Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Visitor Statistics (2026)

• In 2025-26, Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park was the 6th most-visited of the 119 Parks Canada places that reported attendance.¹
• Among national parks and marine parks, only Banff (4.56 million), Jasper (2.39 million) and Pacific Rim (1.21 million) had more visitors.¹
• It is by far Parks Canada's busiest marine protected area, with about 4.6 times as many visitors as Fathom Five National Marine Park (256,976).¹
• It is also Québec's most-visited Parks Canada park. Only two historic sites, the Fortifications of Québec (2.22 million) and the Lachine Canal (1.49 million), drew more visitors in the province.¹

Exploring the park's waters in your own boat is free¹¹. You'll pay to visit the interpretation centers or join a commercial tour, from CAD $7.25 for daily admission to well over $100 for a whale-watching cruise.

• Daily admission to the Parks Canada interpretation centers costs CAD $7.25-$10.00 for adults and CAD $6.25-$8.75 for seniors, and youth 17 and under get in free¹¹.
• A whale-watching cruise is the biggest cost: Croisières AML in Tadoussac charges adults from CAD $134.99 for a trip of about 3 hours¹².
• Croisières AML's Zodiac tours offer a more up-close ride, from CAD $99.99 per adult for 2 hours¹³ to CAD $134.99 for 2.5 hours, on 24- or 60-passenger boats¹⁴.
• Sépaq's guided sea kayaking tours cost adults CAD $63.00 for 2 hours or CAD $74.00 for 3 hours¹⁵.
• The Parks Canada Discovery Pass covers a year of entry to all Parks Canada sites for CAD $83.50 (adult) or CAD $167.50 (family/group)¹¹.

• 13 whale species use the park's waters, and 6 of them are seen regularly.²
• Whales can be watched from shore at three Parks Canada centers: Pointe-Noire in Baie-Sainte-Catherine, Cap-de-Bon-Désir in Les Bergeronnes and the Marine Environment Discovery Centre in Les Escoumins.²
• At Pointe-Noire, visitors may see belugas, minke whales, seals and seabirds.²
• Research in the park ranges from the smallest algae to the blue whale, with much of it focused on protecting the St. Lawrence beluga.³

The marine park protects the water itself, so campers stay on shore, mostly in the neighboring Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay, run by Sépaq.¹⁸

• Baie-Éternité campground has around 100 campsites for tents and RVs, semi-serviced or with water and electricity, plus the Des Falaises RV area for trailers and motorhomes.¹⁸
• Le Bleuvet campground in the Baie-Sainte-Marguerite sector has around 50 campsites, and Pointe-du-Moulin adds 15 rustic sites reached on foot or by bike.¹⁸
• 16 Étoile ready-to-camp units (7 at Baie-Éternité and 9 at Le Bleuvet) sleep up to 6 people each.¹⁸
• Sea kayakers can stop at 13 primitive campsites along both banks of the fjord.¹⁸
• Campgrounds open from mid-May to mid-October, depending on the sector.¹⁸
• In 2026, Sépaq charges CAD $27.75 to $57.60 a night for semi-serviced sites and CAD $36.50 to $75.85 for sites with water and electricity, depending on the season and day of the week.¹⁹
• Park entry fees are extra, and Sépaq currently lists a closure notice for the Baie-Sainte-Marguerite sector, so check before booking there.¹⁵

• The park had 1.18 million visitors in the fiscal year ending March 2026¹.
• That was 1.9% more than the year before, but still 1.5% below the pre-pandemic level of 2019-20⁵.

• In 2019-20, the last year before COVID-19, the park drew close to 1.2 million visitors⁵, making it one of Québec's most popular places to see marine wildlife.