Browse "Parks & Nature Reserves"

Located some 45 km east of Flin Flon, Grass River Provincial Park (established 1963, 2289.63 km2) straddles 2 of Manitoba's natural regions (Boreal Plains and Boreal Shield).

   A 1981 agreement between the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan provided for the future establishment of Grasslands National Park, which will eventually encompass 906.4 km2. More than 60% of the lands required for the park have already been acquired on a "willing-seller willing-buyer" basis.

In 1970, an agreement was signed to establish Gros Morne National Park (1805 km2) on the west coast of Newfoundland. In 1987 Gros Morne National Park was designated a United Nations World Heritage Site because of its glacial and geologic history.

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is located in the southern Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland. Created in 2003 and formally established in 2010, the park encompasses 36 km2 of land and 26 km2 of adjacent waters.

Near the south end of Lake WINNIPEG some 160 km north of Winnipeg is Hecla Provincial Park (established 1969, 865.4 km2).

Nestled among the West Isles in the Bay of Fundy is New Brunswick's Campobello Island, the home of Herring Cove Provincial Park (established 1959, 424 ha).

Initially known as Northern Yukon National Park, it was given an Inuvialuit name in 1992. Ivvavik means "place of giving birth and raising young" in reference to the Porcupine Caribou herd that has its calving grounds along the Beaufort Sea coast.

Jasper National Park is a protected area located in the Rocky Mountains, about 370 km west of Edmonton, Alberta. Established in 1907, it was the fifth national park created in Canada. It’s also one of seven parks in the Rocky Mountains that make up the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage site (the others are Yoho, Banff and Kootenay national parks, and Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks). Among the reasons for the UNESCO designation are the parks’ mountain landscapes, complete with waterfalls, canyons and glaciers, including those found in the Columbia Icefield.

The wildlife is diverse. The park's marshes, bogs and shallow lakes support more species of reptiles and amphibians than occur anywhere else in Atlantic Canada, including such rarities as the ribbon snake and Blanding's turtle.

Natural History The park's most striking feature is a series of rock ridges consisting mostly of white quartzite. These large, rounded hills are the remains of the La Cloche range, a ring of Precambrian mountains that once towered higher than the present-day Rockies.

Kluane National Park and Reserve (est 1972, 22 013.3 km2) is an area of unclimbed peaks, vast ice fields, clear lakes, glaciers and spectacular wildlife.

Kootenay National Park (established 1920, 1406.4 km2) is located on the west slope of the Continental Divide. The park, stretching north and south for 104 km, is bounded on the east by Banff and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park on the north by Yoho National Park.

Piping plovers, an endangered species, and common terns nest on the beaches and barrier islands. Striped bass spawn in the estuaries. Much of the park has been logged and farmed in the past, and accordingly, much of the forest is in an early successional stage.

La Mauricie National Park (est 1977, 536.1 km2), first set aside in 1970, is situated about 220 km northeast of Montréal.

Natural History Pink granitic hills and boulders dominate the landscape but lavas are found near Cape Gargantua and sandstones on the offshore islands. The mixed forest of maple, birch, poplar and spruce produces a magnificent display of colour in autumn.

A landscape of forests and lakes, Lakeland Provincial Park (established 1992, 147 km2) is located east of LAC LA BICHE about 250 km northeast of Edmonton.

Natural History Prevailing winds aided by major storms have produced some of the finest beaches in the province. Named after the Duke of DEVONSHIRE, who visited the area in 1920, Devonshire beach is popular for swimming, wind surfing and sand castle competitions.

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park (est 1922, 386 km 2 ) is an area of mountain peaks, alpine meadows and lakes dominated by Mount ASSINIBOINE (about 35 km south of BANFF , Alberta). The park, which is mainly above 1500 m,

New Brunswick's largest PROVINCIAL PARK, Mount Carleton Provincial Park (established 1970, 174.27 km2), features forests and abundant wildlife.

Mount Edziza Provincial Park (est 1972, 2300 km 2 ha) comprises part of the Tahltan Highlands, between the Stikine and Iskut rivers in BC. The nearest community is Telegraph Creek, 20 km northwest of the park.