Obabika River Provincial Park
The Obabika River Provincial Park is a provincial park in Ontario, Canada, straddling across the boundaries of the Sudbury, Nipissing, and Timiskaming Districts. While it is named after and includes the Obabika River, the bulk of the park extends north of Obabika Lake to the eastern boundary of Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park.
The park was created in 1989 and expanded in 2002 to. Highlights of the park include island-dotted lakes, meandering rivers, bedrock uplands and expansive wetlands, as well as a number of historic settlements and indigenous archaeological sites dating back 6000 years. It provides trails through the pristine Obabika Old-Growth Forest, providing nature exploration and wildlife viewing opportunities.
Permitted activities include canoe camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, and boating. The canoe routes through the park are part of Temagami's long network of portages and waterways. Many of these portages are traditional indigenous routes called "nastawgan", which link this park with adjacent parks, conservation reserves, and Crown land.
Description
The park can be divided into 4 areas, consisting of both wilderness and natural environment zones:- Obabika River Natural Environment Zone: This area encompasses the Obabika River itself, from Little Fry Lake bog to its confluence with the Sturgeon River. This section is long and includes a setback from high waterline on both river banks.
- Obabika Lake North Natural Environment Zone: This area encompasses of water only in the northern end of Obabika Lake that fall within the park boundary.
- Lady Evelyn Peninsula Natural Environment Zone: This is a roadless area that includes a large peninsula surrounded by a series of lakes such as Lady Evelyn to the north and east, Sucker Gut and Willow Island to the west, and Diamond Lake to the south. It also protects the islands and eastern shore of the southern part of Lady Evelyn Lake.
- Chees-Kong-Abikong Wilderness Zone: This zone embodies the so-called "essence of Temagami", because it includes important natural and cultural features. This zone protects of original old-growth red and white pine-dominated forest, which is the largest old-growth eastern white pine forest in the world. The area includes extensive cliff and talus slope vegetation, cold springs, and bogs near Cliff Lake. This lake and its cliffs are known as Chees-kong-Abikong in Ojibwe and are spiritually significant to Temagami's First Nation communities. Other natural features include Wakimika Lake and River to the west, as well as an extensive open low shrub bog near Little Fry Lake. Regionally significant plant species in this zone include dwarf mistletoe, Virgin's-bower, roundleaved orchid, smooth blackberry, water dock, marsh fern, and painted trillium.