Reading ancient rocks at Neys Provincial Park

Today’s blog comes from Charlotte Westcott, Discovery Leader at Neys Provincial Park.

When you look at a rock, what do you see?

You might notice swirling colours, patterns, scratches, gouges, jagged gaps, and smoothed edges. Every single rock is different.

When I look at rocks, I see a story. 

Like people, plants, and animals, rocks have a history—almost a life of their own.

When you start to unravel what rocks are and where they came from, you’re usually taken on a wild ride!

Continue reading Reading ancient rocks at Neys Provincial Park

Holes in the shield: the Algonquin Rock Worm

Roger LaFontaine originally came to Algonquin Provincial Park looking for creepy creatures like leeches, snails, crayfish and rotifers in the early 2000s.

During that first season in the park, he became fascinated by the huge and strange marks seen all over Algonquin’s Highway 60 corridor left by a prehistoric worm. Since then, he’s devoted at least a day per year to documenting and studying some of Algonquin’s forgotten creatures.

Many visitors to Algonquin are in awe of the rocky shorelines and exposed rock outcrops throughout the park.

What only keen-eyed visitors may pick up on are the telltale marks left behind by a fantastic creature that sadly isn’t around anymore.

Continue reading Holes in the shield: the Algonquin Rock Worm

5 reasons to visit Fairbank Provincial Park

Fairbank Provincial Park is 25 minutes north of Highway 17, and 35 km west of Sudbury.

This quiet, family friendly park provides a tranquil setting for camping, swimming, and paddling, and makes a great base for exploring the Sudbury region!

Check out these five reasons to visit Fairbank:

Continue reading 5 reasons to visit Fairbank Provincial Park

5 reasons to visit Halfway Lake Provincial Park

Halfway Lake Provincial Park features over 4,000 ha of rugged, forested Canadian Shield, dotted with sparkling blue lakes.

Less than an hour north of Sudbury on Highway 144, the park boasts an oasis of swimming, paddling, and hiking with a full service campground.

Here are five reasons we think Halfway Lake will delight family campers and explorers alike:

Continue reading 5 reasons to visit Halfway Lake Provincial Park

Mattawa River: sculpted by time

Today’s post comes from Mat St-Jules, a park interpreter at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park.

The sights of the Mattawa River keep drawing me back.

I find incredible beauty in a scraggly cedar clinging to sheer rock or in the gleaming coat of a river otter standing on a sandbar. But, of course, these marvels don’t stand on their own.

Below the wildlife and past the trees is the foundation of this land: the geology it all rests on.

Continue reading Mattawa River: sculpted by time