Darlington Provincial Park

Darlington Provincial Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Nearest city	Courtice, Ontario
Coordinates	43°52′18″N 78°46′43″W / 43.871744°N 78.778596°W / 43.871744; -78.778596Coordinates: 43°52′18″N 78°46′43″W / 43.871744°N 78.778596°W / 43.871744; -78.778596
Area	208 ha (510 acres)
Governing body	Ontario Parks

Darlington Provincial Park is a part of the Ontario Provincial Parks system. It is located just south of Highway 401 near the town of Courtice, between the cities of Bowmanville and Oshawa. A small park, the topography is dominated by gentle hills, a terminal moraine deposited by glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. The park borders on the northern shore of Lake Ontario also encloses McLaughlin Bay. The Bay is shallow, and at some point in the 1990s was completely closed off from the lake by the action of the waves. The property bordering the park to the west is the home of General Motors Corporation's Canadian headquarters. Kintigh Generating Station can be seen from this provincial park even though it is on the other side of the lake.

Darlington Provincial Park is home to several varieties of plants and animals. The flora of the park consists mostly of second-generation regrowth, as the park was reforested in the 1960s after being cleared for farmland. Invasive plant species are a serious problem in the park, especially the aggressive purple loosestrife growing in the marshy areas bordering McLaughlin Bay. Animal species present in the park range from the white-tailed deer to squirrels and other small animals. Other animals such as coyotes and grey wolves have been rumored to be wandering around the park. Fish and amphibian life are also present in the park, especially in and around McLaughlin Bay. The park is known for migrating monarch butterflies. It offers an annual monarch tagging and educational program.

Near summer's end, monarch butterflies begin to migrate south to Mexico. The park is part of a greater monarch conservation program. It tags monarch butterflies at its annual migration festival, the Monarchs and Raptors Weekend, held in early September. This event attracts young families who are given an opportunity to help with the tagging.