PaRx

In order to participate in our program, patients must receive a nature prescription from a registered PaRx prescriber enrolled in our program. If your healthcare provider is not registered with us, consider telling them about PaRx during your next regularly scheduled appointment.

Note that any regulated health professional in any province in Canada can prescribe nature through our program. This includes family doctors working in regular practices or walk-in clinics, other physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and more.

Unfortunately we are unable to share lists of prescribers or connect patients to prescribers in our program due to privacy reasons.

To enrol in our program and be entered into our monthly prize draw, click the Log Your PaRx button on our website and fill out the online form using your healthcare provider’s PaRx code and your own email address. If you have been prescribed a Parks Canada Discovery Pass, be sure to check the “I was prescribed a Parks Canada Discovery Pass” box.

Licensed healthcare professionals registered in the PaRx program may prescribe Parks Canada Discovery Passes to patients they feel will benefit most from them during the course of regular medical appointments scheduled for pre-existing health conditions. Please do not book an appointment with a primary care provider solely to request a prescription for a pass, as this is not a visit that would be covered under provincial health insurance. Note that passes are prioritized for adults who live close to Parks Canada administered sites—youth 17 and under enjoy free access—and also for those for whom the cost of a pass would be a significant barrier to nature access.

PaRx is on a mission to connect people to nature across Canada, no matter where they live. In addition to the positive health effects of spending time in nature you’ll enjoy with a PaRx prescription, we’re also collaborating with other nature-based organizations to offer free admission, discounts and other benefits to reduce their barriers to nature access. Find a list of PaRx Partner Offers by region here.

First, please check your Spam or Junk folder in case an email from us has ended up there. If you’ve logged a PaRx prescription that includes a Parks Canada Discovery Pass, review our step-by-step guide to ensure you haven’t missed any steps. Lastly, you can contact us via our website to check on the status of your prescription.

You can receive free admission for one day at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario, for you and your family (5 people total, up to 3 adults) when you present your PaRx prescription and matching ID at the museum’s Admission Desk. Admission to special exhibitions is included.

For questions about visits to the Canadian Museum of Nature, please consult the Canadian Museum of Nature website. The website provides detailed information on hours of operation, what visitors can expect, and what services may be available.

Any healthcare professional governed by a regulatory body or college in Canada can choose to register to become a PaRx prescriber. This varies between provinces and territories. Please check with your healthcare association to determine if your health profession is currently regulated in your jurisdiction.

Prescribers can prescribe 1 Parks Canada Discovery Pass per month, which gives patients unlimited access to over 80 national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas for a year. Please prioritize patients who live close to Parks Canada administered sites, and for whom the cost of a pass would be a barrier to nature access. Note that youth 17 and under enjoy free access to Parks Canada administered locations. You can find a step-by-step guide on how to prescribe a Parks Canada Discovery Pass here.

PaRx is on a mission to connect people to nature across Canada, no matter where they live. In addition to the positive health effects of spending time in nature patients enjoy with a PaRx prescription, we’re also collaborating with other nature-based organizations to offer free admission, discounts and other benefits to reduce their barriers to nature access. Find a list of PaRx Partner Offers by region here.

Please note that although you can only prescribe one Parks Canada Discovery Pass per month, general PaRx prescriptions are unlimited.

Any team of healthcare professionals can register together in bulk, rather than individually on our website here. To get started, please get in touch with us via our contact page or send us an email at parx@bcparksfoundation.ca.

PaRx offers group codes for healthcare teams made up of multiple prescribers. The group prescription file can easily be added to your EMR, so all prescribers can access it. Please note, a group code can only be used to write nature prescriptions that do not include a Discovery Pass. If a prescriber would like to prescribe a Discovery Pass to their patient, they must use their unique provider code instead of the group code.

The Parks Canada Discovery Pass gives you unlimited access to over 80 national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas for a year. Click here for a list of these locations in your region. For more information about the Discovery Pass, please visit: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/voyage-travel/admission.

First, sign your Discovery Pass immediately so the pass is valid. When you enter a Parks Canada administered site, the Discovery Pass should be hung from the rear-view mirror of the vehicle with the date facing forward, or it can be placed on the front driver side dashboard with the date facing up. If you are motorcycling or bicycling through a national park, you must produce your pass at the gate or upon request by a Parks Canada team member. The Discovery Pass must also be presented in person at the admission kiosk of a national historic site.
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The Parks Canada website provides detailed information on hours of operation, what visitors can expect, how to prepare for a visit and what services may be available. Visitors are asked to plan ahead by checking the website before they travel.

Your nature prescription is meant to be lifelong. However, if you would like a new Parks Canada Discovery Pass, please ask your healthcare provider to issue you a new PaRx prescription along with a Parks Canada Discovery Pass, and check the “I was prescribed a Parks Canada Discovery Pass” box when logging your prescription on our website.

The Parks Canada Discovery Pass is a physical pass that we mail to you, so we are unable to provide a digital copy of it. A physical pass needs to be shown at the gate or upon request by a Parks Canada team member.

As part of our partnering agreement with Parks Canada, PaRx prescribers can prescribe one Adult Parks Canada Discovery Pass per month, not a Family/Group pass. Note that youth 17 and under enjoy free access to Parks Canada administered locations.

For questions about visits to Parks Canada administered places, please consult the website of the specific place you are planning to visit. The Parks Canada website provides detailed information on hours of operation, what visitors can expect, how to prepare for a visit and what services may be available. Visitors are asked to plan ahead by checking the website before they travel.

If you have a Parks Canada Discovery Pass valid during months in which the Canada Strong Pass is valid, Parks Canada will automatically extend the pass. No action is required to get the extension. Use Park’s Canada extension calculator to see how long your pass will be extended for.

If you were prescribed a Parks Canada Discovery Pass but haven't logged it on the website yet, please log it on the website as usual.

More information about the Canada Strong Pass is available from the Department of Canadian Heritage.