# La Mauricie National Park

Region: Central QC, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 46.75, -73
Bortle class: 3 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: ≈ 7.5 hours east via Highway 401 and Autoroute 40, then Route 55 north to the park entrance near Shawinigan.
Best time: September, when the maple and birch forests turn and the humid Quebec summer haze has cleared, giving crisper night skies.

## Overview
La Mauricie National Park, tucked into the Laurentian foothills between Montreal and Quebec City, is a canoe-and-lake wilderness that stays surprisingly dark despite sitting between the province's two biggest cities. Its many backcountry lakes give quiet, tree-ringed clearings for a straightforward night under the stars.

## What to see
Milky Way over still lake water, and good late-summer meteor shower viewing from open shorelines.

## Highlights
- Roughly midway between Montreal and Quebec City, yet genuinely low light pollution
- Dozens of lakes for a still-water reflection of the Milky Way
- Extensive canoe and backcountry campsite network

## Tips
- Park entry fee applies
- Reserve backcountry canoe-in sites in advance for the darkest, most remote nights
- Bring insect protection for lakeside evenings in summer

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for La Mauricie at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=la-mauricie-np

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/la-mauricie-np.json

Source: Parks Canada — La Mauricie National Park — https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/qc/mauricie

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Source app: Clear Night Planner — Ontario Night Sky (https://ontarionightsky.com)
When citing this content, please link back to https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=la-mauricie-np.