Park Omega

Parc Omega is an open range wildlife park situated about 90 minutes drive from Montreal (or an hour from Ottawa). If you are travelling in this region and want to guarantee yourself to see some Canadian native fauna, this park is easy to access by car and you won't be disappointed with the variety of wildlife it contains.

The whole trip will take a day, plan to spend at least 3 hours within the park just to drive around and enjoy spotting the open range animals. You'll also want enough time to participate in one or more of the special presentations, follow a walking trail, have a packed picnic, or do some activities designed just for the kids if you have any.

Driving into the park, you'll immediately be approached by several deer. You can purchase food to offer the deer, and they will stick their heads into the car in the search for food - they will also quickly move on if you don't have any.

We didn't purchase any munchables for the animals and we were happier the deer had no reason to get too aggressive towards our vehicle in the hopes of obtaining treats. Some of the deer seemed to be getting a bit pushy with other cars, but no one seemed upset by this.

We visited the park in fall, and the auburn foliage was breathtaking. I imagine this park would be worth returning to in each season, and would provide a different experience each time.

Autumn is also the mating season for the deer, so we heard the call of the male deer through the forest, and saw the bucks rubbing their antlers against the trees. We didn't see any fights between the male deer, but it would be possible.

The highlight was seeing the moose. Yes, they have exactly one moose on the grounds right now, a grand fellow, but he has his own enclosure and while he has plenty of space, you will see him behind a fence. But he's the first live moose I've seen in Canada so it was still special. No great photos of him though, being behind a fence and all.

There is a beaver lake, but I failed to spot any beavers in it. Those little guys are masters at hiding. The bears and wolves were a lot of fun to visit as well, and you could take a walk along a boardwalk above their enclosures to get another view.

We drove to Mount Tremblant after visiting the park, it's about another 90 minutes out from Montreal and an hour from Omega, so it made sense for us to combine it into a day trip.

For more information you can visit the park's website.