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The park includes a number of campgrounds and picnic areas. There are 165 km of hiking trails and 90 km of trails for mountain bikes and the Trans Canada Trail passes through the park. The park is also popular with cyclists; note that most routes are quite steep and very demanding on legs, heart and lungs! There are beaches at Meech Lake, Lac Philippe and La Pêche Lake . These lakes also offer canoeing; boats with gas motors are not allowed on most lakes in the park.
There is a tea room at Moorside, the former summer home of William Lyon Mackenzie King, the tenth Prime Minister of Canada, at Kingsmere . The estate also features gardens and the "ruins" collected by King in a woodland setting. A small waterfall runs down the escarpment near Moorside.
The Champlain lookout provides a spectacular view of the Ottawa Valley from high atop the Eardley Escarpment. When the leaves change colour in fall, tourists and locals aree drawn to the park's lookouts, roads and pathways to enjoy the autumn scenery.
The park's location in the Gatineau HillsThe Gatineau Hills are a geological formation in Canada which represent the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains which stretch east through Quebec, beginning north of Montreal and joining up with others into Vermont and New Hampshire. The geology of Gati makes it a popular destination for cross-country skiingCross-country skiing (aka XC skiing is an adventure and fitness activity as well as a competitive winter sport popular in many countries with large snowfields, primarily in Europe and Canada. XC skiing as a sport is part of the Nordic skiing family, which. There are almost 200 km of cross-country trails and the park plays host to the annual Keskinada Loppet competition. There is also a downhill skiing and snowboardA snowboard is the main piece of equipment used in snowboarding. It is a board designed to be attached beneath the rider's feet with bindings, and ridden down dry ski slopes or snow-covered slopes. No ski poles are used. Most snowboards are constructed ofing area at Camp Fortune.
Gatineau Park provides habitat for birds such as the Pileated WoodpeckerPileated Woodpecker : Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Piciformes : Picidae Dryocopus pileatus Binomial name ''Dryocopus pileatus Linnaeus, 1758) The Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus is a very large woodpecker. Adults are mainly black with a red crest a and Common Loon . Turkey VultureTurkey Vulture Thanks to the USFWS : Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Accipitriformes : Cathartidae Cathartes aura Binomial name Cathartes aura Linnaeus, 1758) The Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura is an extremely graceful bird in flight. It seldom needs to flaps and migrating hawks take advantage of the thermalA thermal column is a column of rising warm air in the lower altitudes of the Earth's atmosphere, and are informally referred to as thermals''. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface from solar radiation. The movement of air ors at the Eardley Escarpment. There are many beaverCastor canadensis C. fiber Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents native to North America and Europe. They are the only members of the family Castoridae which contains a single genus, Castor . Genetic research has shown the European and North American populatios and white-tailed deer in the park, as well as some black bears and a few wolves in more remote sections.
Pink Lake is a meromictic lake found in the park. Tiny algae within the lake gives it a bright green colour. The lake's name comes from the Pink family who originally owned property in this area.The park area was originally settled by early immigrants to the area, who were soon discouraged by its thin soils. The federal government began acquiring land in the area for a park in the 1930s. Mackenzie King donated his property at Kingsmere to the people of Canada at his death in 1950. There are still a small number of private dwellings located within the park's borders. The park is operated by the National Capital Commission.
Harrington Lake, where the country retreat of the Prime Minister of Canada is located, and The Farm, the official residence of the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, are located within the park.