If you’ve got a camping trip booked at one of Quebec’s provincial parks this summer, it’s worth reading up before you pack.
The Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (Sépaq) has introduced a full set of new camping regulations for 2026, covering everything from noise and lighting to how many cars you’re allowed to bring.
According to Sépaq, the changes are meant to cut down on friction between campers, specifically the tension between RV campers looking for comfort and tent campers looking for quiet in nature.
Here’s what’s changed.
A nighttime curfew is now in effect
Between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., only the people actually registered to a site are allowed to be on it. Whispering and walking around your own site are still fine during that window, but visiting a neighbouring site overnight isn’t.
No more music
Any sound equipment used to play audio, speakers, radios, phones, or musical instruments, is now off-limits. That includes acoustic guitars around the campfire. Music, podcasts, and radio broadcasts now require headphones. The general noise rule is that nothing should be audible from the road leading to your site or from next door. Singing in the shower is still fair game, as long as it stays within that same limit.
Air conditioners and generators are limited to specific hours
AC use is tolerated between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., and only while someone’s actually at the site, meaning it can’t be left running while you’re off at the showers or anywhere else away from camp. Generators get two windows, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., also only while occupants are present.
A Sépaq spokesperson told Radio-Canada the new rules came out of recommendations from an internal committee made up of on-the-ground staff, who’d flagged recurring friction points between campers over the years. On air conditioners specifically, he said the units were an irritant for campers who come to national parks looking for a bit of peace and quiet.
There are new limits on people, equipment, and vehicles
A campsite can host up to 6 people, with a maximum of 4 adults. Guests are allowed between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., but the site can never exceed 12 people total at any one time.
Each site is also limited to 2 pieces of camping equipment, with only one of those allowed to be a registered sleeping unit (a tent, trailer, and so on). Picnic tables need to stay put, and fire pits can’t be moved. A kitchen shelter is allowed as an add-on, as long as it’s under 12 by 12 feet and doesn’t push the total setup past the site’s boundaries.
One vehicle per site is free. A second car might be tolerated depending on the site’s size, but otherwise needs to go in a designated overflow lot, sometimes for a fee. Parking along roads or on playgrounds can get your vehicle towed at your own expense.
Hammocks between trees are banned in national parks specifically
In Sépaq’s national parks, hammocks can only be hung from furniture or a freestanding structure, not between two trees. In wildlife reserves and tourist establishments, hanging one between trees next to your site is still allowed, as long as it doesn’t damage the tree.
A few other rules worth knowing
Arrival and departure times are also spelled out clearly: campsites check in from 3 p.m. and check out before 2 p.m., while ready-to-camp units (yurts, cabins, and similar rentals) check in from 5 p.m. and check out before noon. If you’re arriving late, your equipment needs to be fully set up an hour before curfew.
Lighting is restricted to low-intensity, amber-toned lights for safety purposes only, and it needs to come down at bedtime. String lights and spotlights are explicitly banned. Fireworks are banned across all Sépaq campgrounds, and campfires are only allowed in designated spots, must be supervised at all times, and need to be put out before anyone goes to sleep. Depending on that day’s fire risk rating from SOPFEU, open fires can also be banned entirely on short notice.
What happens if you break the rules
Sépaq says there’s no witch hunt planned to catch rule-breakers, but patrols will be checking sites and enforcing the new rules. There’s no fine system in place.
But according to the Sépaq website “nyone who breaks these rules may be expelled immediately without a refund.”
This story was inspired by the article “La Sépaq interdit la musique en tout temps et les climatiseurs la nuit dans ses campings” which was originally published on Narcity.
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