The signs of spring always grab our attention.
We’re excited by the arrival of the familiar birds, butterflies, and fish that we see each summer. Perhaps it’s simply because we yearn for the end of winter. Or maybe it’s the feeling that a good friend has returned from a long vacation down south.
What we neglect to notice sometimes though, is the beauty of their departure.
You’ve recently unwrapped the latest iphone or a shiny new digital camera, perhaps an SLR with some fancy lenses.
Now you have itchy shutter fingers. You’re ready to point our camera at something spectacular and capture a beautiful memory forever. But where to go?
Not to brag, but Ontario Parks are beautiful, iconic places. Covering nearly 10% of the province and protecting some of Ontario’s most rare and scenic habitats, our parks are home to a variety of wildlife, from fascinating insects to enormous moose.
Basically, they’re a photographer’s dreamscape.
We’re animal lovers too. We know how exhilarating wildlife encounters can be. We understand how badly you want that perfect photo.
But before you hit the road, ask yourself: is taking the perfect photograph worth risking an animal’s life or an ecosystem’s health?
If your answer is “no,” check out our list of seven common photography infractions to ensure you’re keeping our parks safe and healthy.
Art and nature go together like columbine flowers and hummingbird tongues.
Indigenous artists express their relationship to land through art; Canada’s Group of Seven found inspiration in several Ontario Parks; parks offer residency programs, and our park visitors find many artistic ways to capture their memories. We love it when visitors share their artistic creations with us.
However, a new trend is starting to cause problems province-wide: the painted rock.
Cellphones have changed our lives in many ways. It seems like there’s an app available to cater to our every need, from baking to banking and all things in between.
At Ontario Parks, we generally encourage green time over screen time, however there’s one app we believe every visitor should have on their phone.
Continue reading The cat and the Mudbug: a guide to using iNaturalist
Today’s post was written by Connor Oke, a marketing intern at Ontario Parks, using information provided by Mark Read, a senior Discovery ranger at Murphys Point Provincial Park.
If Canada is known for one thing, it’s for our long, cold winters.
Wild animals rely on evolution and natural adaptations to survive until spring. The strategies they’ve developed are varied and, simply, incredible.
Here are six species, sporting six different ways Ontario Parks’ wildlife makes it through the winter:
Continue reading How 6 species at Ontario Parks survive the winter
Today’s post comes from Isabella Schives, a Senior Park Clerk from Rushing River Provincial Park.
Now that the seasons have changed and snow blankets the ground, the natural beauty of this vibrant and popular summertime park takes on an incredible transformation.
Icicles begin hanging from trees and buildings, fresh snow crunches underneath your feet, and the brisk, cold air provides a refreshing feeling with every breath.
Each step takes you further away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life as you relax into the tranquility and peace of wintertime at Rushing River Provincial Park.
Continue reading Winter adventures at Rushing River Provincial Park
Protected areas are fascinating places.
If you’re lucky, during your visit you may spot a wide variety of wildlife who call these parks home.
However, you may not always see healthy animals.
In these natural spaces, you could see animals that look sick, injured, or orphaned. We know you want to help wildlife, but helping wildlife means keeping your hands off! Continue reading Hands off park wildlife!
If you’re new to Ontario Parks, you might be a little nervous about the animals that call our parks home.
Many of us live in cities or suburbs, with little interaction with wildlife, so we don’t know how to react or behave. We want your parks experience to be fun and safe, both for you and for the wildlife that live here.
Today, let’s talk about:
Continue reading What types of wildlife might I see at Ontario Parks?
If you’ve ever seen a Five-lined Skink, you know just how neat they are!
The Five-lined Skink, which looks a bit like a salamander, is the only lizard species native to Ontario. And while researchers continue to study skinks, we still don’t know very much about what they do on a day-to-day basis, particularly from September to May when they’re hibernating.
Here are five cool things we DO know about Five-lined Skinks, courtesy of Alistair MacKenzie, Resource Management Supervisor at Pinery Provincial Park.
Excessive noise. Transporting firewood. Have you ever wondered why certain rules exist?
Thought, research, and science go into the laws and policies that cover provincial parks and conservation reserves. And it helps to understand the rationale.
Today, we’re sharing the logic behind a few of the rules our visitors ask us about most frequently:
