Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park (officially called Kawartha Highlands Signature Site) is a 375 km² area of preserved wilderness and recreational areas in south-central Ontario, Canada. It is located to the north and east of the main belt of the Kawartha lakes primarily in the township of North Kawartha. It is the largest single area of preserved land in the southern part of the province (excluding Algonquin Park, parts of which are in northern and southern Ontario).
The park was expanded from its original size of 18.6 square kilometres (7.2 sq mi) to its current size in June 2003. It was previously a mostly-wilderness tract enclosing Bottle Lake and Sucker Lake, and accessible primarily by canoe, many by portage routes only. It now encloses many more small lakes as well as all of Anstruther Lake, and has many cottages and access roads. As of 2008, the park is not officially operational; trails, campsites and entry infrastructure have not been completed, and official provincial maps do not yet indicate the expanded area.
Municipally, the park is completely within Peterborough County; about two-thirds of its area is in the township of North Kawartha, and the remaining western portion is in the township of Galway-Cavendish-Harvey.
Famous quotes containing the words highlands, provincial and/or park:
“Ye Highlands and ye Lawlands.
Oh! where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl of Murray,
And hae laid him on the green.”
—Unknown. The Bonny Earl of Murray (l. 1–4)
“With respect to a true culture and manhood, we are essentially provincial still, not metropolitan,—mere Jonathans. We are provincial, because we do not find at home our standards; because we do not worship truth, but the reflection of truth; because we are warped and narrowed by an exclusive devotion to trade and commerce and manufacturers and agriculture and the like, which are but means, and not the end.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Is a park any better than a coal mine? What’s a mountain got that a slag pile hasn’t? What would you rather have in your garden—an almond tree or an oil well?”
—Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944)