Long Point Provincial Park is a
provincial park
Ischigualasto Provincial Park
A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...
on the northwest shore of
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
near
Port Rowan
Port Rowan is a town in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Erie, adjacent to Long Point. The lakeside community has a population of fewer than 1500 people and sports a number of traditional small businesses such as Twin's Ice ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The park is part of a sandy
spit of land called
Long Point that juts out into the lake. It covers part of the area of
Long Point Biosphere Reserve
The Long Point Biosphere Reserve is located in southern Canada on the shores of Lake Erie in Norfolk County. The area encompasses a rich mosaic of ecological systems associated with erosion deposit sand spit formations around the Laurentian Gre ...
, which was designated a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Biosphere Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
because of its biological significance.
Summary
Long Point Provincial Park is famous for its migrating birds during spring and fall, and attracts thousands of
birdwatcher
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
s. There have been 383 different species recorded on Long Point. Many different types of
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
s and
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s are a common sight during the summer season. The park is within the most significant part of the core range of the
Fowler's toad
Fowler's toad (''Anaxyrus fowleri'') is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The species is native to North America, where it occurs in much of the eastern United States and parts of adjacent Canada. It was previously considered a subspec ...
(''Anaxyrus fowleri''). This species of toad is designated as a threatened species within Ontario and Canada by the
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC, French: Comité sur la situation des espèces en péril au Canada, COSEPAC) is an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists whose "raison d'être is to identify s ...
.
There are two parts to the park, the "Old Park" (also known as ''Cottonwood Campground''), which is a small chunk of land surrounded by cottages that contains about eighty camp sites; it just recently got showers and comfort stations (washroom). The other section is the "new park", which contains ''Firefly'', ''Monarch's Rest'' and ''Turtle Dunes'' Campgrounds as well as a boat launch and many good views of the marshes and Long Point Bay. It is larger and more spread than the old park and about a kilometre further down Long Point.
In total, Long Point Provincial park has 256 camp sites including 78 electrical sites located in Firefly Campground. The beach is easily accessible from all four campgrounds.
See also
*
List of Ontario Parks
This is a list of protected areas of Ontario that are administered by Government of Ontario. Ontario Parks and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks are the provincial bodies responsible for managing these protected areas.
...
*
Bird Studies Canada
Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada) is Canada's national bird Conservation movement, conservation organization. Birds Canada began as the ''Long Point Bird Observatory'' in 1960, changing its name in 1998 to reflect the growing national ...
References
External links
*
The Long Point Bird Observatory
{{Authority control
Protected areas of Norfolk County, Ontario
Provincial parks of Ontario
Protected areas established in 1921
1921 establishments in Ontario
Campsites in Canada