By total area, Canada is the world’s second-largest country, second only to Russia. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s a lot more to see and do there than go to Niagara Falls. Following are some great destinations that can be vacations unto themselves or one of several stops on a longer tour.
Vancouver Island
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Regional cities Vancouver and Victoria are among the world’s prettiest, cleanest, and most eco-friendly cities. Vancouver Island itself has spectacular seascapes and mountains waiting for you to explore, and they’re teeming with wildlife.
Alaska Highway
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1390 miles long, the Alaska Highway was built during WWII to get supplies to and from Alaska and the Lower 48 via Canada. Now, it’s a major tourist artery connecting Dawson Creek in British Columbia and Delta Junction in Alaska. Most of it is unpaved, and the scenery is incredible, but don’t expect a true wilderness experience; the route is popular with retirees caravaning in RVs.
Whitehorse
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The Alaska Highway runs through this capital of the Yukon Territory. Go for the scenery and culture in summer, but return in the frigid winter for good chances of viewing the Northern Lights.
Banff and Jasper
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The Canadian Rockies get many a vote for the most spectacular mountain scenery in North America, and these two national parks in Alberta preserve some of the best of it, much of which is on display along the incredible Icefields Parkway. On the British Columbia side of the Continental Divide are two more adjacent national parks– Kootenay and Yoho.
Mt. Robson Provincial Park
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Glacier-draped Mt. Robson in British Columbia is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The provincial park containing it borders Jasper and offers hiking, fishing, camping, mountaineering, and more.
Kananaskis Country
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This is a mountainous region sandwiched between Montana in the U.S. and the Banff area. It’s not heavily glaciated, but the mountains are rugged, and no large towns or national parks in them mean this region is relatively uncrowded compared to the Banff- Jasper area.
Quebec City
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To experience France without the expenses and travel hassles, try Quebec City, as it will feel like being in an authentic French town. Old Quebec within the city contains buildings that are centuries old, and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Montreal
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Montreal mixes modern skyscrapers with English and French architecture that resembles the Old World. It’s an all-season city with something indoors and outdoors for everyone.
Churchill
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In northern Manitoba on the shores of Hudson Bay, the town of Manitoba doesn’t seem like something extraordinary most of the time. In the fall, though, polar bears gather here to wait for the sea to ice over so they can spend the winter hunting on it, and many of the bears pass directly through town. In the summer, you can see beluga whales in the waters, and Churchill is also a good place for seeing the Northern Lights.
Prince Edward Island
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Known for rolling hills, red cliffs, sandy beaches, and abundant seafood, PEI has a quiet, relaxing beauty. It also has a sizable seal population made up of members of four different species.
Gros Morne National Park
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Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, this park sits on the western coast of Newfoundland. The landscape is wild and rugged and includes waterfalls that fall 2000’ into a fjord.
Bay of Fundy
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Bordering New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Maine in the U.S., the Bay of Fundy is best-known for having the greatest tidal ranges in the world. Bay of Fundy National Park also has beautiful landscapes and rock formations that will have you coming here for more than seeing the extreme ranges between high and low tides.
Baffin Island
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Canada’s largest island is also the second-largest in the Americas (after Greenland) and the fifth-largest in the world. The majority of it is north of the Arctic Circle, and it has some of the most remote, rugged, and spectacular landscapes in the Arctic and really on the entire planet. Sparsely populated with a little over 13,000 people, it offers a lifetime’s worth of adventure and exploration to those up to it.
The 30 Most Beautiful Places in the World That Everyone Must See
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There’s no way you could ever come up with a definitive list of the world’s most beautiful places. However, if you ask around, some places come up a lot more frequently than others do.
The following are some of the places that people mention over and over again, not in any particular order.
30 Breathtaking Places You Must See Before You Die
The Two Best Scenic Wonders in Each of the Mountain States
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The Mountain States– Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico– have some of the wildest and most rugged landscapes in the United States. Because they’re so big, it can take a lot of time to visit them, so it helps to be able to plan for some specific destinations.
Following are our choices for the top two must-see outdoor locations in each of these seven states.
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