Canada150 / en 5 national parks you should visit this year: U of T expert suggests his picks /news/5-national-parks-you-should-visit-year-u-t-expert-suggests-his-picks <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">5 national parks you should visit this year: U of T expert suggests his picks</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Re-sized%20Flickr%20photo%20of%20Kluane%20National%20Park.jpg?h=2fe880c3&amp;itok=feVNOwDS 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Re-sized%20Flickr%20photo%20of%20Kluane%20National%20Park.jpg?h=2fe880c3&amp;itok=FkOdhDQ7 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Re-sized%20Flickr%20photo%20of%20Kluane%20National%20Park.jpg?h=2fe880c3&amp;itok=UGP4IfJS 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Re-sized%20Flickr%20photo%20of%20Kluane%20National%20Park.jpg?h=2fe880c3&amp;itok=feVNOwDS" alt="Photo of Kluane National Park"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-01-05T11:30:23-05:00" title="Thursday, January 5, 2017 - 11:30" class="datetime">Thu, 01/05/2017 - 11:30</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Kluane National Park in southwest Yukon is home to some of the continent's tallest mountains, including Canada's highest peak, Mount Logan (photo by Tim Rains via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/geoffrey-vendeville" hreflang="en">Geoffrey Vendeville</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Geoffrey Vendeville</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parks" hreflang="en">Parks</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/department-ecology-evolutionary-biology" hreflang="en">Department of Ecology &amp; Evolutionary Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/canada150" hreflang="en">Canada150</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">"The parks provide a great opportunity to... see nature and wildlife in Canada, and begin to appreciate it more"</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>There has never been a better time to visit Canada’s national parks, says U of T's<strong> Don Jackson</strong>.</p> <p>In honour of the 150th anniversary of Confederation, admission to the country’s national parks will be free this year –&nbsp;one of the reasons <em>The New York Times</em>&nbsp;just&nbsp;named Canada <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/travel/places-to-visit.html">the premier&nbsp;travel destination for 2017</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Our parks have been well known by Japanese and German tourists,&nbsp;in particular,&nbsp;for a long time&nbsp;but probably overlooked by American tourists who are more familiar with their own national parks,”&nbsp;said Jackson, a professor and chair of U of T's ecology and evolutionary biology department. “Perhaps this <em>New York Times</em> ranking will get more of our southern neighbours coming to visit, exploring and becoming more familiar with Canada in general –&nbsp;which should be a good thing.”</p> <p>A few conservationists <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/conservation-concern-parks-canada-free-entry-2017-1.3918535">have raised concerns</a>, however, that the free passes will lead to the parks being overrun with tourists, endangering wildlife<em>.&nbsp;</em>Although traffic is often a problem for wildlife, it won't be if Parks Canada has enough staff to manage the rush of visitors, Jackson said.</p> <p>And for many Canadians,&nbsp;including newcomers,&nbsp;this is a great chance&nbsp;to see Canada's natural wonders up close for the first time, he said.</p> <p>“The parks provide&nbsp;a great opportunity to see things, be educated by parks staff, see nature and wildlife in Canada&nbsp;and begin to appreciate it more,” Jackson said. “Groups that appreciate it tend to maintain it more.”&nbsp;</p> <h3><strong>In a vast network of 46 national parks, which ones should you visit? Professor Jackson picks his top five</strong></h3> <p><strong>Kluane National Park and Reserve (Yukon)</strong></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3040 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="481" src="/sites/default/files/Kluane%20photo%20by%20Don%20Jackson.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>Jackson says Kluane National Park is a must see (photo by Don Jackson)&nbsp;</em></p> <p>Founded in 1976, Kluane covers 21,980 square kilometres of Canada's Northern Coastal Mountains Natural Region. It's home to some of North America's tallest mountains, including Canada's highest peak, the 5,959-metre Mt. Logan, and the most genetically diverse grizzly population on the continent.&nbsp;</p> <p>Don't miss Kluane National Park, says Jackson.</p> <p>“You're up in a remote area. There are towering mountains and trails, and it's so undeveloped and wild.”&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Gros Morne National Park of Canada (Newfoundland)</strong></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3042 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/Gros%20Morne%20national%20park%20via%20Flickr.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>A view of Western Brook Pond Fjord in Newfoundland's&nbsp;Gros Morne National Park (photo by Newfoundland &amp; Labrador Tourism via Flickr)</em></p> <p>Two different kinds of landscape dominate Gros Morne, a coastal lowland along the Gulf of St. Lawrence and an alpine plateau of the Long Range Mountains.</p> <p>The park's geology has revealed clues about the disappearance and formation of oceans and has contributed to our understanding of plate tectonics.</p> <p>For this reason, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.</p> <p>“It has unique geology, biology and an ocean swept vista,”&nbsp;Jackson said.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Banff and Jasper National Parks (Alberta)</strong></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3041 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/Banff%20National%20Park%20re-sized.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="756" loading="lazy"><br> <em>Banff National Park is&nbsp;the birthplace of Canada's national park system (photo by Tony Fernandez via Flickr)</em></p> <p>Established in 1885, Banff is Canada's first national park and&nbsp;the third national park to be established in North America. It boasts valleys, mountains and glaciers within an area of 6,641 square kilometres.</p> <p>The Lonely Planet travel guide says about Banff and Jasper National Parks:&nbsp;“However you choose to experience the parks, be it through hiking, backcountry skiing, paddling or simply sitting at a lake's edge beneath towering, castle-like mountains, the intensity and scale of these parks will bowl over even the most seasoned traveler.”</p> <p><strong>Pukaskwa National Park (Ontario)</strong></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3046 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="496" src="/sites/default/files/Pukaskwa%20National%20Park%20by%20Troy%20B%20Thompson%20Flickr.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>Pukaskwa National Park&nbsp;is located in northern Ontario (photo by Troy B. Thompson via Flickr)</em></p> <p>The only wilderness national park in Ontario, Pukaskwa spans 1,878 square kilometres of ecosystem&nbsp;including a boreal forest and Lake Superior shoreline.</p> <p>Pukaskwa National Park&nbsp;is a&nbsp;“very wild park,” says Jackson.&nbsp;“It's a rugged area that you can canoe or hike into.”</p> <p><strong>Point Pelee National Park (Ontario)</strong></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3044 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="496" src="/sites/default/files/Point%20Pelee%20National%20Park%20by%20Matej%20Novak%2C%20Flickr.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>Point Pelee National Park, south of Leamington, Ont., is a stopover for migratory birds (photo by Matej Novak via Flickr)&nbsp;</em></p> <p>Although Point Pelee is one of the smallest national parks in the country, it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.</p> <p>Many tourists flock to the area because it is an important migratory stop-over for birds and monarch butterflies. More than 370 species of bird have been recorded in the park.&nbsp;</p> <h3><a href="http://magazine.utoronto.ca/blogs/where-do-you-go-my-lovelies-norah-and-fred-urquhart-monarch-butterfly-migration/">Read about the late Professor Fred Urquhart’s quest to tag and track the monarch butterfly</a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 05 Jan 2017 16:30:23 +0000 geoff.vendeville 103013 at