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Riding
Mountain National Park
Forming
part of the Manitoba Escarpment, Riding Mountain National
Park is situated at the crossroads where habitats characteristic
of eastern, western, and northern Canada meet and mingle in
a diverse pattern of forest and grasslands, hills and valleys.
It offers the greatest mix of wildlife and plants in southwestern
Manitoba, including 60 species of mammals and 260 species
of birds. It also features a captive bison herd and some of
the highest concentrations of moose and elk in the area.
Visitor
activities include camping, boating, swimming, scuba diving,
fishing, wildlife viewing, bicycling, horseback riding, guided
hikes and interpretive programs, junior naturalist program,
golfing, tennis, and cross-country skiing. Park features 400
km of hiking, biking, and horse trails.
Location:
Highway 10 connects Brandon, 95 km to the south, with Wasagaming
(the park's visitor services center) and continues to Dauphin,
13 km beyond the park's northern border. From the east, Highway
19 enters the park through the scenic escarpment region.
Wasagaming,
Manitoba Canada
Tel: 204-848-7275
Forillon
National Park
Forillon
takes in a narrow, mountainous peninsula that extends into
the Gulf of St. Lawrence and marks the eastern end of the
Appalachian mountain chain. Even though forest covers 95%
of the park's land area, Forillon is noted for the diversity
of its plant life, which can be partially attributed to the
presence of 10 separate ecosystems. The park's 696 plant species
include botanical communities such as the arctic-alpine flora
of the cliffs, the plants of the salt marsh, and the vegetation
of the dunes. More than 225 nesting and visiting species of
land birds have been observed in the park, as well as grey
seals and harbor seals, porpoises and dolphins, 7 species
of whales, and several species of land mammals. The peninsula's
prominent feature is the lighthouse at Pointe-au-Pere National
Historic Site, which rises 30 meters above the St. Lawrence,
guiding navigators past the formidable headland.
Camping,
hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, fishing, swimming, sea
kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, wildlife viewing (including
whale watching cruise), cross-country skiing, snowshoeing,
dogsledding, snowmobiling (limited), interpretive programs.
Location:
Forillon National Park is located at the eastern tip of the
Gaspé Peninsula, accessible via Highway 132.
Gaspé,
Quebec Canada
Tel: 418-368-5505
Grasslands
National Park
One of
the largest pieces of virtually undisturbed mixed-grass prairie
in North America, park supports a wide range of fauna, including
species rarely found elsewhere in the country. Park is located
on the site where Sir George Mercier Dawson made the first
recorded discovery of dinosaur remains in 1874 and where Sitting
Bull and his Sioux followers took refuge from the U.S. Army
after the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.
Visitor
activities include primitive camping, hiking, bicycling, horseback
riding, bird watching, wildlife viewing, cross-country skiing,
nature photography, auto touring, and interpretive programs
(limited).
Location:
Grasslands National Park is located in southwestern Saskatchewan
near the Saskatchewan-Montana border. The park's West Block
centers on the Frenchman River Valley and can be accessed
near the village of Val Marie (1.5-hour drive south of Swift
Current) on Highway. 4. The park's East Block centers on the
Killdeer Badlands and can be accessed near the town of Wood
Mountain on Highway 18.
Val Marie,
Saskatchewan Canada
Tel: 306-298-2257
Wapusk
National Park
Park includes
one of the largest known polar bear maternity denning sites
in the world and vital habitat for hundreds of thousands of
waterfowl and shorebirds that nest along the coast of Hudson
Bay or gather and feed there during annual migrations. Traditional
land use by aboriginal and other local users includes gathering
of berries, deadwood, flowers and other natural products for
domestic purposes, as well as trapping and hunting caribou
for domestic consumption.
The best
way to safely see the park is through the commercial tour
operators who are authorized to provide escort and guiding
services in Wapusk. Only experienced wilderness travelers
should consider visiting the park independently.
Location:
One of the wildest and most remote of Canadian landscapes,
Wapusk National Park is located in the northeast corner of
Manitoba on the shores of Hudson Bay. Park stretches south
and inland along Hudson Bay towards the Nelson River. Boundary
lies 45 km southeast of the town of Churchill.
Churchill,
Manitoba Canada
Tel: 204-675-8863
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