The Centre ecologique de Port-au-Saumon, a core area of the Charlevoix UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve is remarkable 100 hectare site bordering St. Lawrence River and the Parc marin du Saguenay-Saint-Laurent. Parts of its territory consists of recreational trails for the public. The centre also hosts land and marine ecosystem educational activities. Salt water basins near the shore provide visitors with an opportunity to view and handle starfish, sea urchins, fish and much more. Two separate guided wildlife tours are offered: the short hike lasts about 45 minutes, and visitors acquaint themselves with the Saguenay & St.Lawrence's middle estuary marine fauna, while observing marine organisms along the riverbed basins. The longer 2-hour hike introduces visitors to various ecosystems which are characteristic of the Charlevoix, and takes them down into a fault line to admire a 15-metre waterfall, along a 2 km trail and then out to enjoy basin activities.