Author: Ontario Parks

The best apps for smartphone photography

Today’s post comes from Marketing and Communications summer student Mitch Jackson. 

Smartphone cameras keep getting better and better. No longer do park enthusiasts have to drag clunky DSLR cameras through the wilderness. Taking your smartphone with you will free up room for snacks, sunscreen, a lunch, a water bottle…did we mention more room for snacks?

We’ve seen that smartphones can already act as a field guide and support citizen science. Along with that, many phones also have incredible photo capabilities. Gone are the days of blurry, low-res phone photos. High-quality nature photography can happen right on your mobile device, without the burden of a camera strap.

Add some sparkle to your snapshots with the help of these apps:

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Wooden canoe- and paddle-making in Ontario

Wooden canoes and paddles are closely linked to Ontarians’ collective sense of history. For centuries, rivers and lakes were the railways of their time: traversing our waterways by canoe was how Indigenous people and early European settlers explored this vast country.

Ontario is known as the “canoe capital” of the world for good reason. Our endless lake and river routes run from the far north of the province to the U.S. border.

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Saved by the fence

Happy World Turtle Day! Today’s post comes from Shannon McGaffey, our Assistant Park Biologist at Algonquin Provincial Park.

Earlier this month, a crew of seven park staff – rangers, maintenance workers, administration staff and biologists – spent the entire day installing turtle fencing along the side of the busy Highway 60 in Algonquin.

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What makes spring so green?

Spring invigorates us, renews us, and makes us optimistic. Leaves sprout, flowers bloom, and birds sing. Winter is gone (mostly), and we can look forward to warmer sunny days.

We get excited about spring because of colour too. Green leaves mean summer is just around the corner.

If we look a bit closer though, we’ll see that there’s more than just green in the forest…

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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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Restoring nature’s balance in Polar Bear Provincial Park

Ever heard of Polar Bear Provincial Park?

Few Ontarians will ever visit the 2.3 million hectares of protected land along Ontario’s only salt water coast. The park is home to the magnificent polar bear, as well as caribou, seals and the beluga whale.

Between 2011 and 2016, Polar Bear Provincial Park underwent the largest Environmental Remediation Project ever to be completed inside a protected area!

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Ecopassages help wildlife cross roads safely

With Earth Day fast approaching, now’s the perfect time to talk about how our ecopassages are helping protect Ontario’s wildlife!

You may have heard of wilderness corridors built for wildlife to cross over or under the TransCanada Highway. Ecopassages are mini versions of these, like a critter-sized subway tunnel passing under the road.

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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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