The Ontario Parks system stretches over 125 years. It began in 1893 with the creation of Algonquin Provincial Park. In 1954 the management and creation of provincial parks came under the Department of Lands and Forests. There are now 330 provincial parks comprising 8% of Ontario's landmass which is an area larger (over 82,000 km2) than the Provinces of Nova Scotia and PEI combined.