Petroglyphs Park

This is the largest known concentration of Indigenous rock carvings (petroglyphs) in Canada, depicting turtles, snakes, birds, humans and more; this sacred site is known as “The Teaching Rocks”. There are 600 to 1100 year old rock carvings that are the feature attraction in this park, which is about 21 km southeast of Apsley, at the end of Northey’s Bay Road.

• Visit the Learning Place Visitor Centre to discover the traditions of the Ojibway (Nishnaabe) people through the teachings of the medicine wheel
• Visit bright blue/green McGinnis Lake – one of only a handful of meromictic (layers of water that don’t intermix) lakes in Canada
• Great opportunities for wildlife viewing

Open daily 10:00am – 5:00pm (No vehicle access after 4:30pm. All vehicles must exit before gates close at 5:30pm). The park is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in the Spring and Fall with the exception of Holiday Mondays.

https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/petroglyphs

Peterborough Crown Game Preserve

Just south of Apsley, this area includes Jack Lake and is ideal for nature lovers, artists, photographers and cross-country skiers. The Crown Game Preserve is not a Provincial or National park and does not have access as such. Jack’s Lake among other lakes and Petroglyphs Provincial Park all fall within the Preserves boundaries. Many of these places offer tent and trailer park camping.

The initial 85.8 square mile (223 square kilometres) Peterborough Crown Game Preserve was formed in 1927 as part of a government theory: that if animals were protected in a game preserve they would multiply and provide a continuous supply of animals for hunting outside the preserve. Unfortunately over time it was learned that the animals put too much stress on the environment in the preserve and most of the game preserves were abolished except for 15 such preserves, the Peterborough Crown Game Preserve being one of these 15.

https://jackslakehistory.wordpress.com/crown-land-game-preserve/