Just for the gull of it!

In today’s post, Awenda’s Chief Park Naturalist Tim Tully defends what some may think is the undefendable: the gull. 

If there was ever an animal that gets a raw deal, it’s the gull.

It’s time to set the record straight and come to the defense of this unfairly maligned avian “underbird.”

For starters, we can’t even get the name right. I hate to tell you, folks, but there is no such thing as a seagull!

Continue reading Just for the gull of it!

How to plan your trip to Sibbald Point

Located on Lake Simcoe, Sibbald Point Provincial Park is a great spot for day-use. The park has a sandy beach and shallow water perfect for kids.

But during the hot summer months, the park can get extremely busy. Many weekends, Sibbald Point hits capacity and can’t welcome any more visitors.

This year, you need to book your day use permit in advance to guarantee entry.

Continue reading How to plan your trip to Sibbald Point

Our free PARKsmart PFD Lending Program

While swimming, boating and other water activities are a centrepiece of many Ontario Parks adventures, there are also risks associated with these activities.

We want our visitors to stay safe when they hit the waves.

And that starts with a PFD (personal flotation device)!

Continue reading Our free PARKsmart PFD Lending Program

The Daily Dip at Lake Superior Provincial Park

Today’s blog comes from Kaitlyn Plastino, Discovery Interpreter at Lake Superior Provincial Park

As park staff living and working along the Lake Superior coastline, we naturally get a lot of questions about the water: “So how cold is it here anyway?” and “Is it warm enough to swim yet?”

The short answer we give visitors is: “If you aren’t used to the water, it’s probably too cold…but I’ve been swimming since May, so it’s warm enough for me!”

Here at Lake Superior Provincial Park, we have a tradition: the Daily Dip.

Continue reading The Daily Dip at Lake Superior Provincial Park

What makes the Great Lakes so great?

In today’s blog, Discovery Project Program Coordinator Jessica Stillman reflects on our mutual relationship with the Great Lakes.

Our human history is reflected in their waters.

The Great Lakes capture our past, influence our present, and inspire our future. 

Imagine the stories they could tell.

These bodies of water are called the Great Lakes for a reason: from their size (the largest surface freshwater system on Earth) to their role in our collective history, where do we even begin to share what makes them great?

Continue reading What makes the Great Lakes so great?

Shortcuts? More like shore cuts!

Today’s post comes from Mikhaila Lafleur-Weidhaas, a park warden at Pancake Bay Provincial Park.

Two beach trails diverged at a dune, one well-travelled and clear — the other a shortcut. Do you take “the road most travelled?”

The coastal shores of Lake Superior, with its sand beaches and Caribbean blue water, have been a popular attraction to thousands, from nomadic voyagers to people looking for paradise close to home.

However, as people run to Ontario’s beaches looking for a staycation, more pressure is being placed on our sandy shores.

This increased pressure can cause a decline of these dynamic and rare freshwater coastal dune ecosystems.

Continue reading Shortcuts? More like shore cuts!

Why driftwood matters

Today’s post comes from Laura Myers, Past Senior Park Interpreter of Neys Provincial Park.

Driftwood – it makes a great bench to watch the sunset, a balancing beam to play on, or that perfect element to your photograph.

There’s something about driftwood that gives beaches that rugged beauty factor. Walking on a beach, listening to the waves and the birds, and looking at the different pieces of driftwood can be wondrous and relaxing.

Has a piece of driftwood ever caught your eye and made you wonder where it originally came from? How it got that far up the beach? The size of the wave that put it there? What species of tree or how old it is?

Each piece of driftwood has its own journey and its own story. But its story isn’t over when it washes up on the beach.

Continue reading Why driftwood matters

2022 Piping Plover season recap

In today’s post, Piping Plover Biologist Monica Fromberger shares the hot gossip surrounding this season’s plover population.

We had TWO Piping Plover nests in southeastern Ontario this year!

One at Darlington Provincial Park and the other at Presqu’ile Provincial Park.

Continue reading 2022 Piping Plover season recap