Winter wildlife in Algonquin Provincial Park

It’s a big place – about 7653 square kilometres! That’s bigger than Prince Edward Island. There are over 2,400 lakes and 1,200 kilometres of streams and rivers running through the park. Highway 60 runs through the southern end for 56 kilometres, and the Trans-Canada Highway bypasses it to the north, but the only way to explore the area is by canoe or on foot. Snowshoes are a good idea in the winter.

I havn’t visited Algonquin Park for a while now (I once fell out of a canoe there), so when by buddies Alex and Judy told me about their recent trip I was all ears. Judy Eberspaecher is a self-confessed “bird brain” and both are excellent photographers and story-tellers.

“We were everywhere that roads were cleared – Opeongo, Spruce Bog, Boardwalk, Mew Lake and the moose (2) were along the highway. We stopped for at least 10 minutes and they just kept munching on dry branches. The Pine marten is a beautiful animal but I wouldn’t want to touch him, although he wouldn’t stay around to be touched. I hadn’t seen Evening Grosbeaks for about eight years so that was the one bird I wanted.”

Algonquin Provincial Park is a four-season destination. There is plenty to do there at any time of year, especially if you’re interested in wildlife. Check out the Friends of Algonquin Park website as well as the official Ontario Parks website. Jeffrey McMurtrie’s maps of the park are insightful and free to download.

More about the Canadian moose – be careful on the highways! Muskoka near Algonquin Park and Ontario Parks 2010.

All pictures on this page are courtesy of Judy Eberspaecher. Thanks for the tales Judy.