Algonquin Provincial Park

Algonquin Provincial Park, established in 1893, was the first provincial park in Canada.

A baby black bear explores its world in summer.

Algonquin Provincial Park is the oldest and most famous provincial park in Ontario.

One of the largest parks in Canada, Algonquin covers 2,983 square miles of wild and beautiful lakes, forests, bogs, rivers, cliffs and beaches. It is a canoeist's and camper's paradise.

Algonquin is just three to four hours away from Toronto and Ottawa. The Parkway Corridor plays a key role in making one of the world's great parks easily accessible.

The essence of Algonquin is its vast interior of maple hills, rocky ridges, spruce bogs and thousands of lakes, ponds and streams. With more than 900 miles of canoe routes, Algonquin is one of Canada's premier areas for canoe tripping.

Visitors also explore the rugged beauty by foot, bicycle, dogsled, horse or ski. Algonquin Park's many trails offer something for everyone. Whether you're up for a vigorous bicycle ride through beautiful forest, a two-day hike into the interior or a leisurely walk to a stunning lookout, you can find a trail that explores the many facets of Algonquin's beauty.

Algonquin sits in a transition zone between deciduous forests typical of areas south of the park, and coniferous forests, more typical of areas in the north.

The result is that both forest types are found within park boundaries. Even a short trip takes you by maple forest, spruce bogs, beaver ponds, campgrounds, lakes and cliffs.

Along with Algonquin's diversity in habitats are varied plants and animals, including 45 species of mammals, 270 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles and amphibians, 50 species of fish and approximately 7,000 species of insects occur within Algonquin's boundaries.

In addition, there are more than 1,000 species of plants and another 1,000 species of fungi growing in the park.

There are two bicycle trails located along the Highway 60 Corridor — the Minnesing Mountain Bike Trail and the newest bike trail, the Old Railway Bike Trail.

Algonquin has three trail networks specifically designed and reserved for cross-country skiing, the Fen Lake and Leaf Lake ski trails are packed and groomed on a regular basis. The Minnesing Wilderness Ski Trail is not groomed.

There are three backpacking trails in Algonquin Park. These trails have loops ranging from 4 to 55 miles and permit you to camp for one or more nights in the backcountry.

In addition to its beauty, more than 1,800 scientific papers have been based on research conducted here, making Algonquin the most important single area in Canada for biological research.