Many travelers come to Canada for its stunning natural beauty and pristine wilderness. Nearly every landscape on Earth can be found within its borders, from desert to rainforest to high arctic.
1. Niagara Falls, Ontario
Straddling the border between Canada and the United States, Niagara Falls churns 7,500 bathtubs worth of water over its brink every second, making it the world’s second largest waterfall by volume. It’s not as high as Angel Falls nor as wide as Victoria Falls, but, thanks to the Great Lakes that feed it, it’s much wetter. Niagara Falls creates a constant mist, a deafening roar and an eternal rainbow that shifts between the two countries. The spectacle is mesmerizing, and it’s easy to understand why this wonder of nature has drawn daredevils, honeymooners and tourists for the past 200 years. When you’ve had your fill of water, there are lots of other things to do in Niagara Falls like head to some of the 160 wineries on the Niagara Peninsula, go for a hike in Niagara Glen, or browse the boutiques in charming Niagara-on-the-Lake.
2. Banff National Park, Alberta
With alpine lakes as blue as Switzerland’s, and mountains to rival the Matterhorn, there’s no need to travel to the Alps when you can have a Rocky Mountain high that makes you want to yodel in Canada. It’s not just the scenery that conjures Switzerland, but Banff National Park’s history, too. Between 1899 and 1954, the Canadian Pacific Railway recruited Swiss guides to work for its luxurious railway hotels, including the Banff Springs Hotel and the Château Lake Louise. They guided first ascents of nearby peaks, taught climbing techniques to newbie mountaineers, and led tourists on hikes and horse trips into Banff National Park. You can still join guided hikes at Lake Louise, such as the iconic trek up to the Plain of the Six Glaciers and an adorable alpine tea house built by Swiss guides in 1924.
3. Aurora Borealis, Manitoba
Galileo named the Northern Lights after Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, and Boreas, the wind of the north. They appear as a dream in the middle of the night—a kaleidoscope of phosphorescent green, yellow, pink and magenta that shimmers and dances across the sky in what can only be described as nature’s fireworks display. Though the Aurora Borealis can be seen in many northern countries, from Iceland to Russia, Churchill in Manitoba is considered one of the best places in the world to see the charged particles of light hitting the Earth’s atmosphere, with best viewing between November and March. In the fall, the area is also known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World.
4. The Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia
Considered one of North America’s most scenic drives, The Cabot Trail winds 298 km around Cape Breton, an island off the coast of Nova Scotia. It rolls over rounded hills, and through lush valleys and Cape Breton Highlands National Park, often hugging the coast with dramatic views of the Atlantic Ocean and rugged beaches below. Every autumn, The Cabot Trail’s fall colours wow when the island’s forests of sugar maples, yellow birch, American beech and tamaracks turn into a quilt of vivid red, purple, orange, yellow and green. Not only are leaf peepers rewarded at every turn with postcard vistas that rival Vermont’s, there are plenty of other things to do in Cape Breton including scenic strolls, sampling craft beer or staying at a cozy inn.
5. Great Bear Rainforest, B.C.
You won’t find any anacondas creeping through the undergrowth here, but you may stumble across slugs the size of chocolate bars in the Great Bear Rainforest, also called the Amazon of the North. This 21-million-acre protected coastal temperate rainforest in northern B.C. wows with 1,000-year-old Western red cedars, glacier-cut fjords and rare sightings of the cream-coloured Kermode bear or Spirit bear, which is actually a black bear with a recessive gene that turns its coat almost white. You can also spot sea otters and orcas from a kayak, or go with a guide to seek out the grizzly bears that congregate by coastal rivers to feast on Coho during the salmon run every fall. By night, slumber in a remote lodge and listen for the eerie howl of gray wolves.
