15 Epic National Parks in Canada for Nature Lovers

Sure, as Canadians, we have a soft spot for Canadian cities, like Vancouver (where bicycling Stanley Park can’t be beat).

And we love all the great things to do in Victoria (our home city).

But Canada – the second largest country in the world – has vast areas of spectacular mountains, wilderness forests and freshwater lakes.

Indeed, there are 48 national parks in Canada (and reserves), covering some 3% of the country!

These wild pristine places preserve and protect our natural landscapes.

If you’re crazy about nature, knock-your-socks-off scenery and wildlife (hello bears!), these Canadian national parks are the places to escape to.

What’s more, in many of these parks, you may only encounter a handful of other souls.

Best national parks in Canada

1) Wapusk National Park

Want to see polar bears in the wild?

This Canadian national park is one of the best places in the world to see them.

Where: Chuchill, Manitoba

No roads lead into Wapusk National Park, and you need to go with a guide or tour company to visit.

What’s wow

About 1,000 polar bears call Wapusk home (“Wapusk” is the Cree word for “white bear”).

Other wildlife also roam the park, including 3,000 Cape Churchill caribou.

Depending on when you go, you might travel by boat, snowmobile or dog sled.

Also be sure to watch the skies at night for the northern lights!

Churchill is one of the best places in the world to see the aurora borealis.

2) Banff National Park

Located in the Canadian Rockies, this is one of the most visited national parks in Canada, luring over 3 million visitors a year.

Typically on every traveler’s list of must-see Canada places, it’s a stunner!

And here’s a fun parks fact about Canada for you Canadian trivia fans: Banff National Park was Canada’s first national park.

It was established in 1885 – just three years after the world’s first national park, Yellowstone in the U.S., was created!

Where: Banff, Alberta

Just over an hour’s drive from Calgary, Banff National Park is an easy place for Calgarians to escape to.

What’s wow

Don’t miss: Driving the Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper (see #3 below) is one of the most spectacular drives in the world.

It passes by the Columbia Icefield, the largest ice field in the Rockies.

3) Jasper National Park

At 4,200 square miles (11,000 sq. km.), Jasper National Park is almost double the size of Banff National Park.

But its town, Jasper, is much smaller and less touristy than Banff town.

Because it’s not as accessible as Banff National Park, Jasper also feels wilder and more primordial.

Check out these things to see in Jasper National Park, and you’ll get a better idea of its raw majestic beauty.

Where: Jasper, Alberta

Jasper National Park is just north of Banff National Park, connected by the famous Icefields Parkway.

What’s wow

You’ll see lots of wildlife, including elk (we couldn’t believe how many we saw!), bears, bighorn sheep – and if you’re really lucky, moose.

4) Georgian Bay Islands National Park

Set in the blue waters of Lake Huron, Georgian Bay Islands National Park is made up of 63 islands.

Back in the 1920s, the famous Group of Seven painters were drawn to the area, capturing scenes in now-famous art works.

What’s wow

You can enjoy wilderness camping on Beausoleil Island, the park’s largest island.

And in autumn, the fiery red and burnt-orange leaf colors are gob-smacking.

5) Sable Island National Park Reserve

One of Canada’s newest national parks, Sable Island National Park Reserve is home to hundreds of untamed horses that have lived on the island since the 1700s.

The island itself is long and skinny, made up of windswept sand dunes and two centuries-old lighthouses.

Where: Atlantic Ocean, off Nova Scotia

Sable Island is extremely remote, about 180 miles (290 km) off the coast of Halifax.

The only way to visit is by chartered plane for a day trip or on an expedition cruise.

This park is for the bucket list.

What’s wow

Watch the fabled Sable Island horses run wild and free, their matted manes flying in the wind.

And feel lucky that you’re one of only 400 people a year who leave footprints on this very special island.

6) Gros Morne National Park

Ancient fjords and sea caves. Bogs and beaches. Towering cliffs and glacial valleys.

Say hello to Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

Where: Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador

Gros Morne is, hands down, one of the best national parks in Eastern Canada.

The park is home to 7,000 to 8,000 moose, perhaps the world’s largest concentration of moose.

7) Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

Where: Vancouver Island, BC

The park is located on the west coast of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island.

What’s wow

The park is made up of three separate units: Broken Group Island, Long Beach and West Coast Trail. (It’s almost like three separate parks, offering three distinctly different experiences.)

Kayakers will want to paddle the sheltered Broken Group Islands, home to seals and eagles.

We love walking the wild and empty 10-mile (16-km) stretch of Long Beach, watching surfers in wetsuits brave the waves – and, of course, soaking up the sun.

Up for a real challenge?

Backpack the 47-mile (75-km) West Coast Trail on a 5- to 7-day trip – climbing more than 100 ladders, wading across rivers and trekking through unspoilt rainforest. You might see migrating whales too!

Reservations are required about a year ahead: See the park’s website. (You’ll need a high quality travel backpack too.)

8) Thousand Islands National Park

There are said to be more than 1,800 islands in the St. Lawrence River between Kingston and Brockville.

But the Thousand Islands National Park is made up of some 20 granite islands with whispering pines and secluded bays.

Much of the park is boat access only – great for super scenic kayaking.

And you don’t have to worry about dangerous wildlife, like bears, in this park.

Critters you might see are less fearsome – foxes, deer, porcupines, osprey and blue herons.

Where: Ontario

The park is located in the St. Lawrence River in Ontario.

What’s wow

You can paddle to McDonald Island and sleep overnight by the water in oTenTik accommodations.

It’s like basic glamping – the units are a cross between a tent and a cabin, with solar-powered lighting, cell phone charging station, fire pit and picnic table.

9) Fundy National Park

Walk on the Atlantic!

Well, sort of.

Fundy National Park is home to the highest tides in the world. Here, the Atlantic rises and falls up to 40 feet (12 meters) each day.

When the tide recedes, you can walk on the bare ocean floor – more than half a mile (1 km) out to the edge of the water – and examine all the periwinkles and other fascinating little marine critters left behind.

Where: New Brunswick

The park is nestled in the southeastern corner of New Brunswick.

What’s wow

At low tide, you’ll also see towering tree-topped rock pillars.

At high tide, these pillars, now surrounded by sea, look like mini islets.

And in the nearby town of Alma, boats that rest on the sea floor, far below the docks, will be bobbing on the water a few hours later.

Apart from tide watching, you can hike some 60 miles of trails (100 km), see more than 25 cascading waterfalls, camp in a yurt and snorkel with salmon with Parks Canada biologists.

10) Kluane National Park & Reserve

One of the world’s largest protected wilderness areas – 38,00 square miles (98,000 sq. km.) – this Canadian national park is big, bold and wildly beautiful.

Think soaring mountains (17 of Canada’s tallest mountains), glaciers, rushing rivers and wildlife galore (especially grizzlies).

Where: Yukon

Kluane National Park is found high in the mountains, near the Alaska border.

As there are no roads in most of the park, you have to fly in (or hike in).

What’s wow

Rafting the glacial-fed Alsek River is a true adventure.

Or perhaps take a flightseeing excursion around Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak – just shy of 20,000 feet (6,000 meters).

Even driving the Alaska Highway and Haines Highway alongside the park, you may see grizzly bears and Dall sheep.

Be sure to stop at the very interesting Sheep Mountain Visitor Center.

11) Waterton Lakes National Park

It may be the smallest national park in the Canadian Rockies.

But Waterton Lakes National Park packs a powerful punch with superlative mountain scenery, a cute little village (population about 40 in winter) and wildlife galore.

(In fact, you have be careful of the grizzlies when hiking.)

Where: Alberta

Tucked into the southwestern corner of Alberta, the park borders Glacier National Park (to the south in Montana).

What’s wow

National Geographic twice called Waterton’s 5.3 mile (8.6 km) Crypt Lake hike one of the world’s most thrilling hikes (in 2014 and again in 2017).

After taking a short boat ride, you pass three waterfalls on the trail, climb a bolted steel ladder and crawl through a long dark tunnel before reaching the crystal-clear lake.

Boat cruises of beautiful Waterton Lake are also popular.

And it’s fun to bicycle through grasslands and valleys along the car-free Red Rock Parkway to Red Rock Canyon.

12) Elk Island National Park

Helping to conserve bison for over 100 years, Elk Island is Canada’s only completely enclosed national park.

And it’s enclosed for a reason – some 700 bison (about 300 wood bison and 400 plains bison, which are a little smaller) make their home here.

Bison are North America’s largest land mammal (wood bison weigh about 2,000 lbs/907 kg), and the bison population is managed.

Many bison have been sent to Russia and other countries over the years to help repopulate bison herds around the world.

Where: Alberta

Elk Island National Park is 15 miles (25 km) east of Edmonton.

What’s wow

Bison traffic jams are no joke!

Don’t be surprised when driving through the park to spot a herd of the massive furry creatures on the road, blocking traffic.

Have your camera ready!

Elk Island is also one of the best places to photograph the northern lights in Alberta.

13) Yoho National Park

You might have gathered from seeing Banff, Jasper and Waterton above that many of the best national parks of Canada are in the Rockies.

Yoho National Park is another one in the Rocky Mountains.

“Yoho” means “awe and wonder” in the Cree First Nation language.

And that’s exactly what you’ll feel when you gaze upon its powerful waterfalls, snow-capped mountains and evergreen forests!

Where: British Columbia

This jewel of a park is located in the Rockies in the southeast corner of British Columbia.

What’s wow

Drive up the steep switchback road to Canada’s third highest waterfall, Takakkaw Falls. The main drop is an awesome 1,224 feet (373 meters).

Also check out the natural rock bridge over the Kicking Horse River.

And take in Emerald Lake, one of the prettiest lakes you’ll ever see.

The color is? You guessed it – a brilliant emerald.

We’ve stayed at the lakeside Emerald Lake Lodge, a charming timber lodge in one of the most gorgeous remote locations in the world – a very special place.

14) Forillon National Park

Where: Quebec

It’s tucked away along the northeastern tip of Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula.

What’s wow

One of the best hikes in the park is Les Graves trail, which follows the coast.

15) Cape Breton Highlands National Park

“Where the mountains meet the sea” is how Cape Breton Highlands National Park is often described.

One-third of the Cabot Trail – one of the of the most scenic drives in the world – winds through the park.

Allow 3 to 5 days to experience this great Canadian road trip.

Stay at charming B&Bs along the way, and gobble up all the lobster you want (lobster is a specialty in this part of Canada).

Where: Nova Scotia

You’ll find this national park on the northern tip of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.

What’s wow

Be sure to hike the spectacular Skyline Trail.

This easy 4.5 mile (7.5 km) loop has a boardwalk in the middle section offering stunning ocean views.

If you’re lucky, you might see moose; offshore, whales are often spotted.

List of national parks in Canada

Want to check out more of the top national parks in Canada?

Here’s a list of all Canadian national parks.

Best guides on Canada’s national parks

This National Geographic paperback – “National Parks of Canada” – is one of the best illustrated guides.

---

---