Porcupine Hills Provincial Park is the newest

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 t ...

in the Canadian Province of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. It was created in 2018 through the amalgamation of five pre-existing provincial recreation sites south-east of the town of Hudson Bay. The park is in the

Porcupine Provincial Forest The Porcupine Provincial Forest is a protected boreal forest in Canada which covers the Porcupine Hills on the border of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. __TOC__ History By the end of the 19th century, Eastern Canada had essentially run out of marke ...

in the

Porcupine Hills The Porcupine Hills refer to various groups of hills and uplands located in the prairie provinces of Canada, specifically the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They are part of the Manitoba Escarpment, which was the shoreline of the anci ...

, which is a geographical feature in eastern Saskatchewan and western

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

. The hills are part of a range of hills called the

Manitoba Escarpment The Manitoba Escarpment, or the Western Manitoba Uplands, are a range of hills along the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border. The eastern slopes of the range are considered to be a scarp. They were created by glacial scouring and formed the western s ...

. Initial consultation for the creating of the park began in 2011 with local First Nations, Métis people, and other stakeholders to share information, identify concerns, and come up with a name. ''Porcupine Hills Provincial Park'' was the overwhelmingly favourite choice. The park's total area is 29,800 hectares (73,637 acres) and is composed of five previously existing recreation parks that were divided between two blocks. The original names for these blocks were Woody River Block and McBride Lake Block. After the creation of the park, these blocks were renamed East Block and West Block with new names to be determined at a later date. The East and West Blocks are quite different in landscape and cultural features with the West Block consisting of open

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s mixed

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

, and

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce ('' Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * '' Picea engelmannii'', native to the ...

while the East Block is covered in dense

evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, Live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zo ...

s and lakes. The East Block has several campgrounds, a year-round lodge, and a cottage subdivision while the West Block has two campgrounds and three cottage subdivisions. Four of the five original recreation parks are in the West Block. The Woody River Recreation Site plus additional Crown land makes up the East Block.

West Block (McBride Lake Block)

The West Block is composed of four separate recreation sites. *McBride Lake Recreation Site () is on the northern shore of McBride Lake and has a campground with 51 campsites. The site is accessed from Highway 983. *Pepaw Lake Recreation Site () is on the eastern shore of Pepaw Lake and is accessed from Highway 982. The site has lake access with a dock, a picnic area, and a 7.4 kilometre loop trail around the lake. *Parr Hill Lake Recreation Site () is on the north-eastern corner of Parr Hill Lake, just north of Swan River. It is accessed from Highway 982 and features a small campground with 12 campsites, a dock, fish cleaning station, and a picnic area with a shelter. *Saginas Lake Recreation Site () is located on the north-eastern corner of Saginas Lake, right beside

Pepaw River Pepaw River, also spelt ''Peepaw'', is a river in the east-central part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada. It begins in the Porcupine Hills and flows northward and meets up with the Etomami River ...

. Highway 982 runs along the east side of the site. The site features a small campground, dock, fish cleaning station, beach, and washrooms. It was formally part of

Hudson Bay Regional Park Hudson Bay Regional Park is a regional park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located on the south side of the town of Hudson Bay in the RM of Hudson Bay No. 394 along the shores of the Red Deer River. The park is the site of a ...

East Block (Woody River Block)

Woody River Recreation Site () consists of separate parcels of land plus additional Crown land centred around several lakes, Woody River, and Midnight Creek in the Porcupine Hills. Access is from Highway 980, which connects all of the lakes and amenities in the park, and by snowmobile. When travelling by snowmobile from the town of Hudson Bay, there are two warm-up shelters along the way. Accessible lakes within the East Block include Isbister,

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

, Smallfish, Woody,

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...

, and

Townsend Townsend (pronounced tounʹ-zənd) or Townshend may refer to: Places United States *Camp Townsend, National Guard training base in Peekskill, New York *Townsend, Delaware *Townsend, Georgia *Townsend, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Townsend ...

. All six lakes have boat access and fish commonly found in the lakes include

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

, and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

. Campsites and picnic areas exist at Spirit, Isbister, Smallfish, and Townsend Lakes. A rough ATV trail begins at the Spirit Lake Campground and heads north-east past Spirit Mountain and goes to

Armit Lake Armit is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Barney Armit (1874–1899), New Zealand international rugby union player * Chris Armit (born 1983), Australian rugby league player * Peter Armit (died 2013), Scottish footballer * Willia ...

, which is the largest lake in the Porcupine Hills. Rental cabins are available within the park at Moose Range Lodge on Townsend Lake. The lodge is the centre for snowmobiling in the area and has a restaurant, gasoline, and groceries. The 14-kilometre network of snowmobile trails are maintained by Hudson Bay Trail Riders.

Flora and fauna

Almost 20 different types of trees are found in the boreal forest of Porcupine Provincial Park. Some of the more common

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

trees include spruce, fir, and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

Deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

trees include trembling aspen,

balsam poplar ''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, ''Populus.'' The genus name ''Populu ...

, and

. A variety of birds make the park home including ducks, loons,

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s, and

grebe Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes . Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Some flightless species exist as well, most notably ...

s. Mammals include

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

Canada lynx The Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears ...

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, deer, and black bears.

References

{{Authority control Provincial parks of Saskatchewan Hudson Bay No. 394, Saskatchewan Forests of Saskatchewan

West Block (McBride Lake Block)

East Block (Woody River Block)

Flora and fauna

See also

References