Canada Trip.co.uk

Like all good places for people to visit, there is always a Visitor Centre, and naturally, Algonquin Provincial Park is no exception. Located at km 43′s marker, Algonquin Visitor Centre is there to help you gain a little more understanding about the history and ecology of the park. No visit to Algonquin Provincial Park would be complete without a stop at the Visitor Centre at Km 43, opened in 1993 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Algonquin Park and the entire Ontario provincial park system.

The Visitor Centre has world class exhibits on the Park’s natural and cultural history, a relaxing restaurant, an excellent bookstore, and “The Algonquin Room” featuring ongoing exhibitions of Algonquin art. A theatre presentation sums up the Park story and then takes you out to the viewing deck from where you can admire a breathtaking panorama of wild Algonquin landscape.

Look out for the large sign by the side of the road indicating you have arrived and head up the road to the centre. Its a longer road than i first expected but you’re there sooner than you know. When we went the car park was only half full, so it seemed that it had plenty of parking – though i would imagine at some points in the year the car park may get rather busy! Remember if you’re going to park up anywhere in Algonquin Provincial Park or do any of the trails, you’ll need to pull up at the gates (big buildings just off the side of the road either end of Highway 60) and go in to get a Permit. These are $15.00 currently but the rates do change depending on the time of year, so remember to check out their website (linked at the bottom of the article!).

As you walk through the doors you’ll be in an open area with a large map in front of you showing the whole of the park. To your right is the public toilets, a shop and the cafe. To the left, there is the Theatre and the start of the short walk around the exhibits. The walk around exhibit trail is well worth having a look at, especially if you have kids with you, it includes interactive buttons and sounds so they can explore while playing.
The walk around includes exhibits showing how plants interact with each other, as well as how the animals that also live within the park interact with those plants. It’s pretty comprehensive in its approach, it explains from the very smallest plants through to moose, bears and wolves – as well as not forgetting Algonquin’s 1000s of lakes and what happens within and around its waterways.

Along with depictions of nature by having full sized, real stuffed animals on display in the exhibits, the walk around also explains how man has had an effect on the park – from its beginnings and the First Nations, through to the railways, tourism and conservation that has gone on in the park.

Due to the varying flow of visitors, the visitor centre has varying opening hours:

• April 24 to June 24, 2010: Daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• pril 24 to June 24, 2010: Daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• June 25 to September 5, 2010: Daily 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• September 6 to October 11, 2010: Daily 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• October 12 to October 31, 2010: Daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• November 6 to December 19, 2010: Weekends 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• December 27, 2010 to January 2, 2011: Daily 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• January 8 to January 30, 2011: Weekends 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• February 5 to February 13, 2011: Weekends 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• February 19 to February 21, 2011 [Family Day Holiday Weekend]: Daily 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• February 26 to March 6, 2011: Weekends 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

So, finally.. If you’re in the park, please don’t forget to go visit the visitor centre, even if it is just to park up and relax a little in the restaurant, or to take a look round their well thought out exhibits its not something to miss out on.
For an up to date list of park visitor centre’s opening hours click here, and for more articles on Algonquin park here on Canada Trip take a look by clicking here
For all other information, including permit costs and practical advice for trails, as well as information on all the most recent events you’ll also be interested in looking at Algonquin Park’s main website.

View Larger Map

Share on Facebook

This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 9:10 am and is filed under Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.