highly recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rates on your rental in Montreal.

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Alternatively, you can also reach the park from Montreal by organized transfer via the Navette Nature service, which offers bus trips on various weekend dates. The service rotates between parks, so there might be only one or two trips per park per season.

About Oka National Park

Oka National Park is one of 28 Quebec National Parks, the majority of which are administered by the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ) (Nunavik Parks administer the others). Although all provincial parks in Quebec have used the term “national park” since 2002, there is no connection to the federal national park system, administered by Parks Canada.

Oka National Park is the third closest of the National Park’s to Montreal. The park not only contains Calvaire Hill, an important historical site but it is located in an exceptionally rich natural environment. Efforts to protect the present territory of the park began in the early 1960s and eventually became Oka National Park in 2001.

In 1717, the governor of New France ceded much of the territory on which the park sits to Sulpician missionaries establishing a mission for the evangelization of native Americans. The Sulpicians took part in the development of the Calvaire, a religious trail in the mountain: four oratories and three chapels were built between 1740 and 1742. Today, you can hike that trail up the hill where the religious sites still form a historic infrastructure unique in North America.

The park is also popular during the summer months with swimmers and sunbathers due to its nearly 1 km-long beach along the shores of the Lac des Deux Montages.

All Quebec National Parks charge the same access fees and you can buy an annual pass that allows unlimited access to all parks.

Daily access fees and Annual passes
Quebec National Parks are managed by the SÉPAQ, a government agency that manages all provincial parks and wildlife preserves in Québec.
There is a limit to the number of visitors that can enter any Québec SÉPAQ National Park on any given day. It is therefore strongly recommended that you purchase your daily right of access online before a visit or that you acquire an annual pass.
The daily pass ($9.85 (2024)) can be purchased here up to 30 days before a visit.
The annual pass can be purchased here either for unlimited access to a single national park ($49.25 (2024)) or for unlimited access to all SÉPAQ national parks ($88.50 (2024)). Even if you have an annual pass, we still recommend arriving early in the morning or mid-to-late afternoon to avoid showing up to a filled parking lot.

Oka National Park opening hours and schedule

Unlike some of the other National Parks in the province, the Oka National Park isn’t open 24 hours/day and gates prevent access to the car parks outside of opening hours. Typically, the park opens every day at 8 am and closes at 6 pm (during the summer, beach access is from 8 am to 8 pm. For exact and up-to-date closing times, we recommend checking the park’s schedule website page before visiting. We also recommend clicking the “information of the day” button (at the top of the same page) for up-to-date information on trail conditions.

The park is however open every day of the year. Note that the park has several entrances and car parks. The main visitor center is located by the beach and campgrounds and is the starting point for the Savaugine Trail (described further below). The park’s most popular trail (Calvaire d’Oka) starts from the car park on the other side of the main road (Route 344) through the park. Two other trails (La Grande Baie trail and L’érablière trail) start from a car park further east along the Chemin des Collines road.

Oka National Park Hiking Trails

The park has 6 official trails that hikers and walkers can use:

– Calvaire d’Oka Trail (4.7 km, out and back)*
– Summit Trail (6.7 km, partial loop)*
– Savaugine Trail (6 km, partial loop)
– Grande Baie Trail (4 km, partial loop)
– L’érablière Trail (1.3 km, loop, dogs welcome)
– Route Verte Trail (8 km, out and back, dogs welcome)
*These are the two only trails with any significant elevation gain

However, the Route Verte Trail is a multipurpose paved path shared with cyclists that follows the roadside and therefore is not all that interesting in our opinion for those on foot. The Summit Trail, which will take you to the highest point in the park, is actually devoid of any viewpoints, making it a disappointing trail for most who undertake it. Moreover, the trail is also a shared mountain biking trail, further reducing its appeal.

This leaves you with, in our opinion, only 4 true and worthy trails.

We haven’t explored the L’érablière Trail given how short it is (is it primarily intended as an easy family-friendly trail), and we haven’t had the chance to explore the Grande Baie Trail because it is a new trail from (2022) and it was closed unfortunately closed for maintenance during our last visit. We hope to get to it soon, as it includes a scenic boardwalk over water. For more information on this trail, you can consult the Grande Baie AllTrails page.

So for the rest of this guide, we will focus on two trails: the park’s most popular trail, the Calvaire d’Oka Trail, and the Sauvagine Trail.

Calvaire d’Oka Trail

Distance: 4.7 km
Route Type: Out & Back
Elevation gain: 105 m
Start point: Car park
AllTrails rating: (4.4, 1566 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the trail in about 1h-1h20
Access Fees: SEPAQ daily rate

Trail difficulty level assessment: Easy
(based on our personal assessment, taking into account the trail length, slope grade and trail surface – 5-point difficulty scale: Very easy, Easy, Moderate, Moderately Challenging, Challenging)

Not an AllTrails member yet? We highly recommend signing up for either their free or paid membership plans. The free plan allows you to find new trails and plan routes but it can only be used while hiking if you have access to mobile data. The paid membership plan (AllTrails+) allows you to download trail maps for offline use and provides live progress updates and off-route notifications.
If you are still uncertain – you should know that the All Trails mobile application was voted the 2023 iPhone App of the Year by Apple.

The Calvaire d’Oka trail is the historic trail that allows you to pass by several religious oratories and chapels (built between 1740 and 1742) on your way up the hill.

As you can see, the trail path is wide and well-manicured, making it an easy trail to walk on without having to watch your step with rocky sections and tree roots.

The ascent ends once you reach a small open plateau where the views open up onto the rest of the Nationa Park below and the Lac des Deux Montagnes.

For those who would like to extend this hike further, you can easily combine it with the Summit Trail (for a total of 8.2 km). However, as we noted earlier you won’t enjoy any further viewpoints along the Summit Trail, only more time in the forest. You can follow this AllTrails map of the combined trails, which starts with the Summit Trail and finishes with the Calvaire d’Oka Trail. It’s also best to have an offline version of the trail downloaded to your phone as the trail directions and how to combine them are poorly indicated in the park.

Hiking Packing List

All Trails subscription – This comes in really handy for areas with little or no cell reception, as the annual subscription allows you to download trail maps for offline use.
External Battery – If you are using your phone to track your progress along the trail or to help with navigation, you certainly don’t want your phone to die on you. That’s especially true in the unlikely event that you might get hurt or need assistance.
Hiking poles – These can be particularly useful in steep trails or muddy/boggy trail conditions.

Sauvagine Trail

Distance: 6 km
Route Type: Out & Back and loop around the lake
Elevation gain: 16 m (cumulative elevation gain)
Start point: Car Park
AllTrails rating: (4.4, 1566 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the trail in about 1h20-1h40
Access Fees: SEPAQ daily rate

Trail difficulty level assessment: Very Easy
(based on our personal assessment, taking into account the trail length, slope grade and trail surface – 5-point difficulty scale: Very easy, Easy, Moderate, Moderately Challenging, Challenging)

This trail starts near Oka Beach and initially follows a paved path while the trail follows the coastline (shared with cyclists). Soon after the trail splits: the paved path continues left (for cyclists) whereas hikers should continue right into the woods where the path alternates between dirt and gravel trail sections that are well-manicured and easy to walk on.

The prize of the trail is once you reach Lac Sauvagine, which will reward you with breathtaking views, especially during the autumn foliage season.

Unfortunately, AllTrails doesn’t have a map of “just” the Sauvagine Trail. It has one that combines it with the Grande Baie Trail (10.8 km total). We don’t recommend going beyond the lake, however, as the trail is not maintained and is often overgrown (this section of the trail is exclusively used during winter for snowshoeing). Once you have looped around the lake, you should head back towards the trailhead, a circuit that should take 5.5 to 6 km to complete, depending on where exactly you parked (the car park extends almost the full length of the beach).

Other Oka National Park Hiking & Trail Tips

Canine companions: Dogs (on a leash) are only allowed on 4 of the 6 trails: the L’Érablière trail, the Calvaire d’Oka trail, the Summit trail and the Route Verte trail. They are not allowed on the second trail we featured above (the Sauvagine trail).

Winter: Most of the trails are reserved for fat bikes and snowshoers during winter. For winter hiking you have three options: The Calvaire d’Oka trail (shared), the Rivage trail (only available in winter and follows the beach, 4.9 km), and the Dunes Trail (only available in winter, 3.8 km) The Sauvagine trail is exclusively for fat bikes and snowshoes in winter. Snowshoes and fat bikes are available for rent at the park’s rental center. The park also offers several cross-country ski trails.

Cycling: As we alluded to earlier, cyclists can use the Route Verte trail (7.8 km), in addition to the Park bicycle path (along the beach, 3km). Bicycles are available for rent at the visitor center.

Water activities: If you like spending time on the water, you can rent kayaks, paddleboards, rowboats, pedal boats and more from the park’s rental center.

Beach: The beach is open from May 1st until October 31st, from 8 am to 8 pm. Lifeguards are only on duty from Patriots’ Day to Labour Day, from 9:30 am to 6 pm. A snack bar and general store are available by the beach.

Toilets: Public Toilets are available near the beach by the visitor center and by the car park

Bugs: Mosquitoes and black flies can be a nuisance at certain times during the year. The exact dates vary from year to year, but they are generally most present from mid-May to mid-July. However, due to the number of marshes in the area, mosquitoes are known to stick around well into September.

Want to Discover More Hiking Trails In Southern Québec?

You might be interested in these pages:
Best Hiking Trails Near Montreal
Best Hiking Trails in the Eastern Townships
Quebec Hiking Trails that Are Stunning in Winter
Best Hiking Trails Near Mont Tremblant

Photography Gear

If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.

Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug

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Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.

Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).

Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).

Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)

Photography Prints

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