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Lodging in Forillon National Park: A Night in an oTENTik Tent
  • oTENTik Tent in Forillon National Park
    Mathieu Dupuis/Le Québec maritime

Lodging in Forillon National Park: A Night in an oTENTik Tent

For the second part of my stay in Forillon National Park, I try something new: a night in one of the new oTENTik tents. It’s an interesting new concept developed for Parks Canada, a blend of a tent and a cabin. I opt for the basic type, located in Des-Rosiers Campground.

I get there early in the afternoon and, being a curious person by nature, I proceed to look at every single detail. The design is flawless. The oTENTik tent is made of a very thick canvas that looks highly-resistant to me, laid on a wood structure. It offers enough space for a group of four adults and two children. Besides the sleeping platforms, the furniture consists of a table, four chairs and a bench. The battery lantern suspended to a large beam provides more than enough light. I’m concerned about sunlight coming in tomorrow morning, but I realize everything has been well-thought: there are blinds with Velcro closures on both windows and on the door. These can be put on and off in seconds. At one point, theres a moment where I would have liked to have been filmed (or maybe not, when I think about it). I wanted to get out of the tent and get some of my gear from the car. But how do I get out? I looked around for a few seconds (which seemed longer than that) before pulling on something that looked like a nail (yep, just besides the note that said “Pull to open” J). It’s actually the mechanism to raise the latch from inside... 

When I get back to my tent in the evening, I cook on the picnic table outside even if there have been a few showers during the afternoon. Another option would have been to take my cooking gear to the large common room equipped with a woodstove in the service building located some 100 metres away, because the use of a propane stove inside the tent is forbidden.

I spent a really good night, very comfortable, despite the coolness of the September night. Actually, if you’re afraid to be cold at night, the ready-to-camp oTENTik tents include a heater, electricity, dishes and utensils, a small fridge and a BBQ with a stove (This type of accommodation closes in early September, but the basic type closes in early October).

See for yourself and live a truly oTENTik experience!

Author Jean-Pascal Côté

A certified translator and avid outdoorsman, Jean-Pascal Côté works as a freelance writer and translator in Bas-Saint-Laurent, the region where he was born. He regularly escapes his daily life by going road biking, cycle touring or cyclocross racing, skiing in the mountains of Bas-Saint-Laurent or Western Canada, or sea kayaking on the St. Lawrence River. He is constantly dreaming up new travel plans. He also blogs (on an admittedly irregular basis) about his cycle touring adventures.

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