Swinging in a cocoon, checking out a bat cave, experiencing a “forest immersion.”
These are the three new attractions being offered at Arbraska Laflèche Park, a 30-minute drive from Parliament Hill, with the goal of pulling an additional 50,000 to 75,000 visitors yearly.
The Trekking Group, a Laval-based company that represents a number of outdoor amusement parks in North America including Arbraska Laflèche, recently unveiled the $2.6-million project, which also has the objective of making the National Capital Region a destination for ecotourism.
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The three new attractions include Uplå, a 12,000-square-foot network of netted trampolines suspended in the trees, launching in June; Obā, a multimedia presentation of the history of Earth inside Laflèche Cave, launching this fall; and Nesta, an aerial camping experience with six treehouse-like tents, launching in spring 2026.
“Arbraska Laflèche is only 34 minutes away from Parliament. The Ottawa region is (known for) its tourism and as a cultural and political capital of Canada. We want to bring nature to Ottawa,” said Jean-François Couture, chief of marketing and development for the Trekking Group.
“We need people to go outside and to get people outside, we need to have exciting attractions. And if we want them to come again, we need to stand out. Our goal is really to reinvent outdoor activities and push it to the next level,” he added.
Couture said this will be “another reason out of a million” to come to the Ottawa-Gatineau area and hopes to ride the wave of heightened domestic travel. Couture said Canada is lucky to have the great outdoors so close to its city centres and attractions like these may put the area on the ecotourism map.
The 300-acre park already attracts about 625,000 visitors a year, Couture said, but it expects to pull an additional 50,000 to 75,000 visitors yearly with the addition of these attractions.
The company has worked closely with Ottawa Tourism, Tourisme Outaouais, local businesses and the municipality of Val-des-Monts, where the park is located, Couture said.
“Working with attraction and accommodation partners (allows us to) create a synergy … By adding three attractions, this creates a destination. If people come over from Montreal or Toronto, they can stay over at the park or in Airbnbs in the area. They can enjoy businesses around (the park),” he said.
Uplå, a year-round “universe of nets” suspended 20 to 25 feet in the air, has already been introduced at similar Trekking Group parks in Toronto and Montreal.
“We thought it would be a great addition to (Arbraska Laflèche). It’s a forest immersion,” Couture said.
Creating an adventure outside the virtual world was the inspiration behind the Uplå experience, Couture said.
“Everybody’s connected to their computer. How can we disconnect (visitors) from their computers and connect (them) with real life, with nature, with their inner self and their families? … When you go to Uplå, it’s impossible not to laugh,” he said.
Taking place in the largest cave in the Canadian Shield, Obā will be both an educational and entertaining experience, with light projections and soundscapes, to tell the “story of Earth from the Big Bang until now,” Couture told OBJ.
The Trekking Group partnered with Montreal-based Eden Creative Studio, which specializes in immersive and interactive experiences, and Overall, a multidisciplinary design firm, according to the news release.
They created the most eco-friendly experience possible, Couture said, by using energy-efficient lighting solutions and other technologies to preserve the environment.
“We’re going to use unused parts of the cave for cabling and we selected LED light technologies (to be more) eco-friendly. We know computers tend to heat up and (we’re going to have) these boxes (that) will chill them down and keep the temperature inside,” he said.
Another incentive to preserve the environment was the need to leave the cave’s inhabitants undisturbed.
“One important thing we did when we created this is (be aware) that we’ve got roommates (in the cave), the bats. We tried to find materials that don’t affect the environment. We wanted to keep the temperature of the cave to seven degrees (Celsius),” he said.
To avoid disturbing the bats, Obā will only be available to experience from late spring to early fall.
“Although we could operate the cave year-round, we decided to operate it only when the bats are out of the cave. So the bats get in the cave when the ice comes, around the end of October. They get out in May (or) late April,” Couture told OBJ.
A first-of-its-kind in North America, Nesta will allow visitors to have a place to stay overnight at the park while making it an experience in itself, Couture said.
“It’s going to be like a cocoon. People (will be) sleeping and balancing in the wind. It’s going to be really minimalistic, but impressive as well,” he said.
Since announcing the new projects this week, Couture said the response has been great, adding that people love their parks for the accessibility of the experiences they provide.
“We democratize access to nature. We always try to make things accessible, either price-wise or whether you’re young or old, an athlete or not. Maybe my Everest is not your Everest,” he said.
With lots of things happening in the region, Couture said he hopes people will come to enjoy what Canada’s outdoor landscape has to offer.
“I know there’s a creative spirit in Ottawa right now. You guys are building the next Silicon Valley. There’s something big happening and we want to be a part of it,” Couture said.
