How to - Family camping at its best

Ontario Parks Insider

Ontario Parks offers an incredible variety of experiences in some of the most spectacular landscapes. Many of these places are a short hike from the campground and can easily be enjoyed by all. However, if you are like Paul Plant, a family man and avid park user, you know that many of the crown jewels lie in the backcountry. The young and adventurous might just grab some hot dogs and a canoe, but if you are like Paul and your family is involved, making the leap from car to wilderness camping is a strategic process. Ontario Parks sat down with Paul to discuss how he and his wife successfully planned and survived a wilderness family vacation with their teenage daughters.

OP: How did you get started?

Paul: “We have two daughters and we started car camping at Silent Lake with friends of ours who have three daughters around the same age. We started with short trips and slowly stayed longer as the kids grew older and gained more camping experience. Eventually we progressed to a five-day canoe trip in Killarney and then an eleven day trip down the Spanish River.”

OP: How did you get to the point where you knew you could do a backcountry family trip?

Paul: “It was really just a matter of time. Both families knew the value of going on a wilderness trip and the more we camped together the closer we got to planning a bigger trip. It helped that the kids were out of diapers.”

OP: Any convincing needed to get the kids along?

Paul: “No. The kids were keen to go. It was like one big sleepover for them. They all slept in one big tent. We also involved them in the planning process. Talked about what kinds of things they want to see and do as we went over the maps.”

OP: Any special considerations that you needed to take?

Paul: “Not really. We began stressing the need to be a minimalist while we were still car camping. Packing less and less gear and clothing helped practice light weight camping.”

OP: Any words of wisdom for someone looking to make the leap with their family?

Paul: “Make it fun and comfortable for the kids. If you do that then they will want to keep doing it. Be prepared and don’t try to push long days. Our kids had just as much fun playing cards and goofing around the campsite. Give them time to enjoy what they want and as they get older they will appreciate the other aspects of being in the wilderness.”

View images of the trip
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Featured Park - Missinaibi & Thunderhouse Falls

Ontario Parks Insider

Missinaibi River represents one of the longest free flowing rivers in Ontario (350 kilometres), travelling north from Missinaibi Lake in the Chapleau Game Preserve and flowing all the way to Moosenee on the James Bay coast after joining the Moose River. It is protected for the most part by Ontario Parks’ Missinaibi River Waterway Park. Missinaibi is a paddler’s dream trip, with some of the most scenic spots in the province to check out along the way – including the mystic Thunderhouse Falls.

Thunderhouse Falls is one of the most acclaimed attractions in Ontario’s north. Its sheer beauty is outstanding and its geological significance happens to mark the dropping off point for the Canadian Shield into the Hudson Bay Lowlands, plunging a total of 60 metres in elevation. Ecologically speaking, it’s also the transition zone between the rich boreal forest of Shield country to the muskeg and black spruce of the James Bay Lowlands. It was also a common meeting place, a rendezvous point for Moose Factory rivermen and the interior fur traders travelling north from Lake Superior.

Beyond all that, Thunderhouse Falls has been treasured for hundreds of years by Native shamans for its spiritual significance. Below the 15-metre granite gorge a rock pinnacle, titled Conjuring House Rock, has been the prayer site for both the James Bay Cree to the north and Ojibway to the south. One glance at this momentous feature of rock and you’ll know why ancient ceremonies were held here and that the spirit presence at Thunderhouse Falls is still very strong today.

Getting There
Located on the section of river north of highway 11, Thunderhouse Falls is 2 – 3 day paddle from the town of Mattice. There are a few outfitters who can help you plan your trip or guide you there:
Missinabi Outfitters
Wanapitei CANOE

Short on time? Take a floatplane in for the day to see the falls - http://www.hearstair.com

Inside Ontario Parks - Voyage of the Pelican

Ontario Parks Insider

Not since Columbus sailed in 1492 has North America witnessed such widespread colonization as is happening today. The difference today, however, is that the colonists are American White Pelicans and they are from as far away as North Dakota, not Spain. One mustn’t let these facts diminish the intrigue of this movement, for it really is quite fascinating.

Well known in cartoon form as a tropical bird that can carry water, fish and other items in its bill, it comes as a surprise to many that American White Pelicans are a threatened species in Ontario. It seems the pelicans are aware of this and are working to increase their profile, at least in Ontario. American White Pelican numbers have been on the rise in the province since 2004. What is unique about their growth in numbers is that it has come from an increase in new colonies instead of existing colony growth. These new populations are being discovered all over the province, even as far north as James Bay, which is a first for this species. According to Matt Reudink, a postdoctoral researcher with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources at Trent University, one theory is that the new colonies spawned from a massive pelican decampment in North Dakota that witnessed a whopping 40% of the colony disappear.

The question for researchers in Ontario now is who came from where? To get an answer they are set to begin fly-by surveys of nesting sites followed up by site visits to collect feathers for genetic and biogeochemical testing. This is where you can get involved. Volunteers are needed to help out with the site visits in Lake of the Woods Provincial Park at the end of the summer. This region is home to the fifth largest colony on the continent and is where the majority of the volunteers are required. An added bonus to anyone who signs up is that pelicans tend to choose island beach sites to nest, and who doesn’t want to spend their summer days on a beach?

Check out www.ontariopelicans.com

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Ontario Parks Insider

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