TOP 9 AT-HOME CANADIAN TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

Everyone wants to see the world. But Canadians know: the best destinations are sometimes closest to home.

BY ALI BECKER

Canada is home to an incredible amount of wild and wonderful places from the far north reaches to the coastal beaches and everything that rests in between.

When given the chance, these remarkable spaces have the ability to bring us back to the deep now and help us reconnect with the wonder and awe that is always all around us.

This list is a microscopic representation of some of the spectacular spots sprinkled across Canada, all of which are well worth the extra effort to get to.

BERE POINT PARK, MALCOLM ISLAND

As the oceanic gateway to BC’s largest marine park, the Broughton Archipelago, Bere Point Park is an ideal spot to watch magnificent sea creatures as they journey by.

Each year, pods of Northern Resident Orcas stop by to rub themselves up and down along the soft pebble shorelines that stretch out along Bere Point Beach.

This rare “rubbing” behavior is not seen in any other parts of the world except along this meandering coastline that lays within the Queen Charlotte Strait. Besides majestic wildlife encounters, the park is home to meandering rainforest trails that showcase massive second growth timbers and eclectic driftwood structures that make great campsites, viewing platforms and picnic spots.

SKOOKUMCHUCK NARROWS, EGMONT

A natural wonder and stunning sight to see, the Skookumchuck Rapids are caused by rising ocean tides that are forced between a land pinch, creating a surge of saltwater into the Sechelt Inlet.

As a result, twice a day, once calm waterways turn turbulent with high waves and wicked whirlpools creating a set of wild rapids and a world-class kayak and surf spot.

The best viewpoint, a smooth rock outcropping, is surrounded by purple sea stars, mussels, urchins and long bull kelp that brave the ever-changing conditions.

If you time it just right, you can catch the bioluminescence “rippling” swiftly through the rapids on a dark night. Nature’s finest psychedelic experience—no substance needed.

THE BADLANDS, DRUMHELLER

Commonly known as a hotbed for dinosaur fossil discoveries, the Drumheller Valley is also home to ancient Hoodoos—large sandstone pillars topped with wide, mushroom-like caps.

These natural stone sculptures evolved alongside the Alberta Badlands over 70 million years ago and are formed from a base of brown marine shale, which holds up the columns, and caps made from sand and clay.

The unique, colourful banding around each Hoodoo shows the different stages of the earth’s formation while their continual deterioration reminds us of the great impermanence of life.

WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK, WATERTON

Canada’s upper half of Glacier National Park, Waterton offers an impressive amount of wellmaintained front-country, backcountry and urban hiking trails that allow people of all ages and abilities to roam.

Ranging from 3 to 32 kilometres, you can ramble amongst the tall timbers, babbling brooks and endless ridgelines from twenty minutes to two full days, and often encounter more wildlife than humans along the way.

With the small but well-stocked hamlet of Waterton situated at the bottom of this amazing trail network, you needn’t go far to supply before getting high up in the hills for some fresh mountain air.

LITTLE MANITOU LAKE, MANITOU BEACH

Another one of nature’s great gifts can be experienced amongst the wide open wheat field of south central Saskatchewan.

Little Manitou Lake is a naturally occuring salt lake said to have five times the mineral density of the ocean and half as much salinity as Israel and Jordan’s Dead Sea.

Fed by underground springs, the nourishing waters of Manitou, which is Cree for Great Spirit, are rich with magnesium, potassium and sodium making for a serene, buoyant and healing soak in the heart of the prairies.

PUKASKWA NATIONAL PARK, HERON BAY

With shorelines so rugged, horizons so vast and waves so wild, you’d swear you were standing alongside the tides of the ocean instead of Canada’s Great Lake Superior.

The soft sandy beaches of Pukaskwa’s (Puk-a-saw) wilderness park are covered with impressive piles of washed up driftwood and funky structures while the low-lying bogs are host to cranberries, black spruce and moose.

From the rocky banks of the water’s edge you can catch black bears foraging blueberries, eagles fishing trout and magnificent lightning strikes that storm the night sky.

Bruce Peninsula National Park

A stone’s throw from the Toronto skyline lies the serenity of the Bruce Peninsula, a sought after space for those looking to escape the big city streets and immerse themselves in the turquoise waters of the Georgian Bay and its stunning surrounding nature.

Part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Peninsula is host to some of the largest remaining forests and natural habitats in Southern Ontario, making way for immense amounts of migrating birds, curious black bears and the elusive massasauga rattlesnake.

In high season, you’ll be sharing popular places like The Grotto with multitudes of other nature lovers, so if you’re looking for calm over crowds, consider section hiking the Bruce Trail from the Tobermory terminus or disappearing into the massive old growth cedars on the wild, rocky bluffs.

MEAT COVE, CAPE BRETON ISLAND

A quick turn off the infamous Cabot Trail takes you on a short gravel road odyssey that climbs up to Meat Cove, the most northerly settlement in Nova Scotia.

This small, rural fishing village perched atop the cliffside seems to hang off the edge of the world, overlooking sapphire blue waters and vibrant green grasses speckled with pink and yellow wildflowers.

With a uniquely situated campground, a delicious chowder hut and the most welcoming people you’ve ever met, it’s the type of place that beckons you to slow right down and stay a while.

THE WRECKHOUSE WINDS, CODROY VALLEY

Yep, we’re talking about travelling for the wind. Not just any wind, but some of the fiercest continual gales in the world, some of which clock in at over 200 km/hr—the same as a Category 2 hurricane.

Known to blow trains off tracks and turn semis on their sides, these strong currents are a result of unique topography—southeast winds, offshore storms, temperature inversions and narrow gulches in the nearby Long Range Mountains that accelerate air across the flat Wreckhouse region.

While you’re here, visit Cape Ray Beach and the beautiful Codroy Valley and grab a copy of the world famous Bologna Cookbook before heading off The Rock.