Mercantour National Park, National park in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Mercantour National Park is a protected area in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes with more than 600 kilometers of marked trails winding through valleys, passes, and alpine meadows. The terrain rises from Mediterranean slopes covered with olive trees and lavender to summits with snowfields that persist through summer.

The core of the massif was first made a royal hunting reserve in 1859 by King Victor Emmanuel II, then a hunting reserve by prefectoral decree in 1946 and a reserve by ministerial decree in 1953. The national park itself was created in 1979 by Jacques Florent. In 1987 it was twinned with Italy's Parco naturale Alpi Marittime, with which it shares 33 km of border.

The valleys carry names like Vésubie, Roya, and Tinée, reflecting centuries-old shepherd and trade routes that once linked the French interior with the coast. Hikers today follow these paths through villages with stone houses and encounter flocks of sheep moving to high pastures in summer.

Visitors should bring sturdy footwear and warm clothing, as weather can change quickly even in midsummer. Refuges along the routes offer overnight stays and help plan multi-day walks through remote areas.

The wolf returned to France naturally here in November 1992, when two individuals were observed during a wildlife count in the Mollières valley (Valdeblore) — the first confirmed sighting since the species was exterminated in France in 1937. They came unaided from Italy's Apennine population via the Ligurian Alps, a recolonisation later confirmed by genetic analysis of scat samples. A Wolves Centre in Saint-Martin-Vésubie welcomes visitors.