Tag: Frontenac

How to plan a trip to Frontenac

Frontenac is a four-season backcountry park with great opportunities for interior camping, hiking, paddling, and winter activities!

Nestled within the Frontenac Arch, Frontenac has a unique landscape not typically found in Southern Ontario. You’ll discover a diverse range of habitats, plants, and animals. With upland forests, rocky ridges, and tranquil lakes, camping is only accessible to paddlers, backpackers, and snowshoers.

Planning a trip to Frontenac? Here’s what you need to know to have a fun and frustration-free visit:

Continue reading How to plan a trip to Frontenac

Where to snowshoe in Ontario Parks

Nature looks completely different under a glittering blanket of snow. Why not strap on some snowshoes and experience Ontario Parks in a whole new way this winter?

Check out some winter parks with top-notch snowshoeing opportunities:

Continue reading Where to snowshoe in Ontario Parks

5 ways to stay active in the cold

Brrr! Temperatures are dropping, and winter’s icy grip is almost upon us.

We bet you’re feeling just about ready to tuck into a nice, long winter’s hibernation. Not so fast! Outdoor activity is important for our mental and physical health all year long. Getting outside is good for you even when the weather is not ideal.

Ontario Parks has 31 parks open in the winter. Each park offers plenty of ways for you to get active in the chilly months.

Here are some great ways to stay healthy, and enjoy winter!

Continue reading 5 ways to stay active in the cold

A look back on Ontario Parks’ outhouses

We called on Ontario Parks Architect Matthew Harvey to provide some insight on outhouses…the good, the bad, and the stinky!

In the course of my 25 year architectural career with Ontario Parks, I occasionally get asked what I do for a living. I proudly reply “Why, I design outhouses!”

If that person doesn’t excuse themselves, turn on their heel and beat a hasty retreat, then we might get down to a discussion that goes something like this:

Continue reading A look back on Ontario Parks’ outhouses

Fascinating fall fungi at Frontenac

`From yeast fungi (responsible for leavening bread) to mold (we’ve all forgotten about food for just a little too long), the world of fungi is a large and fascinating one.

But the role fungi play in our natural environment is perhaps one of the most important roles of all.

Have you ever wondered how old tree stumps break down and are slowly reclaimed by the forest floor? Or how plants are able to obtain water and nutrients essential for their survival?

The answer is fungi.

Fungi are the powerhouses of forest ecosystems. They are the best wood decomposers found in the natural environment and form relationships with nearly 90% of the world’s land plants

At Frontenac Provincial Park, over 700 species of fungi have been identified in our forests.

Let’s find out some interesting facts about a handful of them:

Continue reading Fascinating fall fungi at Frontenac

For the pollinators! Two new pollinator gardens you can visit and learn about this year

Gardens are not something you typically think of when it comes to Ontario Parks, considering we preserve many of Ontario’s natural landscapes. But there’s one type of garden we’re happy to build in our parks: pollinator gardens!

This summer, two southeastern parks worked hard to build and establish new pollinator gardens. Why? Because planting native plants supports biodiversity and helps our pollinators, some of which have populations in dramatic decline.

Continue reading For the pollinators! Two new pollinator gardens you can visit and learn about this year

Ecological integrity in southeastern parks

In today’s post, Protected Areas Intern Katelyn Vardy highlights a few of the projects that staff have completed to improve and maintain the ecological integrity in southeastern parks.

When you’re standing in a favourite nature spot or within a park, it’s easy to embrace the beauty and calmness that surrounds you.

While campers and day trippers enjoy all that parks have to offer, behind the scenes are teams of staff working incredibly hard. Their work helps to protect these areas so that they can be enjoyed for years to come.

Here’s a look at some of the projects that we have completed to support the ecological integrity of southeastern parks.

Continue reading Ecological integrity in southeastern parks

5 fantastic forests to visit this spring

It’s International Day of Forests!

Ontario Parks protects a collection of breathtakingly beautiful forests from across the province. Each will be brimming with signs of life as the snow melts and temperatures warm.

Let’s take a look at five unique forests you can visit this spring.

Continue reading 5 fantastic forests to visit this spring