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Protective, cunning, and fierce. These qualities come to mind when we think about wolves, but we don't have a lot of opportunities to get close enough to judge them for ourselves. Parc Oméga, a wildlife park in Montebello, Canada, in the province of Québec, changes that.
Here, you can enter the forests of fairytales and stay at overnight cabins that brush up against a protected wolf habitat-the only place in North America where humans can join the wolfpack for a night.
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Canada has the world's largest grey wolf population, but their habitats exist in mountains and forests away from civilization. At Parc Oméga, though, visitors can spend the night in a cluster of "hébergements," the French word for lodging, that nestle in the forest of a protected grey wolf pack, also known as the timber wolf.
Each rustic log home offers floor-to-ceiling windows that allow guests to view the wolves up close without disrupting their habitat. Past visitors have shared magical face-to-face encounters with the wolves as they come right up to their windows.
"We saw a pack of six wolves in our cabin stay," said Dr. Avisha Chowdhury, who stayed in the wolf cabin for a night. "The park caretakers helped us identify the wolf pack hierarchy. We saw the alpha male, the female, and the omega wolf." The omega wolf is a lone wolf independent of the pack hierarchy. "We went during mating season, so the wolves were mostly playing to catch the female's attention."
"While the pack kept playing, fighting, and howling in the open wilderness just outside our window, we were in absolute awe watching them from inside our cozy cabin. The park is peaceful and quiet, but at night, we heard the wolves howling loud and clear. The wolves came up to our windows, and sometimes it felt like they noticed our hand signals. Other times it seemed they couldn't see through the glass." Still, she said, "We both enjoyed each other's company."
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Most of the wolves at Parc Oméga were born there. Alexia Desmarais-Delisle, the park's biologist, says the animals have the "best of both worlds" at Parc Oméga. "They live in their natural environment and receive the best possible care from our team of experts, including food," she says.
Because wolves live in their natural environments, they maintain their natural behaviors as in the wild, notes Desmarais-Delisle. "Clients at the wolf accommodations have the chance to observe these natural behaviors within the pack, like seeing little cubs emerge from their den with the female in the spring."
And while the wolves roam in large enclosures, it doesn't mean they don't interact with the wildlife outside the park. "Guests hear them howling, often several times during the stay," said the biologist. "The other packs of the park and the wild wolves of the Kenauk Nature Reserve near the park will also respond, offering an extraordinary concert to our clientele."
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There are three types of rustic log homes for your stay: cabins, chalets, and lodges. The cabins are the smallest and can accommodate up to four people with one queen-sized bed and one double bed. The chalets and lodge can accommodate up to six people, and each has two queen beds and two single beds.
You will get a slightly larger space by booking a lodge, but both the chalet and lodges have a completely all-glass rear facade and a cathedral roof, offering a panoramic view of the wolf habitat. The chalets and lodges offer space to spread out with a living room and mezzanine. They also have a fully equipped kitchen complete with dishes, cutlery, and kitchen accessories.
The cabins have a smaller kitchen, but there is still a refrigerator, microwave, small oven, electric stove top, and dishes provided. Each accommodation has bedding and towels included, a Nespresso coffee machine, a covered patio, and an outdoor fireplace with the first bag of wood provided.
"These rustic log homes invite visitors, year-round, to observe different behaviors within the pack and offer diverse landscapes through each season," said Billie-Prisca Giroux, the Communications Manager for Parc Oméga.
The lodging experience with the wolves is just one small part of a 2,000-acre park you can explore during your stay. In what the park calls a "living museum," travelers get to explore recreations of Canada's most impressive landscapes all in one spot, complete with the animals that inhabit them, which include moose, caribou, bears, bison, wolves, and foxes.
A 7.5-mile driving trail will take you through the prairies of bison meadow, a tundra region where caribou meander and arctic foxes roam, rocky cliffsides littered with bouncing mountain goats, and a valley of bears sauntering between the forests. Don't forget carrots! You'll be able to feed the herbivore animals as you traverse the 90-minute Canadian safari.
If you can't stay in the cabins with the wolves, you can still visit and see the park's wildlife with a day pass, which includes the driving trail and hiking trails to feed and view the animals. There are options for the whole family: play areas for children, a petting farm, animated presentations, hiking trails, and a restaurant on site. There's also a nature trail that brings you through the history of the 11 Indigenous First Nations of Québec while viewing wild fallow deer that you can feed.
Whether visiting the park for the day or staying overnight with the wolves, it's a one-of-a-kind experience to witness so many of North America's impressive creatures in one spot, and it's an experience that can't be found anywhere else on the continent.
A few things to remember before your stay at the wolf cabin:
- The wolf accommodations are the most popular attractions in the park, so you will need to be flexible with your dates or plan to book 6-8 months in advance.
- Get a good night's rest the day before your arrival. Sometimes seeing the wolves is a waiting game, and they are known to emerge at night and at early hours.
- Buy your own carrots before coming to the park to save some extra cash, and have at least 1-2 bags per visitor in your cabin. You won't feed the wolves for obvious reasons, but the deer will come right up to you and munch them out of your hand.
- Don't forget to pack food! Watching the wolves is a mesmerizing experience that might set you in a trance. You won't want to be spending too much time outside of the park.
- Bring binoculars to observe certain animals, especially rodents and birds.
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How to do it
Want to sleep among the wolves in Canada? Read our guide for the best time of year to go and how to book.
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Getting there
The nearest airport to Parc Oméga is Ottawa Airport (YOW), which is about 57 miles away. It's recommended you have your own vehicle or rent a car to complete the driving trail. Once you get on QC-323 N, you will follow the road until the destination. The entrance to the cabins is to the left of the park entrance archway upon arrival.
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$378 Average Going deal
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$550 Normal ticket price
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With local expert:
Alana Valko
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Alana Valko is a freelance writer who covers travel and culture in North America. When she is not writing about the American Northeast and Québec, both places she resides, you can find her tending to her furry daughters, reading a book in the park, or traveling a little off the beaten path.
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