The Réserve faunique de Portneuf (Portneuf Wildlife Reserve) is a public territory for the conservation, development and practice of recreational activities, in Haute-Batiscanie. Its territory extends in the townships of Pothier, Lapeyrère, Bois, Laurier, Lasalle, Colbert (small part), Roquemont (small part) and Tonti, in the regional county municipality (MRC) of Portneuf, in the part west of the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in Quebec, in Canada.
The enhancement of the natural heritage of the reserve involves various interventions relating to the conservation, restoration and development of habitats. Several research projects in the reserve allow us to understand the dynamics of ecosystems.
In this reserve, the forest cover is of mixed type, with a predominance of deciduous trees, consisting mainly of: birch, maple, fir and spruce.
This reserve has typical attractions of the boreal forest, being at the northern limit of the transition zone of the Laurentian Shield and the St. Lawrence Plains. This reserve offers recreational tourism activities in a wild nature, centred on the landscape, the forest, the flora and the fauna. The main activities on the territory of this reserve are hiking, observation of flora and fauna, picking wild fruits, camping, nautical activities (swimming, pleasure craft, canyoning, canoe-camping), mountain biking, fishing and hunting (bear, moose, white-tailed deer and small game).
The main attractions of the park are natural, with special arrangements for the interest and safety of visitors:
The reserve offers 12 chalets for vacation stays. These chalets are linked by two separate networks of cross-country ski and snowshoe trails accessible from the chalets. The marked trails total 50 km; they are traced and mechanically maintained. This network of winter trails includes ten relays equipped with wood stoves, to take a break. In winter, the skating rink and the big slide are located near Lac Travers; a heated relay is available. In addition, water bodies are accessible for ice trout fishing.
In addition, the reserve offers various packages combining accommodation and several recreational tourism activities.
The aquatic fauna of the reserve is mainly: muskellunge, moulac, arctic char, shadow of a fountain (speckled trout) and lake trout (gray trout). Terrestrial wildlife mainly includes: beaver, white-tailed deer, coyote, snowshoe hare, moose, black bear and fox. The reserve has more than 70 species of winged fauna including: white-throated sparrow, wood duck, ruffed grouse, great blue heron, green heron, warbler, little owl, common loon and spruce grouse.
This reserve was created in 1968 with the objective of democratizing hunting and fishing in Quebec. Previously, the territory was operated by 22 private hunting and fishing clubs.
The toponym of the wildlife reserve evokes the seigneury of the same name granted in 1636 by the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France to Jacques Leneuf de La Poterie. The first Portneuviens settlers settled around 1636 near the port at the mouth of the river "port neuf" (meaning "new port"). Leneuf de La Poterie would have added the last syllable to the usual toponym to form the word Portneuf. Toponymically, the common name Portneuf applies to 14 entities or places, in particular: the seigneury, the regional government, the wildlife reserve, the city, the former county of Quebec, a lake and three rivers.
This wildlife reserve has many granite hills and valleys often well enclosed between the mountains. The relief altitude generally varies between 450 m and 600 m; the minimum altitude is 333 m. in the northeastern part of the territory. This reserve has 375 lakes and eleven rivers, in particular: Batiscan River, Rivière à Pierre, Blanche River, Jeannotte River.
Inside the Reserve, the road network is forest-type and has a gravel surface entirely.
Directions to the reception desk located at 229 rue du lac Vert, Rivière-à-Pierre.
On its website, SÉPAQ makes available to the public, in particular:
Note: Users should consult the SÉPAQ website before visiting the reserve; they can book their package there according to the desired activities.
There are no bars or liquor stores in Portneuf Wildlife Reserve
– Controlled exploitation zone (ZEC) covering in the county of Portneuf. It is bounded to the south by the Portneuf wildlife reserve and to the west by the Zec Jeannotte; to the east by the Zec Batiscan-Neilson and to the north by the Laurentides wildlife reserve.
– Controlled exploitation zone (ZEC) covering , straddling the territories of La Tuque, La Bostonnais and Lac-Édouard. It is 10 km east of downtown La Tuque. Six rivers cross its territory.
– Controlled exploitation zone (ZEC) located in the municipality of Lac Édouard, about 30 km east of the town of La Tuque. Its territory, which is an island, is more or less framed by Lake Édouard, the Jeannotte River and the Batiscan River.
– Formerly designated "Parc des Laurentides", this park covers straddling the Capitale-Nationale and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean regions. This park is part of Quebec's wildlife reserves.