# Saint-Maurice Wildlife Reserve

The Réserve faunique du Saint-Maurice (English: Saint-Maurice Wildlife Reserve) is a public conservation and development area, in Mauricie, in Quebec in Canada. This reserve offers a variety of recreational tourism activities for vacationers: hiking trails, water sports, camping, in a wild environment. This reserve is not a protected area because forestry and mining activities are practiced there.
This wilderness has typical attractions of the boreal forest. This wildlife reserve offers recreational tourism activities in a nature centered on the forest, flora and fauna. The main activities on the territory of this reserve are hiking, observation of flora and fauna, gathering in the forest, camping, water activities (swimming, pleasure craft, canyoning), cycling, fishing (day, wading) and hunting (bear, moose, small game with accommodation, small game for the day).
The reserve's recreational tourism program offers a special place to families, with accessible activities specific to young people, so that they can play in the sand, on the water, on the trails, fishing or hunting. (12 years and over).

## Understand
### Geography

The Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve is located at the confluence of the Matawi and Saint-Maurice rivers, in the heart of the Mauricie. The northeastern limit of the reserve is delimited by the course of the Wessonneau River. This reserve covers an area of ​​784 km$^2$ (303 sq mi) and is adjacent to La Mauricie National Park to the south; the two territories are separated from east to west by the Matawin river. This wildlife reserve is part of the network of wildlife reserves in Quebec managed by the Société des establishments de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ).
The Ministry of Forest, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP) and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MERN) are responsible for the management of natural resources on the territory of the Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve. The management and use of the natural resources of this reserve, in particular the forest and the fauna, are based on a legal vocation of conservation and development of the fauna of the wildlife reserves. The forest of this reserve is exploited by forestry companies having a harvesting agreement with the MFFP, according to the tactical and operational integrated forest management plans (PAFI) at the level of each management unit. Thus, the forest management of wildlife reserves turns out to be integrated wildlife-forest-recreotourism. In the Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve, wildlife development work is carried out with the aim of restoring the native trout population of certain lakes, in particular by creating spawning grounds.

### Geographical maps

SÉPAQ makes available to the public
* General map of the Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve: [citeweb|url:https://www.sepaq.com/resources/docs/rf/stm/stm_carte_generale.pdf General map of the geographical map]
* Canoe-camping card: Template:Url
* Map of trails and hiking trails: Template:Url

### Matawin reception station

The administrative office of the wildlife reserve is located in Trois-Rives (Rivière-Matawin sector), along route 155, on the east side of the Saint-Maurice river. Serving as the reserve reception center, this center provides information to users and offers registration and reservation services for the reserve.
From now on, Sépaq collects rights of way on the Mékinac bridge which spans the Saint-Maurice river at the level of the Matawin sector of Trois-Rives. This right of way provides access to the Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve and to the Zec du Chapeau-de-Paille. Only the Matawin reception post provides access to the Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve. The rights of way on the bridge are priced by the Corporation du Pont Mékinac. The cost of passage applies per vehicle; this right of way can be purchased online at Template:Url. Users can subscribe to a 12-pass card or a prepaid seasonal card (limited number of passes depending on the card chosen). All-terrain vehicles and heavy vehicles are subject to special pricing.

## Go

The Saint-Maurice Wildlife Reserve is accessible by road vehicle, ATV, snowmobile and even by air (via seaplanes).

### By car

* From Montreal (268 km (167 mi). Time: 3 hr 24 min. Take highway 40 (north shore) eastbound, to Trois-Rivières; take highway 55 (northbound) to Grand-Mère, which becomes route 155 and cross the Saint-Maurice River bridge; take route 155, cross the villages of Grandes-Piles and Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac, to the Mékinac bridge over the Saint-Maurice river, in the Rivière-Matawin sector, where the toll booth is located to enter the reserve.
* From Quebec (city) (171 km (106 mi). Time: 2 hr 103 min. Take highway 40 (direction West), to Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade; take route 159 (northbound) passing through the village of Saint-Stanislas, Saint-Séverin, Saint-Tite and Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac; take route 155 (northbound) to the Mékinac bridge over the Saint-Maurice River, in the Rivière-Matawin sector, where the toll booth is located for entering the reserve.
From the Matawin Visitor Center (Mékinac Bridge), visitors must travel approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) on Route 3 along the north shore of the [atawin Rive] and thus reach the southern limit of the Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve, ie at the junction of road 1 of the reserve. From there, visitors can travel 18 km (11 mi) further along the southern boundary of the reserve, to the junction of Route 11 which leads north in particular to the Brown Lake, Dunbar Lake and Normand Lake.

## See

* Wildlife observation. Early June to Labour Day. (updated Nov 2021)

## Do

* Hunting. (updated Nov 2021)
* Fishing. Fishermen can read the 2022 fishing plan on the SÉPAQ website (updated Nov 2021)
* Hiking. The map of hiking trails (sentiers de randonnée) is available on the SÉPAQ. (updated Nov 2021)

### Events
## Buy

* Poste d'accueil Matawin/Lac Normand (Matawin / Lac Normand reception station). Main services offered: registration, information, access rights for fishing (at all reception stations), access rights for hunting (also available at Dunbar reception; not available at Lac Normand reception) , fishing license (at all reception), hunting license (only available at Matawin reception). Products offered: baits and lures, ice, wood (also at the Tousignant and Dunbar reception centers), souvenir items. Rental service (also at the Tousignant, Dunbar and Brown reception centers): canoe, rowboat, kayak, paddleboard, motor and personal flotation device (free with the rental of a boat). (updated Oct 2021)
* Dépanneur du Lac Normand (Lac Normand convenience store). Basic groceries offered: milk, bread, juice, soft drinks, chips, chocolate, ketchup, mustard, and soap. (updated Oct 2021)

## Drink

The territory of the Réserve faunique du Saint-Maurice does not have a public place serving alcoholic beverages.

## Sleep

The five accommodation sectors include around 100 lakes:
* Brown Lake,
* Dunbar Lake,
* Lake Normand / Baude
* Tousignant Lake / Soucis
* Lake Wessonneau.

### Camping

Saint-Maurice Wildlife Reserve offers three campsites and several other rustic camping areas.
* Camping Lac-Dunbar. The Lac-Dunbar campsite is on the eastern shore of Lac Dunbar. It has a dozen sites (without services) for the campsite and five rental chalets. The keeper's chalet offers equipment rental, fish gutting and the purchase of wood sacks. From the motor vehicle parking lot, a footpath leads to Dunbar Falls. (updated Nov 2021)
* Camping Lac-Normand. The Lac-Normand campsite is on the shores of Lake Normand. It has 64 sites for camping including eight "Ready-to-camp", ten with a service and the scale without services. From the campsite, the trails are: La Grande Ourse and La Tourbière. This campsite also offers an emptying service for recreational vehicles. The keeper's chalet is the reception post for obtaining information and services. (updated Nov 2021)
* Camping Lac-Tousignant. The Lac-Tousignant campsite is on the shores of Lac Tousignant. The keeper's chalet is the reception post for obtaining information and services. This campsite has about ten camping pitches (without services), and a rental chalet. Seasonal packages or daily rates. (updated Nov 2021)

## Go next

* 47.4587-72.96681 Parc national de la Mauricie (Mauricie National Park). National park offering several recreational and tourism activities: sport fishing, hiking (160 km of trails), cycling, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, interpretation trails, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, camping (both in summer and in winter), canoe-camping, long hike in complete autonomy. A promenade road crosses the park right through. This park is bounded by the Matawin River to the north and the St-Maurice River to the east. It has two entrances: Saint-Mathieu and Saint-Jean-des-Piles. (updated Nov 2021)
* 46.6114-73.19462 Réserve faunique Mastigouche (Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve), ☏ +1 (819) 265-2075. A wildlife reserve in Quebec dedicated to the conservation, development and use of wildlife as well as the practice of recreational activities. This reserve is located north of Saint-Alexis-des-Monts, Saint-Paulin and Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc. (updated Nov 2021)
* 47.21923-72.896813 Zec Wessonneau. Controlled exploitation zone (ZEC) covering the townships of Baril, Turcotte, Geoffrion and Polette. The reception station of the ZEC Wessonneau is west of the Saint-Maurice river, near the rivière aux Rats. (updated Nov 2021)
* 46.90579-72.93374 Zec du Chapeau-de-Paille (on route 155, take the Mékinac bridge (westbound), spanning the Saint-Maurice river at Rivière-Matawin). Controlled exploitation zone (ZEC) created in 1978 and located in the MRC de Mékinac, in Mauricie. This ZEC covers 1,270 km$^2$ (490 sq mi), covering the townships of Badeaux, Arcand, Seigneurie du Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Brehault, Livernois and Normand. (updated Nov 2021)
* 46.90579-72.93375 Zec du Gros-Brochet (on route 155, take the Mékinac bridge (westbound), spanning the Saint-Maurice river at Rivière-Matawin), ☏ +1 819-646-5687, portneuf@sepaq.com. Controlled exploitation zone (ZEC) created in 1978. A first reception station is located at the southern end of the territory, that is to say just south of Lac des Pins-Rouges, therefore accessible via road 131 via Saint-Michel- Saints. The second reception station is located on the east side of the Rivière-aux-rats bridge which spans the Saint-Maurice river. This ZEC extends into the cantons of Bisaillon, Dupuis, Laporte and Sincennes. (updated Nov 2021)
* 47.0144-72.73146 Trois-Rives, ☏ +1 819-265-2075. Since 1972, the municipality of Trois-Rives (formerly designated "Municipalité Boucher" has five hamlets or villages: Saint-Joseph-de-Mékinac, Rivière-Matawin, Olscamps, Grande-Anse and part of Rivière-aux-Rats. Its economy is focused on forestry, agriculture and recreational tourism activities (vacationing, hunting & fishing, swimming, snowmobiling, mountain biking, etc.). The bridge erected at Matawin (over the Saint-Maurice river) gives privileged access to the ZEC du Chapeau- de-Paille and the Saint-Maurice wildlife reserve. (updated Nov 2021)