Canoeing, kayaking and other water sports in Gatineau Park

How would you like to spend the afternoon canoeing on a lake surrounded by nature? Meech Lake, Philippe Lake and La Pêche Lake in Gatineau Park are perfect places for canoeing and kayaking.

Fees: From mid-June to Labour Day, parking fees apply at the beaches and boat ramps.

Gatineau Park has three boat launches. Launching boats, including paddleboards, from other locations is not allowed.

• Meech Lake: McCloskey Boat Launch, near P12
• Philippe Lake: Boat launch near Parent beach
• La Pêche Lake: Boat launch near La Pêche Lake beach

Non-motorized boat rentals are available at Philippe Lake and La Pêche Lake. There is no boat rental service at Meech Lake.

Rates, rental kiosk hours and general conditions

Gatineau Park is part of Quebec’s fishing zone 10. These zones are managed by Quebec’s ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, which also determines the fishing seasons. You can get a fishing permit at most local sports, hardware and convenience stores.

With a fishing permit, you can fish in any lake in the Park that are accessible via official trails, with some exceptions.

Exceptions
You cannot fish from:

• Pink Lake
• Harrington Lake
• Édouard Lake
• the beaches

For park conservation reasons, the use of motorboats is limited in Gatineau Park.

There are designated swimming areas at the beaches in Meech, Philippe and La Pêche lakes. These are marked by buoys and supervised by lifeguards during swimming season, which extend from mid-June to early September.

Open water swimming is also permitted at Meech lake from mid-May to mid-October.

• Swimming at the beaches
• Open water swimming