Backcountry vegetarian cooking

Today’s post comes from Brittany Thatcher and Jill Legault of Quetico Provincial Park.

Going meatless on hiking excursions, canoe trips, or any outdoor adventures can be easy, nutritious, and delicious!

Vegetables and vegetable-based products can provide you with the energy and protein needed to lead successful trips.

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Quetico’s backcountry routes without portages

This post comes from Park Information Specialist Jill Legault of Quetico Provincial Park.

“Portaging is like hitting yourself on the head with a hammer: it feels so good when you stop.” — Bill Mason

Did you know Quetico Provincial Park’s solitary wilderness experience and pristine nature is available without portaging?

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Health benefits of backcountry camping

Today’s post comes from Sarah McMichael, Ontario Parks’ Healthy Parks Healthy People Coordinator.

Backcountry camping is known for being a way to experience beautiful, serene landscapes. But a backcountry trip also provides an opportunity to challenge yourself physically and mentally.

The combination of paddling, portaging, and hiking through the backcountry is a great all-over workout. Plus, you will experience a ton of health benefits simply by being outdoors.

Hit the backcountry for a killer total-body workout this summer. Let’s do this!

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Backcountry routes without portages at Algonquin

This blog comes from David Legros, a Natural Heritage Education Specialist at Algonquin Provincial Park, and lover of backcountry camping. 

There you are, standing on the rocky shore of a lake. A windswept pine sits behind you, and a wild landscape before you. Welcome to backcountry camping!

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5 reasons Sleeping Giant is a backcountry paradise

Today’s post comes from Rachelle Law, Discovery Leader at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.

Have you been dreaming of finding the perfect park to go backcountry camping?

Well, the secret’s out! With over 100 km of hiking trails and 27 backcountry campsites located within seven backcountry zones, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is a backcountry camper’s oasis!

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20 years of Wabakimi canoe rangers

Today’s post comes from Alex Campbell, a summer student at Wabakimi Provincial Park

Wabakimi Provincial Park — a two and a half-hour drive north of Thunder Bay — spans an area larger than Prince Edward Island.

This extensive wilderness area encompasses over 1,500 km worth of prime canoe routes, with portages varying in length from 20 to 1,800 m. Each portage is maintained by a small group of extremely hard-working people: Wabakimi’s canoe rangers.

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Backcountry camping and paddling at Bon Echo

Today’s blog comes from Danny and Tiffany of Venturing Two.

Last weekend, we headed north to Bon Echo Provincial Park to document our first backcountry experience.

The park was buzzing with activity! There were BBQs at family and pet friendly beaches, people fishing, kids canoeing and kayaking, friends hiking to scenic lookout points, families observing pictographs, and fellow campers unwinding at lakeside campsites.

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Mississagi: a hiker’s paradise

If you have been to Mississagi Provincial Park, you’ll know that it’s one of Ontario’s best-kept secrets. The scenery is spectacular, thanks to the geology of the area, which forms a series of hills, ridges and cliffs, and valleys with sparkling blue lakes.

Covering the hills and surrounding the lakes are the forests of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region. Sugar maples, red maples and yellow birch make up most of the trees in the forest, but white pine and black spruce find places along the rocky ridges and lake shores. These forests light up in the fall with red, yellow, gold and orange.

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By paddle and boot: community science in the backcountry       

This post was written by David LeGros, park naturalist at Algonquin Provincial Park.

Are you an explorer? Heading out into parks on a journey of discovery, anxious to see what is on the next lake, around the bend on the portage, or even what might turn up at your campsite?

Me too. I love exploring the backcountry on canoe trips, and I love getting to know Algonquin a little bit better every time. I am also an avid naturalist, so I like to identify the things I see when I’m out there (and no, I don’t know all the species).

Lately, I have become obsessed with iNaturalist (ask my wife). So when we were planning our last canoe trip, I gently guided the route to be in a place where few nature nerds have made records before. For the glory, but also for real/good reasons too.

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Fushimi Lake backcountry

Set in the lush boreal forest with wide-open skies, there’s a definite “northern feel” to Fushimi Lake Provincial Park.

During the day, Fushimi Lake’s horizons look like prairie skies because they seem so wide. At night, the stars are so bright and so numerous that you feel like you’re in a snow globe.

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