Sépaq

WebsiteCustomer spaceE-commerceProof of concept
Sépaq prototype on a laptop: the Winter activities page
Redesigning a complex platform used by millions without losing the teams behind it.
Sépaq needed more than a new website. They had a fragmented information architecture, disconnected departments, and an outdated platform.

The real challenge was aligning an entire organization around a shared vision, while modernizing the experience for millions of users. The parks were already beautiful. The website needed a hike.

The stakes: 23 national parks, 13 wildlife reserves, 10 million visit-days a year and about 20 million visits to the website. According to its 2024–25 annual report, $82.1M of Sépaq's revenue came through its online booking platform. Navigation isn't decoration here: it's the cash register.

Sépaq prototype on a tablet: the cross-country skiing page for Parc national du Mont-Tremblant
Conducted a benchmark analysis that identified key navigation patterns adopted into the final architecture.
Mapped and restructured the full information architecture to reduce user friction across the platform.
Ran multiple design sprints that aligned 12+ departments over the course of a year.
Delivered a proof-of-concept prototype. It tested the strategy and the user journeys, and showed which features were worth building, before a single line of code was written.
Sépaq sitemap and information architecture diagram

The prototype, screen by screen

These screens are a proof-of-concept prototype, not the live site. We built it straight from the new architecture to find where the value was and which features to develop next. People start from where they want to go, what they want to do or where they want to sleep. Every path ends on something they can book.

On a laptop: the Sépaq homepage prototype, “Vivez la nature du Québec, saison après saison”, a search by place, date and activity, then must-do winter activities
  • Activity search: list and map side by side, filtered by place, date and activity.
  • Cabin availability as a calendar, so you can compare dates instead of guessing them.
  • One page per cabin: what's inside, how to get there, and the price as you pick your dates.
  • A park page that starts with what you need before you go.
Sépaq workshop: team mapping the information architecture
Sépaq prototype on a tablet: booking details for Prêt-à-camper Étoile 13, with what to pack and who to share the booking with

The follow-up project

The customer space

Once the public site had a structure, the next question was what happens after you book. Passes, reservations, payments and trip preparation were scattered across emails and PDFs. The customer space prototype brings them into one place, on the same architecture and the same components. It is a proof of concept too. Its job was to show the value and to decide which features to develop in the future.

  • Every pass in one place. Annual cards and memberships, each with a QR code to show at the gate.
  • The next outing, front and centre. Dates on a calendar, upcoming payments, and alerts when something changes on site.
  • Reservations you can actually manage. Payment details, invoice, change or cancel, without calling anyone.
  • Help preparing the trip. A packing checklist for each type of stay and the rules of the site, before you leave home.
  • Interests that shape the content. Favourite parks, activities and lodging types, so suggestions stop being random.
On a laptop: the customer space home prototype, with a greeting, next payment notice, three passes with QR codes, an alert about a closed washroom block, the next outing and a June calendar
  • Reservation details, payment and suggestions for the stay.
  • A packing checklist for a prêt-à-camper. Pillows included, finally.
  • Interests that personalize what the Sépaq suggests.

Proof-of-concept prototypes, not the live site. Names, dates and amounts are fictional.

Where Sépaq is today

Sépaq now runs 47 establishments, after taking over the east sector of Mont-Sainte-Anne in April 2026. Its network logged 10 million visit-days in 2024–2025, and its online booking platform brought in $82.1M of its $187M in commercial revenue. Sépaq is building its new website entirely in-house, with a new sales system to follow. Figures from its 2024–2025 annual report and sepaq.com.

  • 47establishments
  • 10Mvisit-days in 2024–2025
  • $82.1Mbooked online, 43.9% of commercial revenue
12+ teams aligned and autonomous, ready to own and evolve the platform independently. Sépaq then chose to build the new site entirely in-house, which was the whole point of the sprints.

Credits

UX design, prototyping and design sprints
Jean-Sébastien Daigle · &friends
UX research and information architecture
Éric Letarte · &friends
UX strategy and research
Domenico Micheletti
Design sprint co-facilitation
Stéphanie Lavoie · Sens du style