Are you ready for the Northwest Wilderness Quest?

Do you dream of paddling the vast wilderness of Northwestern Ontario, gliding past moose, caribou and wolves? Can you hear the gentle sound of your paddle smoothly caressing endless lakes and rivers, drops of water slowly tumbling off the tip of your blade? Does the scent of pine and spruce forests invite fond memories of past backcountry canoe trips and inspire dreams of future adventures?

Just picture it. This is the Northwest Wilderness Quest.

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Maintaining the Missinaibi

The Missinaibi River is one of the longest and most famous canoe routes in the Hudson Bay watershed – 500 km of whitewater river, from the Arctic watershed divide down to James Bay.

This summer, our Northeastern Resource Stewardship Crew traveled 185 km of that river working to maintain Missinaibi Provincial Park‘s backcountry.

Check out this video of their travels:

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5 questions with a backcountry ranger

Welcome to our “5 Questions” series! We chat with park staff around the province to give you an inside look at what it’s like to work at Ontario Parks.

Jason Lorbetskie has worked as a backcountry ranger in Algonquin Provincial Park for over 17 years. He is currently a Group Leader for Operations South, where his job duties include supervising other rangers, maintaining trails and campsites, and assisting with all facets of the backcountry program.

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Backcountry at Grundy Lake Provincial Park

Today’s post comes from Grundy Lake Provincial Park, courtesy of Park Clerk Courtney Lafleur and Discovery Program Leader Jessica Schulze.

You’re an experienced car-camper. You’ve got a favourite campsite. You’ve memorized your ideal site setup, and can put your campsite together in record time.

But now you’re ready to up your camping game and try something different. Something a little bit off the beaten path.

Grundy Lake Provincial Park is the perfect spot to test the backcountry waters!

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5 bucket list fishing destinations in northwestern Ontario

If you live to fish and you’ve never cast your line into a lake in northern Ontario, these five spots in the backcountry you’ll want to add to your bucket list!

They come (in no particular order!) courtesy of Bob Elliott, superintendent of Lake Superior Provincial Park.

A lifelong, avid angler himself, Bob says these five parks provide unparalleled fishing, together with a true wilderness experience, which is why they attract people from all over Canada, the United States and beyond.
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Take a walk on the wild side on Lake Superior’s Coastal Trail

Today’s post comes from Carol Dersh, our natural heritage education leader at Lake Superior Provincial Park.

Slippery, steep and rugged sections ahead. . .

…what a fitting description of Lake Superior Provincial Park’s 65 km Coastal Trail.

If you like wild places, rugged hikes, varied terrain, dark night skies, an endless horizon, fewer biting insects and spectacular rocks, this is the trail for you.

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Backcountry fishing in Quetico

For today’s post, we chatted with Trevor Gibb, Superintendent of Quetico Provincial Park (and longtime angling addict!).

You’ve spent the day on the water. It rained all morning, and you spent the afternoon paddling against that strange weather phenomenon, best described as the multi-directional headwind.

Time to make camp, kindle a fire, and relax listening to the crackling logs and sizzling frying pan.

For backcountry campers at Quetico Provincial Park, the tantalizing aroma wafting from that frying pan is the smell of fresh-caught fish.

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Are you ready for the Missinaibi River?

Backcountry-lover Scott Elliott, a Partnership Development Specialist from our main office, shares the story of his nine-day wilderness adventure.

Many parks are easily accessible; you just pack your tent and sleeping bag, hop in the car and roll into your weekend campground.

But some parks require planning, motivation, and a refined skill-set.

Missinaibi Provincial Park is one of those parks.

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