Up close and personal: macro photography tips

Macro photography exposes you to a whole new world.

Macro photography zooms in extremely close to its subject, making it appear bigger than it actually is. You may never notice the beauty and strangeness of a creature until you examine it up close.

Focusing your attention on new photographic subjects also lets you experience your favourite park in a brand-new way.

Instead of walking the same trail down to the same lake, you start noticing new details. You may discover a weird and magical collection of fungi on a rotting log beside the trail, or that jewel-like damselflies like to sun themselves on the cattails by the lake shore.

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Campsite vacancy highlights: May 17-20

It’s not too late to book a campsite for the Victoria Day long weekend!

While many parks are filling up, lots of campgrounds still have a good selection of sites available.

Scout out your ideal campsite on our Campsite Browsing/Reservation tool (including pictures of most campsites!), or check out these featured campsites (available as of noon, May 16):

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Campfire Breakfast Oats with Baked Apple

In 2017, we joined forces with the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance and Butternut Productions to create some “tasty” new videos with some Feast On chefs (Feast On recognizes businesses committed to sourcing Ontario grown/made food and drink).

Breakfast will never be the same again.

We woke up early for our Presqu’ile Provincial Park breakfast date with Lisa and Cassandra of Earth+City. And was it ever worth it!

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Spring flooding at Ontario Parks

**NOTE: this post was last updated on June 18, 2019, and will not be updated again in 2019. Please refer to our alerts page for further flooding updates.

Due to this spring’s high water levels, many provincial parks are experiencing flooding, which may delay their opening, or close their trails and campgrounds. We’re maintaining an up-to-date list of parks affected by flooding in this post.

Our staff are working hard to help our parks dry out and re-open for visitors. Take a look at what we’re contending with this spring:

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Pick green time over screen time

Screens are everywhere. Cell phones, Netflix, and video games can be distractions that keep us inside. It’s easy to spend hours chilling in front of your phone or TV.

These are hours we could be spending being physically active in the outdoors. Excessive screen time has negative impacts on our health, and this is especially concerning when it comes to children. Outdoor physical activity is crucial for healthy development.

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IBAs of Ontario Parks: spring migration on Lake Erie

Welcome to the May installment “IBAs in provincial parks,” brought to you by Ontario IBA Coordinator Amanda Bichel of Bird Studies Canada.

Did you know Saturday (May 11, 2019) was International Migratory Bird Day! What a wonderful reason to highlight sites renowned for migrating songbirds!

In today’s post, we’re chatting about two of Ontario’s southern-most Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas:

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Learning in the forest at MacGregor Point

When you think back to your childhood, what are some of your best memories?

Likely a lot of them involved playing and exploring in the outdoors.

Unfortunately, many children today don’t get this opportunity. Kids are often kept indoors by electronics and other distractions. They miss out on the developmental benefits of outdoor play.

This is where forest school comes in. Forest school combines nature with education for the ultimate outdoor learning experience.

Since September 2017, MacGregor Point Provincial Park has hosted Saugeen Shores Forest School, the first forest school in an Ontario provincial park.

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The Maukinak Trail: paddling from Dryden to Quetico

Today’s post comes from Lise Sorensen, Quetico’s Atikokan Entry Station Gate Attendant and off-season Trails Officer with the Path of the Paddle. If you’re planning to paddle the Maukinak Trail, this info will be indispensable.

Follow the path. It will lead you through boreal rivers and crystal-clear lakes, and past silent, watchful cliffs. Your guides will be eagles and your destination endless.

An integral segment of The Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail), the Path of the Paddle is a ribbon of water that stretches from Thunder Bay to the Manitoba border.

The Maukinak segment of the Path of the Paddle transects vast tracts of uninhabited crown land and connects the small communities of Atikokan and Dryden.

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Spring fishing in the Thirty Thousand Islands

A breathtaking 13,000 ha of the Thirty Thousand Islands and eastern Georgian Bay Coast is protected by The Massasauga Provincial Park, between Moon River and Parry Sound.

The Thirty Thousand Islands are the world’s largest freshwater archipelago, a 200 km chain of pink rocky islands from Port Severn to the French River.

Anyone who has visited the area will tell you it’s simply gorgeous.

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