Out & about: Candada National Parks celebrate 150 years

OUTDEAL – Canada’s national parks, celebrating their 150th anniversary this year, are rolling out the welcome mats by offering free entry.

And the incentive will continue in 2018 with free admission for children under 18 – as well as for new Canadian citizens.

Most funding for Parks Canada’s roughly $670 million annual budget comes from the federal government, but the agency also generates its own revenue from a variety of sources, including entrance fees, camping and recreation fees, rentals and concessions.

Entrance fees totaled roughly $59 million – half of Parks Canada’s non-government revenue – according to the agency’s 2014 annual report.

The free Discovery Pass that will get you into any park can be obtained at park entrances or get them in advance by signing up online at commandesparcs-parksorders.ca. Delivery could take up to six weeks.

For all of 2017, this pass gives you unlimited opportunities to enjoy Canadian national parks, national marine conservation areas and national historic sites across the country.

Only one pass is needed for a group or family traveling together in the same vehicle or arriving together at a marine conservation area or historic site.

Camping fees are not included with the Discovery Pass and activities such as tours or parking that normally carry a separate fee may not be covered.

Canada thinks big with this trek

OUTDISTANCE – The Trans Canada Trail, which is scheduled to “open” with signage in 2017, is billed as the world’s longest trail network – 15,000 miles! That’s five times the length of the Pacific Crest Trail.

The route will link forested paths, canoe routes, urban walkways, streets, logging roads, and secondary highways.

The route will challenge adventurers to use muscle power or horsepower, such as snowmobiles, or even horses to travel from the Pacific Ocean northward to the rim of the Arctic and across to the Atlantic. The plan is to post signs leading across 13 provinces and territories.

In the USA, the longest similar route is the American Discovery Trail, which links 6,800 miles of routes coast to coast from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, to Point Reyes, California.

Info: discoverytrail.org.