Picking Canada’s top 100 natural attractions would be hard enough, picking just four is a very tall order indeed. Here’s our favourites to get the argument started.
1. CANADA’S WEST – LAKE LOUISE
Nature is so all encompassing in Canada even the cities are overflowing with it! Bears wander the trails of Grouse Mountain just outside Vancouver, stallions overrun Calgary during the stampede and flowers overflow year round in the renowned gardens of Victoria. High up in the Rocky Mountains things get more serious. Towering snow capped mountains gaze down on rushing rivers, vast glaciers and cascading waterfalls. The jewel in the crown is Lake Louise. Surrounded on all sides by forests and ice clad peaks, on a still day the emerald waters reflect a scene that is simply breathtaking.
2. MANITOBA – CHURCHILL’S POLAR BEARS
If it’s bears you’re after then boy have you come to the right country. You can spot grizzlies fishing for salmon off the shores of Vancouver Island or catch glimpses of curious black bears all over the mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. King of them all is the Polar Bear. Standing over 10 foot tall Ursus Maritimus is the world’s largest land predator and a truly awe inspiring sight. Fly north to the quirky community of Churchill and as well as watching these incredible animals up close you can spot beluga whales, arctic foxes, hares and seals and have the chance to explore a real slice of Hudson Bay Company history at Cape Merry.
3. ATLANTIC CANADA – BAY OF FUNDY
Perhaps Canada’s best kept secret, the Atlantic Coast has an embarrassment of natural riches. The waters off Cape Breton abound with pilot, humpback, minke and fin whales, Prince Edward Island boasts hundreds of miles of pristine beaches and almost every driving route and trail on the East Coast hugs magnificent beaches, coves, parks and bays. Over a billion cubic metres of water flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy every day giving rise to the highest tidal variation in the world – up to 17 metres! It’s also home to an eye-popping variety of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and seabirds.
4. CENTRAL CANADA – NIAGARA FALLS
Ontario and Quebec boast so many scenic delights it’s hard to know where to begin sometimes. Perhaps with the maple clad hills, rocky ridges and lakes of Algonquin National park, the spellbinding mountainous coastlines of Charlevoix or the tranquil waters of Lac Sacacomie. For sheer grandeur though the highlight just has to be Niagara Falls. Some 6 million cubic feet of water flow over the falls every minute creating a vast towering curtain of water over a kilometre wide and the thunderous roar of the falls is so huge it’s felt rather than just heard.
