Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River.  The park was created in 1893, the first in Canada. It is pretty big.  Currently it has about 7,653 square kilometres (2,955 sq. mi), which is about one and half times the size of Prince Edward Island or a quarter the size of Belgium. Sadly a number of highways crisscross the park.

The park is a transition between the northern coniferous forest (boreal) and the southern deciduous forest. This permits the park to sustain a wide variety of plants and animal species. The park was designated as a Historic Site in 1992.

The park has attracted many important figures over the decades including Tom Thomson and other members of the Group of Seven, an informal group of Canadian artists. Thomson did some guiding in the park and of course, painting.  Some of his famous paintings were created here including The Jack Pine and The West Wind among others.

He died under mysterious circumstances at Canoe Lake in 1917near to where we drove today.  Margot has been reading a book that attempts to explain that death.