Birds Hill Provincial Park

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Birds Hill Provincial Park is a provincial park in Manitoba, Canada. It is located 24 kilometres north of Winnipeg on Highway 59, ( 50°01′01″N, 96°53′01″W) and covers approximately 8300 acres (35.1 square kilometres). The area (and park) is named after Dr. Curtis Bird, first speaker of the Manitoba provincial legislature in 1870, whose father had been a factor in the Hudson's Bay Company. Since the area is higher than the surrounding terrain, what is now Birds Hill Park served early settlers as a refuge from flooding in the years 1826 and 1852. It is part of the RM of Springfield.

Birds Hill Park overlooking lake. The provincial park features a mixture of aspen and oak forest with open prairie, spruce, and bog areas.

1 Overview
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Overview

Picnic area beside lake at Birds Hill Provincial Park .

The park has a large campground, a horse stable, and many trails designed for hiking, biking and horseback riding. An artificial lake of approximately 80 acres (30 ha) with four miles of shoreline supports swimming and water recreation.

Cedar bog self-guiding trail winds through an aspen forest in the park to decend into a bog of eastern white cedar. Cedar bogs are rare in Manitoba.

The park was formed from land expropriated from 150 local landowners in 1964. The official opening date was marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony by Manitoba premier Duff Roblin on July 15, 1967.

Every July since 1974, the park has been the site of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. In September of 1984, the park hosted Pope John Paul II during his visit to Manitoba.

The north section of the park is designated as a wilderness area, with no development of any kind. Most of the park once formed an island and shorelines at the end of the last ice age. The soil is very sandy, and the area has many stunted oak trees. There are many gravel pits that surround the park. Birds Hill Park provides one of the largest concentrations of white tailed deer in North America.

The park contains a small cemetery where many of the early settlers of the area are buried.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Aileen Kraushar et al, "Springfield 1st Rural Municipality in Manitoba 1873-1973", Dugald Women's Institute, Dugald Manitoba Canada 1974, ISBN 0-919212-40-9

Manitoba park information