Canada's Most Beautiful National Parks That Might Be More Crowded Soon

America ’s national parks are fantastical , this we know . But if you want to visitany of the good I , it often means fighting host of visitorstaking pictures with iPadsandwearing dress loafers when they go hiking . So , how do you enjoy the spectacular scenerywithoutthenot - so - spectacular tourist ? Well , much like a 1960s draft dodger , you head north of the delimitation to Canada .

During the summertime ( and , really , during the wintertime too ) the nature in Canada ’s 44 national park is some of the universe ’s most unbelievable . The sheer greatness of the country lends itself to a diversity of landscape – from sweeping beach and polar tundra to sandstone tug and mountain lakes . And the undecomposed part ? Many are confab by a fraction of the number of people you ’ll find at standardised place in the US . So grab your pass and brush up on yourCanadian slang , here are a dozen Rosa Parks you should chitchat this summertime .

Mingan Archipelago

QuebecBelieve it or not , the northeast provinces of Canada were a tropic heaven about 500 million years ago . And the seashells and nautical deposits that steady down there finally turned to careen and formed a 93 - island archipelago off the slide of Quebec . In add-on to the towering limestone stacks and hide grottoes form by erosion , the islands maintain a rainforest microclimate and are domicile to plant and animal life you wo n’t find in other part of the country . Must - do : Stroll the Betchouane Migratory Bird Sanctuary and see nesting puffins and razorbills , then stay on along the trail to the park ’s historic lighthouse .

Jasper National Park

AlbertaThe scenery in Jasper and Banff is the stuff of travel - guide cover : glacial ice fields topping furrowed raft set behind clear blue / cobalt blue waters in front of cloudless sky . All populated by bighorn sheep , caribou , elk , bear , and other wildlife . Not only that , but the park is tell apart as a Dark - Sky Preserve by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada , which means it ’s literally one of the best places IN THE WORLD to go stargazing . Must - do : The Dark Sky Festival . Every October , astronomers , entertainers , and just citizenry who enjoy a deficiency of light defilement converge on the park for a weekend of parties , concert , and exhibitions that all revolve around attend at stars .

Torngat Mountains National Park

Newfoundland and LabradorPerhaps the most captivating matter about this park is n’t the diametrical bears , or the Saglek Fjord at the southern boundary , or Eastern Canada ’s highest peaks . It might not even be the northern light you’re able to see while tenting on the shores of a mountain lake . The self-aggrandising attractiveness here is cultural : It ’s the only park in the world where the entire faculty is Inuit , which means you ’ll learn , interact , and maybe even befriend people from a culture you in all likelihood cognise nothing about . Also , the fishing is n’t bad either . Must - do : Learn to talk a few word in Inuktitut , the native Inuit speech

Ivvavik National Park

YukonFor a tough , remote , subarctic Canadian wild adventure , there ’s no place like Ivvavik . And the best way to search it is by catching a prop plane to Sheep Creek base camp . From there , your selection are boundless and admit everything from hiking into the British Mountains to whitewater raft down Class IV rapid on the Firth River . Not to name soaking up 24 minute of sunlight in the summer and viewing the northerly lights in early declination . Just require to do all of it surrounded by more Greenland caribou than people . Must - do : Hike the trail to Halfway to Heaven . It ’s a peak inside the park , and if you hike up it around the summer solstice your shadow will extend through the valley below and onto the adjacent mountain .

Point Pelee National Park

OntarioHere ’s a fun fact for your next bar stakes : part of Canada are actuallysouthof California . That ’s right , this park on the southern tip of Ontario is about a academic degree below the California - Oregon delimitation . It sits on a point between Lake Michigan , Lake Huron , and Lake Erie , and is a popular resting stop for migrant hiss and milkweed butterfly butterflies head south for the wintertime . So , yes , it ’s a top terminus for birder . Must - do : Go in downfall for monarch butterfly migration

Prince Albert National Park

SaskatchewanAnd another one for your next pub quiz : this prairie in Saskatchewan is the most popular national park in ALL OF CANADA . Indeed , because it ’s mostly flatland , rolling James Jerome Hill , and lake , the tramp is easy and more accessible to those ill - fain to brave out the Rockies . It ’s also a immense goal for wakeboarding and water skiing , and in the wintertime draw cross - country skiers from across the country . Must - do : Join Canadian puncher as they round out up the park ’s buffalo . Every summer you could tag along for three daytime .

Waterton Lakes National Park

AlbertaConnected to Montana ’s Glacier National Park , Waterton Lakes is the only park in the world designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site , a US - Canada peace common , anda biosphere reserve . It sits where the knit meet the mountains and has a decided ecosystem that supports greater biodiversity than anywhere in the Rockies . Must - do : Hit thePrince of Wales Hoteloverlooking Waterton Lake , the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies

Wapusk National Park

ManitobaThe name of this commons comes from a Cree word mean " white bear " so it should n’t come as a surprise that it ’s base to one of the largest diametric bear denning earth in the universe . Yes , every February the tundra is taken over by … sister polar bear ! Awwww . Only catch : there are no trail , roads , or other access points into this car park ; the only way to search it is by steer eggbeater tour , which are run by private operators in nearby Churchill and book up month in advance . Must - do : Go to see the arctic bear laddie , duh . Just book betimes . former February and former March are the expert times to see the babies but the adults also crowd around the shores of Hudson Bay in October and November .

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

British ColumbiaBritish Columbia ’s been deemed by many an outdoorsman ’s heaven , and the honorable way to see it is in this national common on Vancouver Island . Pacific Rim has three separate units : the West Coast Trail , the Long Beach unit ( where you may stroll the rocky , tree - lined shores of the Pacific ) , and the Broken Group Islands unit of measurement , an archipelago of rocks and islands only approachable by boat . Once you get past the weewee , you ’ll come up yourself in a born wonderland of waterfalls , rainforest , sandstone drop-off , and beaches , all of which can be seen by backpacking through the parking area . Must - do : Hike the West Coast Trail . You do n’t necessitate to do all 47 miles , but if you go to the park , this is the unit to see .

Fundy National Park

New BrunswickPart of what makes St. John one of the mostunderrated cruise address in the worldis this parking lot at the Bay of Fundy . Not only can you ascertain tides from the St. John River battle those from the Laurus nobilis in combative lunar time period pools at Reversing Falls , but you’re able to also boost up to the high tides in the world at Hopewell Rocks . But beyond that , the park is full of duncical timberland and natural waterfalls and offers one of the good cruise port calls on the East Coast . Must - do : snorkel diving with Salmon River . Yep , you may get in the water and float around with the insanely rarefied internal Bay of Fundy Atlantic Salmon River .

Riding Mountain National Park

ManitobaThis park in the Manitoba Escarpment is top in the nation for spotting wildlife . ride Mountain is comparatively pocket-size – only about 1,150 substantial miles – but contains three different geological zone : aspen parkland , motley - wood forest , and one of the last remaining deciduous forests in Central Canada . Because of this ecological diversity , the appeal of animal that call the park home is unlike any you ’ll see in such a small area . On a single twenty-four hour period there , you could spot bison roaming through the prairies , smuggled bear and Alces alces in the aspen zone , and brute and elk throughout . Must - do : Obviously , wait at wildlife on one of the park ’s tours

Banff National Park

AlbertaBanff might by the only Canadian National Park that most Americans can name , if only because it ’s been plastered on every postcard of the Canadian Rockies ever printed . And , yes , it ’s like Canada ’s answer to Yosemite and will be sorely push if you go during the summer , but that does n’t make it any less beautiful . Lake Louise is one of the tophoneymoon destinationsin the globe , the nearby city of Banff in reality has some pretty decentrestaurants and breweries , and the Icefields Parkway – which spans both Banff and Jasper National Parks – may just be the most scenic drive in all of North America . Must - do : see Lake Louise – it ’s so perfect you ’ll forget that you ’re surround by the same tourist you came to Canada to get aside from in the first berth .

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Banff National Park