Quetico Provincial Park

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Glacial striations on bedrock in Quetico Provincial Park

Location of Quetico Provincial Park

Quetico Provincial Park is a large wilderness park in northwestern Ontario, Canada, renowned for its excellent canoeing and fishing. This 4,760 square km (1.18 million acre) park shares its southern border with Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness which is part of the larger Superior National Forest. These large wilderness parks are often collectively referred to as simply the Boundary Waters.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Regulations
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Geography

The park includes over 2,000 unofficial, unimproved wilderness campsites spread throughout more than 600 lakes. Canoeists require permit reservations and may only enter the Quetico via six Ranger Stations which serve 21 specific entry points. It is possible to drive to three of these Ranger Stations: Dawson Trail, Atikokan, Lac La Croix. One must portage and paddle to Beaverhouse, and paddle or take a tow from an outfitter to Cache Bay or Prairie Portage. Drive-in camping is available only at the Dawson Trail campground; yurt camping is available in this campground.

[edit] History

Quetico Provincial Park was created in 1913, although road access wasn't built until 1954. The park has been completely protected from logging since 1971. Motor vehicles, including boats, were banned in the Quetico in 1979, with the exception of the Lac La Croix Guides Association, part of the Lac La Croix First Nation, which is allowed to operate power boats with engine no more than 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) on Quetico, Beaverhouse, Wolseley, Tanner, Minn and McAree Lakes. The official plan (Agreement of Coexistence) is to phase out motorized guiding activities by the Lac La Croix First Nation in Quetico Provincial Park through simple attrition by the year 2015.

[edit] Regulations

As Quetico is a wilderness park there are restrictions that users must be aware of. Group size may not exceed 9 members. Containers of fuel, insect repellant, medicines, personal toilet articles and other items that are not food or beverage are the only cans or bottles that may be brought into Quetico. Non-burnable, disposable food and beverage containers are not allowed. Mechanized devices such as power saws, generators, ice augers, or portage wheels are prohibited. It is furthermore illegal to damage live trees and other plants.

In 2007 barbed hooks and live bait will be banned from use in the park. Lead-based tackle will continue to be allowed due to the lack of scientific data justifing any ban on its use.