Introduction

US State Parks and Canadian Provincial Parks

The quality of state and provincial parks varies considerably. Some of them do seem to charge rather high entrance fees for what will often be only a short visit. Some, however, are excellent and rival the National Parks for scenic beauty, wildlife and historical interest, although they tend to be smaller.

Many state and provincial parks have campsites.

The provincial park systems in British Columbia and Ontario are particularly extensive. For example, British Columbia has over three hundred provincial parks. Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario is a large and particularly well known example of a provincial park which certainly rivals many National Parks in terms of scenery, wildlife and size.

For more information about state and provincial parks, refer to sources such as road atlases, the free road maps issued by each state and province, state/province tourist information brochures, state/province welcome centres and state/province Internet sites.

When searching for state park sites on the Internet, first try the state government site, http://www.state.xx.us, where xx is the state's official two-letter abbreviation. It is also worth noting that in many states, but not all, the state parks come under the authority of the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR).