Craig Macdonald - The Friends of Algonquin Park 2022 Directors Award Recipient

On June 18, 2022, The Friends of Algonquin Park presented the award to Craig Macdonald during a ceremony held at the Algonquin Park Visitor Centre.

Craig Macdonald is a trail expert and retired Algonquin Park Recreation Specialist. He has decades of experience canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing, and skiing in Algonquin Park and across Ontario. He spent 47 years working for the Ontario Government, including 24 years in Algonquin Park, and made countless contributions locally, provincially, and internationally.

His professional and personal achievements in Algonquin Park are numerous and include contributing to the Master Plan, surveying shorelines and canoe routes, discovering and mapping interior sites, writing a system plan for recreational activities, rewriting the interior quota system, clearing sections of the Old Railway Bike Trail and upgrading other trails in the Park. He was also the last Park employee or member of the public to ride a train in Algonquin Park, and he snowshoed across the Park three times.

Throughout his career, he also contributed to other parks and recreational programs across the province including locally at the Bracebridge Resource Management Centre, the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre and Arrowhead Provincial Park.

Craig is also known for his Historical Map of Temagami, or the Nastawgan Map. This map depicts the area as it was in 1900. It includes the winter and summer travel routes of the local Indigenous people, the Teme-Augama Anishnabai, and their ancient methods of travel. It features traditional portages, winter trails, Indigenous place and landmark names. For this map, Craig spent 27 years researching the area, he interviewed over 200 elders and traveled over 1,000 miles in the backcountry.

About The Friends of Algonquin Park Directors Award

The Friends of Algonquin Park is a Canadian registered charity and non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 1983 for people passionate about Algonquin Park. We operate retail locations, recruits members, and fundraises to support the natural and cultural educational goals of Algonquin Park.

The Directors Award established in 1985 has honoured individuals and groups who have left a lasting contribution toward the appreciation of Algonquin Park. Individuals and groups have included Dan Strickland, Ottelyn Addison, Ron Tozer, Adele Ebbs, Bill Swift Sr., The Wakami Wailer, Algonquin Park children's camps, Michael Runtz, Pierre Trudeau, Omer Stringer, Gaye Clemson, Tom Thomson and many other distinguished recipients.

Related Information

• Board of Directors of The Friends of Algonquin Park