Summer Travel Destinations for Canadians Coast to Coast
|
Yukon
Kluane National Park showcases Mät’àtäna Män, or Kathleen Lake. Bring your camping gear or rent a unique A-frame tent and stay the night. This way, you’ll have enough time to cross the Kokanee Trail boardwalk, which features an open boat launch, or hike the formidable King’s Throne Trail. |
 |
 |
Northwest Territories
Wood Buffalo National Park, on the Northwest Territories’ border with Alberta, has reopened for camping in the backcountry and in cabins on Pine Lake. You can swim in the lake or paddle on the Slave River’s white waters. Or head north to Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk’s majestic tundra! The Trans Canada Trail ends in Tuktoyaktuk, but you can continue your tour by car, plane, or boat, with stops to experience traditional Inuvialuit architecture and cuisine. Whichever way you travel, you won’t miss the pingos—conical hills found only in the permafrost. |
A Canadian who travels south for the winter is called a snowbird, but what do you call a bird who heads north for the summer? Summertime in Nunavut is birding season. Nunavut’s official bird, the rock ptarmigan, is here year-round, as is the iconic snowy owl, which preys on Arctic hare. But summer is your chance to spot many bird species, like gulls, loons, pipers, and falcons, that migrate to Nunavut to breed in the territory’s cooler climate. Remember to pack a pair of sunglasses for the Arctic midnight sun!
With increases in ferry service to Vancouver Island, ditch the mainland and trek to Ucluelet for eco-friendly adventure in the form of biking and ziplining! Follow the Wild Pacific Trail for awesome coastal scenery, and head up from Ucluelet to Tofino to reach Chesterman Beach (Take a look at our Chesterman Beach collection!). This Canuck surfer’s paradise is the best place to learn how to surf, especially at South Chesterman. North Chesterman is a local favourite for its hollow, rolling waves. Whichever way you hang, you’ll want to scope out the tide pools and enjoy the sunset!
 |
Alberta
Go for a rip on the Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail linking Banff and Canmore in Alberta’s Bow Valley! This swept and paved bike trail is open to celebrate Banff National Park’s 125th anniversary, and when you see the park’s spectacular Vermillion Lakes and Three Sisters mountain peaks, you’ll agree that there’s much to celebrate about summer in the Canadian Rockies. When you make it to Canmore, you’ll find restaurants, pubs, galleries, and bike shops on Main Street, which is closed to vehicle traffic for cyclists’ safety and enjoyment. |
|
Ontario
Was your vineyard tour of Italy cancelled due to the pandemic? Ontario’s wine country is yours to explore! Lake Erie’s North Shore is, in fact, Canada’s southernmost region, and its celebrated wineries are open for tastings and shopping. Be sure to visit Point Pelee for daytime birding and picnicking on the marshes, and for nighttime dark-sky watching, perhaps over a bottle of wine. |
 |
Lakeside camping at Prince Albert National Park is open for Saskatchewan residents, so pack a tent or hitch a trailer. Or explore the park’s trails on horseback, and you might catch sight of a bison herd! After a thoroughly Canadian camping experience, take a road trip to the desert-like Great Sand Hills, an area unlike anywhere else in this country. The Hills, formed from ancient glacier deposits, sprawl for nearly 2,000 square kilometres, and they make for exotic travel photos.
The Forks, where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet, is a historic gathering place, and it remains a hub of activity in downtown Winnipeg. Many local vendors at The Forks Market are open, and the Plaza at The Forks—Canada’s biggest skate park, although it’s technically a sculpture!—is ready for shredding by skateboarders and BMX riders. For more adventure, including bison spotting and world-class fishing, head northwest to Riding Mountain National Park.
Follow the St. Lawrence River to Tadoussac and the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park (Parc marin du Saguenay–Saint-Laurent) for fun on the water and among the fjords. The park is well-known for its beluga colony, as well as its blue whales. You can go whale watching by boat or from the shores. The fjords make this area of the St. Lawrence River ideal for sailing. The St. Lawrence seabed is ideal for scuba or free diving, too.
Right now, you can’t vacation in the States, but New Brunswick’s Campobello Island, nestled in the Bay of Fundy near the Maine border, is very close! Here, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his family owned a summer home, surrounded by hiking trails, bog lands, beaches, rock formations—and, of course, lighthouses. You can go whale watching on the water, and you can spot Canadian Atlantic puffins alongside American bald eagles.
|
Nova Scotia
Canada’s four Atlantic provinces are opening a travel bubble, so Atlantic Canadians can travel freely across these provinces without needing to self-isolate. Take a trip to Nova Scotia along the magnificent Bay of Fundy—and through time—at Joggins Fossil Cliffs. The Cliffs are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where Coal Age rocks hide fossils of ancient plants and the planet’s earliest four-legged animals. |
 |
|
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is famous for Anne of Green Gables and Confederation, but do you know of Lennox Island? The Lennox Island Mi’Kmaq First Nation Cultural Centre is open to visitors. Here, you can learn about Mi’Kmaq culture through forest walks and craft experiences, such as drum making (and performing!) and quill working. Prince Edward Island’s renowned red sand beaches are perfect for baking clams and traditional bannock with community members, who share stories about life on the island in times gone by. |
 |
|
Newfoundland and Labrador
The Rock rocks! In downtown St. John’s, shutterbugs will love taking photos of Jellybean Row’s vibrant painted house fronts under the summer sun. At night, enjoy a drink and live music on Water Street. Adventure travellers should head to Labrador’s Mealy Mountains atop Lake Melville for hiking and canoeing. Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park is the largest in Atlantic Canada and eastern North America. The region’s indigenous peoples continue to fish, trap, and hunt here, and you can admire traditional crafts in local galleries. |
 |
Tell us: Are you up for going through Canada this summer?
Leave a comment