As the cold weather hits, opportunities to view a stunning array of fall colours are popping up around the province.
Ontario Parks is committed to making our parks as accessible as possible for visitors. If you’re planning a trip, we’ve rounded up a list of parks with accessibility features that are perfect for viewing the beauty of fall.
Thirty years ago, Atikokan resident and paralympic gold medalist Tom Hainey historically swam across the entire length of Quetico Provincial Park in the Breaking the Barrier Swim.
This swim honoured Tom Hainey’s mother and long-time Quetico employee, Sheila Hainey, who had recently passed away in a car crash.
This year on August 12, a gathering will be held at Quetico’s Dawson Trail Campground to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tom Hainey’s swim and the dedication of a barrier-free boardwalk to his mother Sheila.
Continue reading Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Breaking the Barrier
Wasaga Beach Provincial Park is the busiest provincial park in the province, receiving over 1.5 million visitors every year!
Home to the world’s longest freshwater beach, Wasaga boasts 14 km of pristine sand, making it a “hot spot” for summer activity.
We want everyone to be able to enjoy a visit to the beach. Here’s a list of our accessible features and where to find them in our park!
Continue reading Accessibility at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park
Tucked away in a corner of Killbear Provincial Park is a special spot: the Twin Points Trail.
With windswept pines, rugged rocks, and a plethora of wildlife, this is the perfect place to fully absorb the beauty of Georgian Bay.
This natural gem has captured the hearts of many, including one special nature-lover: Teresa Daw.
She made a lasting contribution to help more people access the trail than ever before.
Continue reading Improving access to Twin Points Trail at Killbear
In today’s post, Patricia Pyrka and her son Finnan share their 2018 visit to Arrowhead Provincial Park.
When you love the outdoors and have a child in a wheelchair, things tend to get a bit more complicated.
So complicated that for the first seven years of my son’s life, we never went on hikes. Winter outings were completely off my radar – try to get big and small thin wheels through snow!
At some point, I had had enough. I decided I did want to take my son out into nature. I wanted him to experience places he had never been to before, and share with him what I loved so much: quiet nature, deep forests, mountaintops, rough terrain trails, and changing weather conditions.
A day on the beach is an essential Ontario Parks experience. There’s almost nothing better than soaking in the sun, relaxing on the sand, or playing in the water with friends and family.
This summer, John Cairns, from the Wheelchair of Hope Foundation, helped make this possible for all North Beach Provincial Park visitors through the donation of two wheelchair-accessible Mobi-Mats.
Continue reading Improving accessibility at North Beach Provincial Park
Beaches can be an accessibility challenge for park visitors using walkers or wheelchairs. Because of the soft sand, wheels and legs of walkers can sink in, making them tough to maneuver.
As a part of our commitment to making parks as accessible as possible, more parks are offering beach accessibility measures to help visitors explore our shorelines.
Here at Ontario Parks, we believe that camping is for everyone.
This is why we want to make our parks as accessible as possible by identifying potential barriers, and creating a plan to remove them.
Highlights of a trip to Bonnechere Provincial Park often include visiting the beach and taking a dip in the sparkling waters of Round Lake.
Until recently, enjoying these and other activities in the park could be challenging for those using a wheelchair or walker.
This past year, as part of Ontario Parks’ commitment to making our parks as accessible as possible, Bonnechere staff surveyed the park and after identifying potential barriers, put together a plan to remove them. Continue reading Barrier-free Bonnechere
