From the old-growth rainforests of the Pacific coast to the glacier-carved fjords of the eastern seaboard, Canada serves up a stunning display of nature. And its culturally diverse cities and historic towns tell a sprawling story that befits the world’s second largest country. Here are nine great experiences that capture quintessential Canada.
Sail past grizzly bears in British Columbia
Colin Griffinson has been sailing the old-growth forest-lined fjords, inlets, and islets of coastal British Columbia for more than 20 years, most recently with small groups of guests aboard his meticulously refurbished 1943 yacht, the Pacific Yellowfin. His favorite spot is Desolation Sound, B.C.’s largest marine park with over 6,350 acres of wild shoreline and protected waters, and unexpectedly warm water. “It’s the warmest Pacific waters north of Mexico,” Griffinson says. “There’s one fjord that has been measured at almost 80 degrees.”
The marine life in Desolation Sound is abundant. Griffinson sees humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, dolphins, and porpoises daily. But the real stars are the grizzly bears, which venture out from the forest in the spring to munch mussels on the shoreline, and again in the fall during the salmon spawn.
Ski neighborhood slopes in Quebec
In Quebec, family-friendly Le Valinouët ski resort boasts hundred percent natural snow cover.
Photograph by Le Valinouët
In parts of Quebec, skiing remains a welcoming, affordable activity, where lift ticket prices are still under three figures and no one cares how many feet of vertical you shred. Le Valinouët, located just north of the town of Saguenay on 3,220-foot Mount Valin, embodies the spirit of winter fun with hundred percent natural snow cover and a family-friendly vibe. Three minutes from the slopes, you’ll find L’Eternel, a Scandinavian-style hot springs spa set in the forest alongside the river. For even smaller-scale skiing, visit Mont Fortin, eight runs located at the edge of the town of Jonquière. Day tickets cost less than $25 USD. Expect to be spoken to en français.
(This ski paradise in Canada is one of the snowiest places on Earth.)
Step into a dinosaur graveyard
The Canadian Badlands, in southern Alberta, are an otherworldly topography of ravines, rock spires, and hoodoos. This unusual landscape is also the biggest cache of dinosaur bones on the planet. “Seventy-five million years ago, it was a great place for dinosaurs to live,” says Caleb Brown, a paleontologist at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
Nearly 60 species have been uncovered so far at Dinosaur Provincial Park. Brown and team are currently excavating a hadrosaur, a large herbivore, that has most of its skin still intact. Register for a bus tour or guided hike to get access to these otherwise off-limit areas. Two hours northwest in Drumheller, the Royal Tyrrell Museum brings the region’s fossils to life in one of the world’s largest, most comprehensive dinosaur exhibits.
See northern lights in the Arctic
At 930 miles long, most of it north of the Arctic Circle, Baffin is Canada’s largest island and one of its least populated destinations. Its geography and its topography have long lured adventure travelers, from Norsemen sailors around 1,000 A.D. to 16th-century European explorers searching for the Northwest Passage, to today’s big-wall climbers seeking to test their mettle on the 4,000-foot-tall granite rock faces that line the island’s east coast. But one of Baffin Island’s most awe-inspiring adventures is also one of its most accessible: experiencing aqsarniit, “aurora borealis” in the local Inuktitut language. The absence of light pollution means you can watch the celestial show from anywhere on the island—even from town.
(How to photograph the northern lights.)
Road-trip on Eastern Canada’s most scenic road
Skyline is one of the popular walking trails in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, in Nova Scotia.
Photograph by David Boutin Photography, Getty Images
In a country full of incredible scenery, it’s impossible to decree the single, best road trip in Canada. But the Cabot Trail through Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Highlands would probably make every Canadian’s list of the Top 3 Most Beautiful Drives.
The 185-mile loop encircles Cape Breton Island, the northwestern corner of the province. This is a lush land of granite cliffs and Acadian, boreal, and taiga forests, including Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Expect delightful driving: winding roads that reveal panoramic views at seemingly every bend. While you can technically drive the entire route in five hours, you’ll want to give it at least three days. Don’t miss Chéticamp, a picturesque Acadian fishing village, and the opportunity to try Nova Scotia lobster, which many claim is the best in the world.
(Here are 6 of Canada’s most adventurous road trips.)
Canoe the Ontario backcountry
Quetico Provincial Park in northwest Ontario is a paddler’s haven with more than 2,000 glacial lakes inside a million acres of protected wilderness. “There are no roads, no cabins, no motor use. It is just strictly backcountry canoeing with thousands of lakes connected by rivers and portages,” says Jeremy Dickson, co-owner of Canoe Canada Outfitters.
Quetico, when combined with Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area across the United States border, is the largest international area in the world set aside for wilderness recreation. “You don’t have to go too far to be highly unlikely to see another canoe all week,” Dickson says. He recommends using an outfitter to help with logistics and gear, but not necessarily a guide: “It’s all flat-water paddling, no whitewater. If you can read a map, you can do a Quetico trip.”
Hike the northernmost route of the Underground Railroad
The northernmost section of the Underground Railroad, used by Black Americans in the mid-1800s to escape slavery, crossed into New Brunswick from the U.S. border community of Maple Grove, Maine. “There was a safehouse there, a Quaker Church,” says Joe Gee, creator of the Tomlinson Lake Hike to Freedom (TLHTF) trail. “Black families were told to follow the moose trails—they’d know they were in Canada when they reached Tomlinson Lake.”
Gee partnered with historian Graham Nickerson, a descendant of Black loyalists, and other volunteers to expose this little-known part of New Brunswick history. Today, visitors to Tomlinson Lake can read interpretive storyboards about its significance, while hiking a 2-kilometer trail. In the forest, they can view a replica squatters’ cabin. The first weekend in October, the TLHTF organization holds an annual lakeside event including a pop-up museum of artifacts by the New Brunswick Black History Society.
Dig for clams at a red-sand beach
At low tide on Prince Edward Island, a mother and son dig for clams. PEI is especially known for its red-sand beaches.
Photograph by Philip Scalia, Alamy
At Prince Edward Island’s Argyle Shore Provincial Park, a verdant green field gives way to a staircase leading down a cliff to a striking red-sand beach. During low tide, locals and in-the-know tourists can be spotted with shovels and buckets harvesting clams, one of the island’s culinary specialties.
(Prince Edward Island launches an epic pilgrimage trail.)
While red-sand beaches are rare in the world, Argyle Shore is one of many on PEI. The rich color comes from the mineral hematite, which is also present in the island’s nutrient-dense soil. “They call this Canada’s food island because there’s so much bounty from the land and the sea,” says Heather McQuillan, co-owner of Nature Space Resort & Retreat Centre, a four-season glamping resort. At her property, guests shuck oysters and eat produce pulled straight from the red earth of her onsite garden.
Help a researcher spot beluga whales in Manitoba
The remote town of Churchill, Manitoba, is better known as the polar bear capital of the world, but it’s also one of the best places on earth to see beluga whales. Each summer, thousands of the gregarious white whales migrate to the shallow waters of the Churchill River estuary to feed and give birth.
Local outfitter Frontiers North runs an annual Conservation Journey trip that coincides with the migration; a six-day adventure guided by a beluga whale researcher from the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. “It’s a unique opportunity for guests to observe and learn about these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat,” says Jaclyn Aubin, the scientist leading the 2024 trip. Churchill-based research has significantly advanced the understanding of beluga behavior, health, and conservation.
Jayme Moye is an award-winning writer and snow sports enthusiast. She moved to the inland temperate rainforest of British Columbia from Colorado in 2017. Follow her on Instagram.
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