Exploring Fall Colours

By Mélanie Bernier, La Mauricie National Park, QC

I love autumn. This is the perfect season at La Mauricie National Park to enjoy a variety of activities while being immersed in colourful autumn landscapes. There’s no better way to experience the changes of the season than hiking through the heart of the forest and taking time to stopfor a picnic. Kids can have fun playing in the fallen leaves that slowly changed from green to shades of yellow, orange, red and even purple! For more adventurous families, the park is also a wonderful place to explore by canoe – fall colours are reflected on the water creating enchanting watery landscapes.

A family canoeing.
A perfect fall activity!

My favourite thing is to take the kids camping and waking up with the sun as its rays reach out and touch the tree tops uncovering the most beautiful fall colours. Once the day has started, I like to give the kids a Club Parka discovery activity.

You will need:

With this activity, your kids will be able to sharpen their sense of observation while enjoying the outdoors. You do not have to go into the forest to complete the activity, but a walk in a park or a neighbourhood with fall colours is best. It is up to the kids to find the coloured objects and draw them (refer to the printout).

Since this activity takes place outside, I suggest bringing only a pencil so kids can quickly sketch the corresponding coloured objects they find. Once you return to the house, they can finish their drawings and colour them if desired.

This is a great activity to get you moving and exploring. The last time we did this activity in the park, the kids found berries as one of their coloured objects. The highlight was finding a special BROWN object to complete the activity – a beaver (probably one of Parka’s family members!), preparing its food supply. Wow!

What will you discover? Happy fall colours hunting!

Download this activity (PDF, 1.61 MB)

Boy holding a maple leaf
Fall colours are easy to find!
A beaver
A beaver joining the fun

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