Parks and Your Health? What’s the connection?

“The greatest wealth is health” - Virgil

For most of us, the pursuit of good health is a life-long quest, but it’s often hard to find the time. Ontario Parks has a solution! We call it “Healthy by Nature” and it focuses on the connection between healthy parks and a healthy population.

Parks have long been places where we take refuge from stress as we renew our mental, physical, social and spiritual health. As more of us live in urban centres, the importance of natural environments becomes more critical to our sense of self-expression and self-fulfillment. Without question, parks provide an ideal place to connect with nature and take time out from the daily pressures of life – offering quiet, solace and rejuvenation. We suspect we’re preaching to the converted – it’s a fact that people who are active in the out-of-doors are more likely to protect this precious environment. So we’re counting on you to help spread the news. Take advantage of the opportunities parks provide for healthy outdoor activities and please support every effort to protect our natural environment.

“There are lots of people in this world who spend so much time watching their health that they haven't the time to enjoy it.”
- Josh Billings

Healthy by Nature: Your Health

Parks come with the instant potential for a wide range of physical activities. Endless possibilities await you just beyond your tent or trailer - a vigorous hike, a sightseeing lakeside paddle, a challenging bicycle trail that leads to a secluded rest spot, just to name a few.

Health-Friendly Park Activities: Biking

As anyone who has adopted a healthy lifestyle can tell you, aerobic exercises like cycling, swimming or fast walking strengthen the heart. Take cycling – from family cycling at parks like Obatanga, Sleeping Giant, Esker Lakes or Pinery to mountain biking at Silent Lake or Algonquin. Cycling exercises the heart better than walking but without the pounding of jogging; and bike travel can be a great way to get out and enjoy a natural landscape.

Consider some of these great biking destinations: Sleeping Giant Provincial Park offers challenges with worthy rewards. Mountain bikers can start at the Kabeyun South Trail Head for an invigorating 7.5 km ride, followed by a hike along Talus Lake Trail to the Top of the Giant Trail. Your reward? Spectacular panoramic views of Silver Islet, Isle Royale and Thunder Bay. Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park offers 6 trails that vary in length and difficulty, some of which lead to views of the Kaministiquia River and the 40-metre falls themselves. Or try cycling Poplar Point Trail – a short, 3 km ride for the whole family. Chutes Provincial Park provides a great way to explore the North Channel of Lake Huron. Follow the Twin Bridges Trail from your campground, along the Aux Sables River to view the stunning “Seven Sisters” waterfalls.

Don’t have a bike, then click here to search for a list of those parks which rent them.

“There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want.”
- Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

If your child is about to learn how to ride a bike, you’ll find this website very helpful.

Healthy by Nature: Your Family

Ontario’s provincial parks are the perfect destination for activities and experiences that make for ever-lasting memories. They offer something out-of-the-ordinary and they provide positive, relationship-building opportunities like few others can. From seeing a moose or the dazzling Northern Lights to that “I’ll-never-forget-how-scared-we-were ghost story” at bedtime - each sets the stage for an addictive habit that pays lifelong dividends.

Aside from the countless adventures you can have as a camping family, did you know that many of our provincial parks offer even more with your overnight stay? Blue Lake –northwest of Dryden – provides families with a complete Natural Heritage Education Program including special events, themed educational programs and hikes that explore everything from flora and fauna to reptiles and amphibians.

In fact, over 40 of our parks offer informal educational programs throughout July and August – free of charge to kids 6 -12 – providing an opportunity to get hands-on and interactive with Mother Nature herself. From the thrill of participating in a wolf howl at Algonquin to paddling a voyageur canoe in Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park; from assisting park naturalists at Presqu’ile – tagging the wings of Monarch butterflies before they start their annual migration to Mexico to getting a glimpse into the lifestyle of yesterday’s rugged timber men as you visit the White Pine Logging Camp at Marten River.

You’ll want to check our Special Events listings and more than once, because they are updated regularly.

At the end of the day, you and your family will have gotten outside, learned something about our rich heritage and gained a better appreciation for the bounty we share. Little wonder we want to preserve it.

You’ll also want to check ontariooutdoor.com events

“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.” - B.K.S. Iyengar

Healthy by Nature: Your Soul

Spending time in nature provides something that is not available anywhere else. The concept of silence, of having personal space, of taking the time to stop and smell something even better than roses – Ontario Parks can rekindle your sense of wonder and make you feel more alive. Parks offer you the ideal place to connect with nature and to lose the claustrophobic sensation of being trapped in normal routine. Pick your natural setting and make your own space – meditation and thoughtful reflection await while activities like walking, canoeing or even yoga atop a sun-warmed boulder add to the overall experience.

Our Aboriginal peoples were the first to value the power of nature to enhance and heal the human spirit. They knew, as we now know ... spending time in the out-of-doors is essential to our well-being.

Healthy by Nature: Your Community

Parks are not entities unto themselves. The communities they border are part of the picture and each supports the other. Think of these areas as nature-loving neighbours – they rely on park visitors to support their economic well-being and are fiercely supportive of the natural beauty of their collective community. Be sure to include these areas in your visits to parks. Each park’s overall health is, in part, reliant on the proximity of these good neighbours who help to protect them. Your support of these surrounding communities and what they offer is integral to the spirit of Healthy by Nature.

A good neighbour policy

Any of our parks is well worth the trip, but unexpected pleasures dot the horizon beyond your immediate camping spot. Pick your park. But before you go, do a little homework to see where else your trip can take you. For example, Greenwater Provincial Park is next door to Cochrane’s famed Polar Bear Habitat and Heritage Village – where you can swim with real polar bears or take in a snowmobile museum. Or Fairbank Provincial Park near Sudbury is notable for Science North – an award-winning science centre. Anyone who’s a regular at Kakabeka Falls or Sleeping Giant is tuned into Fort William in Thunder Bay with its historical park featuring fur trade exhibits and re-enactments of life in the early 1800’s. Or visit an amethyst mine and bring home some purple jewels to call your own. Include the Thunder Bay Art Gallery on your list – it features the work of contemporary First Nations artists. As the north has always been a source of inspiration to so many of the world’s greatest artists – your trip would not be complete without detours to the Art Gallery of Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie or the Art Gallery of Sudbury. And the Soo’s Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre offers a historical glimpse into the world of some of Canada’s greatest heroes – bush pilots and firefighters alike – and the equipment they used to tame the land that couldn’t be reached on foot. Unexpected treasures dot the map along your way.

Call 1 800 ONTARIO or visit ontariotravel.net for a run-down of what’s nearby and fun-to-do in your park’s immediate neighbourhood.

“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.” - Spanish Proverb

Healthy by Nature: Your Environment

Parks preserve elements of our environment that are fast-changing, if not disappearing altogether – protecting wildlife habitat and ensuring ongoing ecological diversity. Can you believe that some kids have never seen or experienced some of the natural splendours that await them in our parks? If it wasn’t for the existence of this irreplaceable natural resource they might never experience what you have already come to cherish.

Species at Risk

The thrill of encountering a wild animal in its natural habitat is offset by the realization that, unless we’re careful, this experience may become a rarity for your children. Ontario’s provincial parks protect distinctive and representative natural habitats and landscapes which are home to fish, insects, plants and animals. With your help, we can help to maintain the old-growth forests, scenic coastlines, sparkling lakes and age-old bogs that help support all species – not just those at risk.

The Return of the Peregrine

You can’t hear enough restoration success stories, but the Peregrine falcon is especially endearing as it's one we’ve been involved in since the 1970s. In fact, 500 captive-raised young Peregrines were released between 1977 and 1996 and, since then, have been successfully bred in 4 known sites in the Superior area. The Peregrine is a large falcon, whose scientific name means “wandering falcon”. Monitoring and banding programs have helped to track the status of the Peregrine falcon, leading to its re-classification in 2006, from ‘endangered’ to the more hopeful ‘threatened’ status in Ontario. Next time you’re near the high cliffs in parks like Lake Superior and Sleeping Giant, look up – you might see protection in action.

Web cam of Peregrine falcons

More about the Peregrine falcon

Share Your Memories

Ontario Parks’ Insiders savour their outdoor adventures more than most. Reminisce with all of us – we’ll proudly publish your special experience in a future issue of the Insider. E-mail your best story or photo today – a favourite destination, a special moment with nature or the funniest photo ever. You’ll be entered – instantly – into a monthly draw for your chance to win some great parks-related prizes!

"Every September my family camps at beautiful Agawa Bay. Here we have made many memories like the ones in these photos." - Dale Lantzer from Kalkaska Mi.