Assinica National Park Reserve in Quebec, Canada - map and visitor information

Research checked: 2026-10-24. Check linked official information for current status and access conditions.

Réserve de parc national Assinica is a provincial protected area in Québec, Canada, associated with the development of a future national park near the Cree community of Oujé-Bougoumou. The reserve protects boreal forest and lakes in a landscape with longstanding Cree cultural ties. The reserve designation and the national park creation project are related, but they describe different stages of protection and development.

Assinica's protection status

Québec's national park reserve register lists Assinica as a Réserve de parc national du Québec. This is a provincial designation. It is not a federal Parks Canada national park reserve.

The government continues to list the creation of Parc national Assinica as a project undertaken with the Cree Nation of Oujé-Bougoumou. Keep this distinction when reading maps or travel information. The Assinica Wildlife Reserve has a different designation, and its fishing or camping arrangements should not automatically be applied to the national park reserve.

Location and protected boundaries

The national park reserve lies in Nord-du-Québec, near Oujé-Bougoumou and north of the Chapais–Chibougamau area. Its registered area is 319,300 hectares, or 3,193 square kilometers. A territory reference point on a protected-area map identifies the reserve's location; it is not a designated road entrance.

Other protected lands also carry the Assinica name. In particular, Québec describes a separate 549-square-kilometer territory reserved for protected-area purposes that complements the national park reserve. Do not add that neighboring territory to the reserve's registered area or assume that a proposed expansion has already changed its boundary.

Boreal forest, water and conservation

The Assinica park project's landscape includes rolling terrain, glacial ridges, peatlands and extensive black spruce forest. Eskers and moraines record the movement and deposition of material by glaciers. Water and wetlands are central to the area's character rather than isolated scenic features.

The reserve's 2011 designation announcement identified woodland caribou and bald eagles among its conservation interests. It also described archaeological sites around major lakes and rivers, linking ecological protection with places that have long supported Indigenous travel and land use.

Protection and Cree stewardship

On May 17, 2011, Québec announced an agreement with the Cree Nation establishing the national park reserve. The designation announcement described protecting 3,193 square kilometers from industrial activity and safeguarding natural and cultural places important to the Cree.

The current park creation project continues to identify Oujé-Bougoumou as a partner. It describes future park operation by the community after the park is created. The government describes this operating arrangement for the future park, rather than as an existing visitor service.

Official project information

Use Québec's Assinica park creation information for the government's project description. Before arranging travel into the territory, confirm the applicable access conditions with the responsible provincial authority and relevant Cree authority. A reserve label or a general map pin does not serve as an access authorization.