Algonquin Provincial Park

Province: Ontario

Area: 7600 sq. km / 2935 sq. mi. Founded: 1893

Access

From Toronto, northwards on Highways 400 and 11 to Huntsville, then eastwards on Highway 60 into the Park.

Facilities

In Algonquin Provincial Park there are eight campgrounds and numerous picnic areas. In addition there are lodges for anglers and hunters as well as some outfitters.

Algonquin Provincial Park, the second largest of its kind in Canada, stretches to the southeast of North Bay and south of the upper reaches of the Ottawa River. This forest area, studded with more than 2,400 lakes, gets its name from the Algonquin Indian tribe who lived here and indeed still do. A start was made on developing this vast area in the 19th c., when it was extensively cultivated. From time to time there have been catastrophic forest fires, and since 1893 continuous attempts have been made to safeguard the threatened forests.

Forest

The subsoil of the park is of granite. The forest itself is a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees, with spruce, Scots pine and maple predominating. It is especially beautiful here in the "Indian summer", in early autumn when the leaves are changing color. It is here that the artist Tom Thomson and his "Group of Seven" are said to have been particularly inspired.

Fauna

A large variety of fauna inhabit Algonquin Provincial Park: bears, deer, wolves, otters and musk rats are only a few of the many mammals found here. In the rivers and lakes numerous fish are at play, including various species of salmon and trout. The banks of the lakes and brooks as well as many other areas are home to numerous kinds of birds.

Algonquin Indians

Originally the Algonquin lived in the region between the sources of the Mississippi and the St Lawrence River in enclosed villages with houses roofed with thatch and bark. As skilled gatherers, fishers and hunters they were able to exploit to the full the potential of the woodlands. They also knew how to clear the land and grow crops of maize.

Their lives were shattered from the 17th c. onwards when the white man arrived in the forests of eastern Canada, as well as through increasing conflicts with the neighboring Mic-Mac tribe, who had been driven from the lowlands of the St Lawrence by European colonists from the Atlantic coast. The Algonquin bartered furs for tools and cheap knick-knacks from Europe.

Canoeing

Because of its many waterways Algonquin Provincial Park is very popular with canoeists. There are more than 1600 km / 1000 mi of rivers and lakes marked out for those keen on this sport.