Yamaska National Park is somewhat of an oddity and a unique park in Québec – it’s centred on a man-made reservoir. The reservoir has however become an important source of life for the diverse flora and fauna that inhabit the park. One of the many ways to explore and experience the park is through some of its hiking trails, so to help you discover this beautiful area, we put together this Yamaska National Park Hiking Guide. The park can easily be visited as a day trip from Montreal.
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You might also be interested in these pages:
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Quebec Hiking Trails that Are Stunning in Winter
Yamaska National Park Location and Map
Yamaska National Park is located (link to Google Maps) in southeastern Québec, roughly halfway between Montreal and Sherbrooke, near the town of Granby.
How to Get to Yamaska National Park
The easiest way to reach the National Park is by car.
From Montreal: about a 1-hour drive (95 km)
From Sherbrooke: about a 1-hour drive (85 km)
From Granby: about a 15-minute drive (12 km)
From Bromont: about a 20-minute drive (15 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.
We also highly recommend Airalo (eSIM card) for your connectivity needs when travelling abroad. Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide.
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 Yamaska National Park
Yamaska 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.
Yamaska National Park is centred on the large man-made Choinière Reservoir. The creation of a reservoir on former agricultural and forest lands took place in the early 1970s. Designed to regulate the flow of Rivière Yamaska Nord, this large body of water in a region with few lakes offered undeniable recreational potential, which justified some enhancement actions and guaranteed the protection of the natural environment. The park was first designated as a protected area in 1983 and obtained the Québec National Park status in 2001.
Today the vast reservoir is teeming with life: fish, ducks and Great Blue Herons call the park home. Due to the park’s relatively flat terrain is popular with both hikers and cyclists alike. The reservoir’s water level is subject to seasonal variations of 3 metres between the spring and fall. The water’s edge is a great place for watching shorebirds, such as sandpipers.
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.
Yamaska National Park opening hours and schedule
Unlike some of the other National Parks in the province, the Yamaska National Park isn’t open. Typically, the park opens every day at 9 am, but closes around sunset, meaning that the specific closing time varies throughout the year. For exact and up-to-date closing times, we recommend checking the park’s schedule website page. Only those spending the night at one of the park’s camping sites are allowed to stay beyond the park’s closing time.
The park is however open every day of the year.
Yamaska National Park Hiking Trails
Although very scenic, Yamaska National Park is a bit lacking in terms of the number of hiking trails it offers. Officially there are 5, but the longest trail, Le Grand-Tour trail is 19km and is primarily used for cycling around the reservoir. The other four trails are:
–La Rivière Trail (2.5 km loop)
–La Forestière Trail (5.5 km loop)
–La Digue Trail (5.8 km loop)
–La Pinède Trail (10.8 km loop)
All these trails are considered to be easy or very easy trails. The trail paths are well-manicured and easy to walk on, and the trails have very little to no elevation gain. There are some slight undulations, but nothing more.
Our favorite trail is La Pinède Trail, which actually allows you to sample sections from several of the other trails. If you do the Pinède Trail, you will also experience the Digue Trail and a good portion of the Le Grand Tour trail.
La Pinède Trail (also known as the Riverage Loop Trail)
Distance: 10.8 km
Route Type: Loop
Elevation gain: 50 m (cumulative elevation gain: 110 m)
Start point: Car Park
AllTrails rating: (4.4, 319 ratings (2024))
Duration: Most people complete the trail in about 2h-2h30 min
Access Fees: SEPAQ daily rate
Other Pinède Trail Details
– Canine companions: Dogs are not permitted on this trail.
– Trail environment: Mostly Forest, with some open fields, particularly around the reservoir dam.
– Trail Surface / Technical trail: The trail path is well manicured and the walking surface is generally very flat with few rocks or tree roots.
– Average trail slope grade: 2% – This is a very very mild slope. Most of the trail is actually closer to zero, but there is a very short section (about 200 m) of the trail where the slope is around 10%.
– 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)
Other Yamaska National Park Hiking & Trail Tips
Canine companions: Dogs (on a leash) are only allowed on the park’s two shortest trails, La Rivière trail and La Forestière trail.
Winter: Most of the trails are shared with fat bikes and snowshoers during winter. Only half the Pinède trail is available to hikers during winter, requiring that they follow an out-and-back path instead of the loop they can perform in summer. Snowshoes and fat bikes are available for rent at the park’s rental center.
Cycling: As we alluded to earlier, cyclists can loop around the Grand Tour trail (19 km).
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.
Toilets: Public Toilets are available in four different spots throughout the park: one by the main car park, and others scattered around the Grand Tour trail, two of which you’ll cross while looping the La Pinède trail.
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. Regardless of when you come, it’s always a good idea to carry some bug spray with you, just in case.
Best time to visit: We tend to prefer hiking in this area from mid-August to early November. The weather will be pleasant and the likelihood of being harassed by bugs is significantly reduced.
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.
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
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
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e-Sim cards
Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide. With Airalo eSIMs, travellers can get connected the moment they land at their destination and avoid nasty data roaming charges
eSIMS are a sustainable alternative to single-use SIM cards – they are 100% digital, require less energy to produce and be re-used rather than disposed of.
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
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Yamaska National Park Hiking Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your hiking trip.
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