Category: Backcountry

Backcountry basics: drinking water

Whitney Arnott is a hiking and canoeing enthusiast that likes to spend days at a time in the backcountry when she’s not working at Ontario Parks branch office.

Here are her tips for safe drinking water when you’re in the wilderness.

When it comes to drinking water in the backcountry, you may think it will be simple. There’s lots of water all around you, right?

While that is true, it’s not as simple as turning on a tap at home or dipping your bottle below the water’s surface to fill it.

Untreated water found in lakes, rivers, ponds, etc. isn’t safe to drink. It can contain waterborne parasites and diseases like Giardiasis (also known as beaver fever) or E. coli, which can make you sick.

Continue reading Backcountry basics: drinking water

Planning a “bucket-list” trip to Quetico Provincial Park

Today’s post comes from paddling enthusiast Dave Caughey who, along with his wife, recently made the trek to Quetico Provincial Park.

For years, my wife and I longed to visit Quetico Provincial Park. We had heard the canoeing there was awesome, through a terrain peppered with countless lakes, and routes that could involve days between portages!

But Quetico seemed mind-bogglingly far from our home in Ottawa—1,600 km to be exact! Who would be compelled to drive that distance, just to go paddling?

Continue reading Planning a “bucket-list” trip to Quetico Provincial Park

The measure of a canoe trip

Today’s post is a polite rant from Quetico Provincial Park’s Librarian Jill Sorensen.

We seem to constantly hear about expedition-style trips. Grunt narratives where people have broken speed records, paddled the longest distances, or have been “the first” to complete a route. The blisters. The sleep deprivation. The endurance.

And that is fine. I have no problem with kilometre tracking or race attempts. But if you insist on measuring all of your trips, may I suggest that you count something else? Something that instead connects you to the landscape, or a piece of cultural history.

A little less pace. A little more place.

Here are some suggestions of other things to count:

Continue reading The measure of a canoe trip

An Ontario Parks glossary

Are you new to parks, or maybe a park veteran looking to brush up on your knowledge?

We’ve assembled a handy guide to all the terms you’ll need to know and understand before you visit the park…

Continue reading An Ontario Parks glossary

A canoe journey to each point of the compass

In today’s post, Conor Mihell captures the timelessness of Wabakimi Provincial Park.

The rumble of car tires on gravel slowly fading into the distance is the glorious sound of freedom after many long hours on the road. Silence descends, and suddenly my wife Kim and I are alone and faced with the task of loading 24 days worth of food and gear into our canoe and setting off on Little Caribou Lake, across the threshold of Wabakimi Provincial Park.

The isolation is at once daunting and exciting; there are few places where the feeling is more intense than in the hinterlands of northwestern Ontario.

Continue reading A canoe journey to each point of the compass

Planes, paddles and portages: a journey of garbage

This is a story about garbage.

It wasn’t a quick journey. It took a plane ride, some paddling in a canoe, portaging, more paddling, another plane ride, and a drive on the highway.

This garbage was left in Algonquin Provincial Park’s remote backcountry, something that, unfortunately, happens far too often.

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Woodland Caribou trip-planner

Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is arguably one of Ontario Parks’ best destinations for backcountry wilderness camping and canoeing.

This vast park (544,160 hectares) features a Boreal ecosystem influenced by a prairie climate and displays a diverse community of flora and fauna, including being a home to threatened Woodland Caribou.

Continue reading Woodland Caribou trip-planner

Has spring sprung? Depends where you are!

Watching winter slip away is a magical thing. Snow is melting, temperatures are warming, and some of our fair-weather bird friends are returning.

However, Ontario is a huge province, and the arrival of spring looks very different depending on where you are.

Spring comes slowly in many provincial parks.

Every year people are surprised to learn that while urban areas may be in bloom, many provincial parks, such as Algonquin, are still covered in snow and ice.

This can lead to some unwelcome surprises and unsafe situations for visitors who are expecting warm weather and spring-like conditions.

Continue reading Has spring sprung? Depends where you are!

The Canadian Heritage Rivers System’s Bloodvein River — a backcountry dream

This post was written by Northwestern Ontario Parks Planning Intern Kestrel Wraggett. 

We know that Ontario Parks protect some of the most unique and precious natural systems in the province, but did you know we help protect a nationally recognized network of significant waterways called the Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS)?

Continue reading The Canadian Heritage Rivers System’s Bloodvein River — a backcountry dream

Backpacker’s guide to the Coastal Trail in Lake Superior Provincial Park

Today’s post comes from Jordan Welch and Bianca Goncz, Discovery staff at Lake Superior Provincial Park.

Are you looking for a challenging, multi-day hike with spectacular views?

The Coastal Trail has it all!

Hike to rocky bluffs, traverse lush forests, and experience the power of Lake Superior.

This linear trail traces 65 km of Lake Superior’s rugged northeastern shore, offering an unparalleled chance to experience the wilderness and beauty amidst the largest of the Great Lakes.

Continue reading Backpacker’s guide to the Coastal Trail in Lake Superior Provincial Park