Charlesbourg Regional Park | |
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument) | |
Issac Newton Escarpment as it heads into Lake Charlesbourg. The Escarpment Trail can be seen here. | |
Location | Gravenhurst Region |
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Nearest city | Charlesbourg / Louisbourg |
Area | 962.11 |
Established | 1907 |
Visitors | 206,912 (in Apr 2011 - 2012) |
Governing body | Gravenhurst Regional Park Commission (GRPC) Parks Imaginary (PI) |
Charlesbourg Regional Park (Traditional Chinese: 查理斯堡區域公園; French: Le Parc Régional de Charlesbourg) is a regional park located northwest of Charlesbourg in Gravenhurst Region in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas. The park occupies 962.11 squared kilometers inside Gravenhurst Region, occupying the land north of Highway 4 between Charlesbourg and Louisbourg, and south of the Gravenhurst Region - Concord County border. North of the Concord County border, a corresponding regional park exists, and named Le Parc Régional de l'Escarpement (English: Escarpment Regional Park). Due to the straddling boundary, the parks agency for the Imaginary Land of Nicholas, Parks Imaginary (PI) overlooks both parks, and manages the park under one name, the Charlesbourg Escarpment National Park (French: Le Parc National de l'Escarpement de Charlesbourg). The Gravenhurst Regional Parks Commission (GRPC) also maintains the park under the name "Charlesbourg Regional Park".
Established in 1907, it is one of the oldest parks in the GRPC system. the park became the name for the nearby settlement of Charlesbourg. The park was named Charlesbourg in commemoration of the French King, King Charles X. The park covers the abandoned aboriginal settlement and the fur post. Today, the park was extended to cover Lakes Charlesbourg East and West.
The park attracts visitors from far and wide to see the Issac Newton Escarpment as it descends into Lake Charlesbourg, a glacial lake formed on both sides of the escarpment. Issac Newton Escarpment here forms almost as an arête in the park. The escarpment is just barely higher than the water level on both sides to divide the lake into two, forming an isthmus where a hiking path exists to the border of Concord County. Border crossing is allowed on the hiking trail where there is a border crossing booth opening 12 hours a day.
The nearby Township of Charlesbourg acts as a gateway to enter the park as visitors will first go through the abandoned city of Charlesbourg, where 93 000 people once resided. The information centre of the park can be found there, and visitors are required to pay an entrance fee to gain entrance to the park. Winter maintenance is absent in the park but opened to cross-country skiing. Thus, the park is busy all year round.
Campgrounds are also available on site during the summer season.
Transportation
- Highway 4
- Charlesbourg Escarpment National Park border crossing - The only border crossing in the outback, pedestrian crossing only (also named "Smuggler's Crossings"). Northern terminus of the Escarpment Trail
See also
- Le Parc Régional de l'Escarpement - Concord County's counterpart of the park
- Lake Charlesbourg East
- Lake Charlesbourg West
- Escarpment Trail
Gravenhurst Regional Park Commission (GRPC) Facilities |
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Regional Parks: Bear Lake • Brant • Charlesbourg • Dolphin Island • Guelph Greenbelt • Lake Kanata • Lake Lydia • Mount Topsity • Muskoka Lake • Pear Island Conservation Areas: Ingrid Falls • Intertwine River • Meanders • Niagara • Rainwater Hiking Trails: Cloud - Zephyr Rivers • Escarpment • Hudson River • Mount Zephyr • Placentia |