The year of Covid has halted our international travel plans, so like all of you we are keeping things local and Canadian this summer. One of our most recent stops in our local adventures was at Parc Omega (that’s not a typo, it’s spelled the french way), a place we had been meaning to visit, but never quite knew the magical impact it would have.

On our many trips to Tremblant from Ottawa, we would notice a massive Parc Omega archway at the half way point. We never took the time to see what was behind the archway until I noticed some amazing pics on a friend’s Instagram page. We decided to make a day trip to Parc Omega seeing as it’s only one hour out of town.

The instant we crossed the archway, we entered into an incredible land of animals, Canadian landscape and wonder. Meadow, forest, mountain and lake, the 890 hectors of space is home to thousands of Canadian wildlife in their natural habitat.

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Our mini-van was instantly transformed into a safari jeep as we were greeted by friendly wapiti deer, followed by hogs (yes hogs!) rolling around in the mud. It was then incredible to see the ginormous bison (SO HUGE UP CLOSE), black bears, wolf and even wild turkey. The most amazing sight of all (for me), however, was the fallow dear caring for their young. These so much to see and do, that our entire clan (kids ages 13-6) was entranced.

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Our family has since recommended Parc Omega to friends and family of all ages, from our grandparents, right down to my teen cousins. It’s a wonderful experience for everyone, especially now as we search for fun and safe summer adventures.

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Read the below tips to prepare for your visit to Parc Omega, you’ll find them helpful:

1. Don’t worry about the weather. The park is great, rain or shine. The day we went started sunny, and ended in torrential downpours. We had a great experience just the same.
2. Prepare your young and/or timid ones – something we failed to do unknowingly. As soon as you enter the park, you are met with dozens of hungry deer. They are friendly, but they are not shy. They get up close and personal real fast. Our poor littlest was petrified.
3. Only roll your window down a little at first. As mentioned in my earlier tip, the animals get in your space and will poke their entire head in your vehicle in search for food.
4. DROOL. Prepare for it. They elk and wapiti drool a lot and everywhere. On your vehicle, inside your vehicle, all over you. I was so thankful that I had a roll of paper towel and wipes in the car.
5. Bring or buy enough carrots to feed the animals. They allow you to bring your own, or carrots are available for purchase at the entrance. Each animal eats 1-2 carrots. Our family of 5 easily went through 5 bags of carrots.
6. Prepare to spend the day. We arrived around 10:30 am, and left at 3pm. There is so much to explore. We packed lunches and treated ourselves to an ice cream cone on site. There is plenty of space to have lunch, and areas to purchase food if you didn’t pack any.
7. Take in ALL the sights. The animals are amazing on their own, but keep an eye out for all the incredible wood carved art and structures, as well as really cool areas built for the comfort of the wildlife.

Some Covid 19 modifications:

1. Some activities are suspended, such as the bird of prey show.
2. Food areas have been modified. One restaurant is drive-true, while the other is take out only.
3. You must book online to reserve your spot. Printing the site map is recommended. We followed the map online, and it was just fine.
4. Masks are recommended, but the park doesn’t supply them. We brought our masks but did not wear them as we were always in the vehicle, or far enough away from others.
5. The site has been adapted to put in all regulated Covid 19 measures. Please see the Parc Omega website for further details.