After growing up 20 minutes from the Canadian border, going over often to drink at 19, play tourist at Niagara Falls, or head two hours into Canada to see Toronto during Christmas time, I’m no stranger to the joys of Canada. After moving upstate between Albany and Hudson, still close to the Canadian border, I realized how close Upstate New York is to Quebec!

Canada has a lot to offer, including friendly locals, wildlife, beautiful landscapes, French markets, and more, so when I came across this hotel with a very special feature, I knew I had to experience it.

As my boyfriend and I drove north into Canada towards Quebec, we first stopped in Montreal to check out the Jean Talon Market. Montreal is known for their wide range of markets and French cuisine, so we knew we had to browse through the colorful produce, taste some fresh oysters on the half shell, and pick out some baked goods, prepared foods, snacks, smoked fish, and cheeses. With our hotel accommodations including a full kitchen, we loaded up the cooler to take our goodies to Parc Omega.

Wildlife

Parc Omega is known specifically for their wildlife, the animals have an incredible amount of space to roam around. When you walk into your accommodation, there is a fence that blocks off the entrance to the park, so that the animals cannot get into the parking lot, protecting them from potential injury and protecting us from a dangerous interaction if we need to get to our car.

The Rooms

We stayed in the new modern cabin. Some of the other wolf cabins have a woodsy, cozy cabin kind of vibe where these were more chic and updated, it just depends on what you prefer. It has a full kitchen, so you can cook dinner, have snacks, and just fully enjoy your accommodation if you’d rather not leave for the evening. Guests can hunker down and watch the wolves and other animals that could appear in your very backyard through the floor to ceiling windows.

The living room has a cozy wood fireplace, perfect for relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine. Behind the fireplace are the windows that open up into the park. When we first walked in and set our bags down, I noticed the view. It’s beautiful year round, but we went in the winter and the snow covered trees made this space that much more romantic. I ran over to the window to see if we could see anything and right away, we spotted a few wolves in the distance. It was such an incredible experience. We sat at the window and watched them walk by. One couldn’t care less about the protective fence around the house and would come on the inside of it like the little rebel he is. The upstairs had two bedrooms and a bathroom, and the one bedroom had an attached balcony, which, even though it was chilly in the winter, was definitely worth bundling up and enjoying because you could go out and see the wolves even closer, listening to their footsteps crunching through the snow.

The Surrounding Town and Park

After watching the wolves for a while we decided to head out for dinner. There’s a local bistro in Montebello that came highly rated, so we decided to give it a try. Le Café Du Bistrot (198 Rue Principale, Saint-André-Avellin, QC J0V 1W0, Canada) is a mix of elevated pub food and French food with an interesting take on bistro dishes. I started with escargot. I’m already a big fan of escargot, but this is one of the best I’ve ever had, including escargot I’ve had in Paris. In fact, it was so delicious that we had to order another.

We had the French onion soup, which was ok, a bit sweeter, rather than salty, which is not my personal preference. We tried one of their pizzas with a fluffy crust. Neapolitan style, and quite tasty, but the star of the show was the escargot and the foie gras burger. It was good that we shared a couple things because the burger was rich, but so unique and flavorful. For being kind of a last-minute decision in the middle of nowhere, it really blew us away and had some seriously incredible French food (or atleast with a French influence). I guess it shouldn’t surprise us because many people in this area of Montreal and Montebello speak French and there’s a huge community of French Canadians, but we were so incredibly pleased.

When we made our way back to the cabin, we watched the wolves for a while before heading to bed. We slept in the bedroom that had the balcony attached. At 2:30 in the morning, I woke up to Max (my boyfriend) nudging me, telling me to listen. It was the wolves howling in harmony. We went out on the balcony, and you could hear them howling at the moon, all together. It was kind of eerie, with fog creeping in, but such an incredible experience to witness and hear.

Our time spent at Parc Omega was incredible! Guests can drive through the park to potentially see other animals, as well. It takes about an hour to drive through the entire park, but you can encounter a variety of animals based on the time of year that you’re there, like bears, more wolves, and elk. I truly can’t recommend Parc Omega enough. On our way home, we went to another spot in Montreal to stop at a food hall and get some Tim Hortons coffee on the way home. La Central, the food hall, has a wide range of food stalls and vendors, some better than others, ideal for getting a smattering of apps to share.

Pricing starts at $569 for the wolf cabins. Book Here.