Explore Canada: Ten National Parks

National parks are a part of Canada’s heritage – ecological and recreational. Visitors can kayak down rivers flowing through thousand-year old canyons, observe birds along traditional migration routes, or just sit back by the side of a lake and enjoy the view. 

Here are ten of Canada’s best national parks: 

British Columbia: Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park was established in 1886, when lodges and hotels were built to entice travellers to what had been uncharted wilderness only a few years before. Trails leading to spectacular glaciated viewpoints were a feature at the time – and are still waiting for visitors to discover them today

The park contains three distinct life zones created by elevation. At the lowest elevation visitors find lush forest. The Hemlock Grove trail, a short 400 metre boardwalk, is built to barrier-free standards for mobility and visually-impaired persons and travels through an old growth stand of the trees that give it its name.

At the elevation of the Illecillewaet Campground, visitors enter the interior subalpine life zone. Trees begin to thin creating park-like, open meadows full of cour in August, with wildflowers including paintbrush, glacier lily, fireweed, lupine and monkeyflower. Most of the Illecillewaet-area day hikes involve an elevation gain of about 1,000 meters. However, the trails are well constructed and well-marked.

Above the tree line, vegetation includes heather and sedge meadows, but in many places only lichen survives, encrusting the rock. This provides habitat for wildlife, including the grizzly bear, mountain goat, golden-mantled ground squirrel, mountain caribou and pika (a small rodent like mammal related to the rabbit).

Accessibility: During the snow-free season the Illecillewaet Campground, Abandoned Rails Trail and the Summit of Rogers Pass Picnic Area are all accessible to persons with disabilities. The Hemlock Grove Boardwalk and Picnic Area in Glacier National Park has been designed to barrier free standards.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $5.00 for adults, $4.25 for seniors. Campsites range from $14-17 a night. Hours of operation from June 14 to September 1 are 8 am to 7 pm, and most of the rest of the year from 9 am to 5 pm.

Alberta: Jasper National Park
The Jasper National Park began as the Jasper Forest Reserve in 1907. It is the largest of Canada’s Rocky Mountain Parks and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, spanning 10,878 sq. km of broad valleys, rugged mountains, glaciers, forests, alpine meadows and wild rivers. There are more than 1200 km of hiking trails and a number of spectacular mountain drives.

Many visitors come to the park for its wildlife. Opportunities to see elk, moose, goats, sheep, bears and caribou are excellent. With such a large, diverse area there are many areas to visit. Some highlights include:

• The Miette Hotsprings are the hottest known springs in the Canadian Rockies. Following an ancient path through the earth’s crust, water as hot as 53.9ºC flows out of springs in a narrow canyon along Sulphur Creek. The grand old aquacourt, once adorned with a red peaked roof and magnificent arches, is now a ruin open to the public.
• Jasper Lake removes silt and sand from the Athabasca River, allowing it to sink to the lake bed. When the water level recedes in the fall, vast sand flats are exposed and dry out. Nowhere else in the park is the balance of nature so apparent – or so fragile – as in the Jasper Lake sand dunes.
• At Sunwapta Falls, the smaller Chaba Valley and larger Athabasca Valley join in a spectacular stepping waterfall that has carved a deep limestone gorge out of the rock some metres below the footbridge. It is also the trailhead for a 25-km hike that takes you to isolated Fortress Lake and Hamber Provincial Park.

Accessibility: At the Miette hot springs there is a pool ramp with railing and wheelchairs available on request. The Lake Anette, Pochahontas, and Maligne Lake trails all are accessible, although steep. The Sunwapata viewpoint is paved and has guardrails, but very steep. Wheelchair visitors will need assistance

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $7.00 for adults, $6.00 for seniors. Campsites range from $13-$30 a night. Hours of operation from June 20 to September 1 are 9 am to 7 pm, and most of the rest of the year from 9 am to 5 pm.

Saskatchewan: Prince Albert National Park
Prince Albert National Park was established in 1927. During the economic depression of the 1930s and the Second World War, Relief Camps and Alternate Service Work Camps operated in the park. Many of the park’s historic facilities and roads/trails were completed by these workers during this time.

The 3,875 km sq park contains northern coniferous forest, or boreal forest. In the southern portion of the park, remnant patches of fescue grasslands occur.  About 30% of the area of the park is water bodies – from lakes Kingsmere and Crean to the tiny marshes, bogs and creeks that dot the landscape.

The Boundary Bog Trail takes visitors into the heart of a black spruce and tamarack bog.  A viewing tower near the trail’s end offers an overview of this terrain. Hiking boots are not generally required for this and other shorter trails.

The park is the largest protected wilderness area in Saskatchewan. It contains one of the few free-roaming herds of plains bison, the second largest colony of white pelicans in Canada, at Lavallée Lake, as well as lynx, timber wolf, woodland caribou, elk, moose, black bear and over 200 species of birds. Narrows Road, a 24 km path, provides an opportunity to spy many of these animals.

Accessibility: The park contains several accessible campsites and the Waskesiu River nature trail contains a fully accessible boardwalk trail, bridges and viewing decks.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $5.00 for adults, $4.25 for seniors. Campsites range from $14-27 a night. Hours of operation from mid-May to early September are 8 am to 8 pm.

Manitoba: Riding Mountain National Park
Riding Mountain was established in 1933. It covers 2973 km sq of rolling hills and valleys, stretching eastward from a dramatic rise of land known as Manitoba Escarpment.

This park includes expanses of boreal forest, a strip of deciduous forest along the foot of the escarpment, huge meadows of rough fescue grasslands in its west end, and significant tracts of marsh and river-bottom wetland. The park is also home to wolves, moose, elk, black bear, hundreds of bird species, countless insects and a captive bison herd.

Visitors can choose from a short walk on one of the self-guided trails, or a longer day hike (17 km) into Grey Owl’s cabin. Although Grey Owl only lived at the cabin for 6 months in the summer of 1931, his stay represents one of the earliest efforts to practice conservation in Canada’s national parks.

The easier and shorter Kippan’s Mill trail allows visitors to explore the remnants of the park’s logging history, and includes old foundations and paraphernalia from the logging camp of the 1940s. Trail surfaces vary from partially gravelled patrol roads to grassy trails.

Accessibility: Wishing Well, Lakeshore Walk, and Omminik Marsh Trail are all fully accessible. On the marsh trail there is a floating boardwalk, so assistance may be required.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $5.00 for adults, $4.25 for seniors. Campsites range from $13-30 a night. Hours of operation from mid-May to early September are 8 am to 8 pm.

Ontario: Point Pelee National Park
Officially opened in 1918, Point Pelee became a national park in large part due to its birds.  In the late 1800s the Great Lakes Ornithological Club (GLOC) was founded, dedicated to the study of bird migration in the Great Lakes region, especially at Point Pelee. Now Point Pelee is one of Canada’s smallest national parks, and yet attracts nearly 400,000 visitors each year.

Due in part to the moderating effect of Lake Erie, it teems with a diverse wildlife.  The area contains over 70 species of trees alone. Nowhere else in Canada are there more species of reptiles and amphibians. It is also home to 50 species of spiders and insects not found elsewhere in Canada. Acadian flycatchers, Carolina wrens, blue-gray gnatcatchers, red-bellied woodpeckers, and yellow-breasted chats are at the northern limit of their breeding range

The Marsh Boardwalk loops through ponds and cattail marsh, and contains two observation towers. The DeLaurier trail takes visitors through marsh, forest, and even an old canal as well as leading to a restored historic house and barn.

Accessibility: Wheelchair access is available to group camping facilities, the DeLaurier building exhibits and parking. An all terrain wheelchair is available for free reservation.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $5.00 for adults, $4.25 for seniors. Camping is $10 a night per adult. Hours of operation from mid-May to October are 9 am to 9:30 pm.

Quebec: Forillon National Park
Forillon has been inhabited for a long time. Nine thousand years ago, prehistoric peoples camped on the capes lining the point, its marine terraces, and Penouille Point. The park, created in 1970, celebrates the relationship of people, the land, and the sea.

The park is a prime site for exploring rock formations with an exceptional phenomenon: ten separate and clearly visible geological formations juxtaposed in a narrow strip. The fossils found in the limestone and sandstone strata help to determine the relative ages of rocks. The coastline contains a wide variety of forms, sculpting wave-cut terraces, high cliffs, coves and grottoes.

Although essentially a marine park, Forillon still contains a variety of interior wildlife including moose, bear, beaver, red fox, coyote, lynx, and snowshoe hare. Seabirds remind visitors of the ocean’s presence: double-crested cormorant, black guillemot, black-legged kittiwake, gulls and razorbills. 9 trails wind through the park including the fully accessible Prélude à Forillon.

From the end of June to September 1 visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the steep cliffs along the coastline and birds and marine animals aboard the Rocher Percé II.  There are several departures every day for this hour and forty-five minute cruise. For the adventurous there are also sea-kayaking tours available.

Accessibility: The Prélude à Forillon trail is fully accessible, but many of the trails are not. Photo albums have been created to demonstrate exhibits that are difficult or impossible to reach for people with reduced mobility.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $5.00 for adults, $4.25 for seniors. Campsites range from $21-23 a night. Hours of operation from late June to September 1 are 9:30 am to 5 pm.

New Brunswick: Kouchibouguac National Park
Kouchibouguac, which means “river of the long tides,” was established in 1969. It is a mosaic of bogs, salt marshes, tidal rivers, sparkling freshwater systems, sheltered lagoons, abandoned fields and tall forests that characterize the Maritime Plain Natural Region. The park also boasts the second largest tern colony in North America.

The park also contains 25 kilometres of shifting sand dunes, home to the endangered piping plover and witness to colonies of both harbour and grey seals.  Its peat bogs are about 5,000 years old.

Visitors can travel one of the 10 trails to witness the beauty of this unique environment. The Salt Marsh trail allows you to explore the habitat and wildlife for an ecological zone that few people have the opportunity to explore. The terrain is relatively flat and easy going.  For those with a taste for adventure the park offers a grand Voyageur Canoe to sandy barrier islands – an excellent way to look for Grey Seal and Common Tern colonies. Osprey and bald eagles also inhabit the route.

Accessibility: washrooms and parking are fully accessible.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $5.00 for adults, $4.25 for seniors. Campsites range from $14-26 a night. Hours of operation from late June to September 1 are 8 am to 8 pm.

Nova Scotia: Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Opened in 1936, the Cape Breton Highlands National Park is home to the famous Cabot Trail. The land is blessed with spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife and a human history that stretches back to the last Ice Age. The park offers many accessible treasures and experiences remarkable in their diversity, beauty, and wonder.

The Gulf coast is home to wildflowers and rare arctic-alpine plants such as the golden saxifrage and western rattlesnake plantain. On the Atlantic side, balsam fir, black spruce, pine and red maple grow along the rocky shoreline. The Canadian lynx enjoys protected status here and the endangered eastern panther may have also found a home along the high plateau. Other mammals in the park include otter, muskrat, mink and beaver. Along the Gulf shoreline, schools of Atlantic salmon begin their return upriver on their spawning runs.

Le Buttreau Trail is a 1.9 km loop along the coast, where visitors are treated to great bird watching, nature viewing and, if timed right, spectacular sunsets.  The much more rigourous 13 km Tous de Saummon leads to Headland Cliff where whale spotting is a possibility.

And of course, visitors will not want to miss the 2-hour Cabot Trail drive. The trail, begun in 1923 and completed in 1932, provides breathtaking views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence headlands and the curving Atlantic shores. Magnificent vistas abound, particularly from French Mountain, which drops toward the aptly named Pleasant Bay.

Accessibility: Broad Cove Campground and Cheticamp Campground are wheelchair accessible. The Freshwater Lake and Bog Trails are also wheelchair accessible.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $5.00 for adults, $4.25 for seniors. Campsites range from $17-29 a night. Hours of operation from late June to September 1 are 8 am to 8 pm.

Newfoundland and Labrador: Gros Morne National Park
Gros Morne National Park is known for its biotic richness and unique combination of geologic features. The rocks of the area describe ages of geologic turmoil when old oceans disappeared, new ones were created, and continents took shape. The park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

The park is dominated by two distinctly different landscapes, a coastal lowland bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the alpine plateau of the Long Range Mountains.  It also is home to an impressive freshwater fjord carved out by glaciers.

More than 100 km of trails allow visitors to explore the flora and fauna.  The Green Point trail follows the old winter mail road along the coast between Baker’s Brook and Green Point, winding past the long cobble beach, small ponds, and coastal tuckamore for a variety of habitats.

The Western Brook Pond tour is a 2.5 hour cruise between massive billion-year-old cliffs. Ponds atop the plateau feed waterfalls that cascade into the park’s largest lake. A moderate 3 km trail leads from parking lot to dock.

Lobster Cove Head lighthouse has marked the marine approach to Rocky Harbour and the entrance of Bonne Bay since 1897. The historic keeper’s house is open as a park exhibit.

Accessibility: Many of the park’s features are accessible, including the first part of the Berry Head Pond tour and the Lobster Cove Lighthouse exhibit.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $7.50 for adults, $6.00 for seniors. Campsites range from $13-21 a night. Hours of operation from late June to September 1 are 9 am to 9 pm.

Prince Edward Island: Prince Edward Island National Park
Established in 1937, Prince Edward Island National Park of Canada is one of the most visited parks in Canada.  It is home to sand dunes, barrier islands and sandspits, beaches, sandstone cliffs, wetlands and forests. These diverse habitats provide a home for a variety of plants and animals. In 1998, six kilometres of the Greenwich Peninsula were added to the Park to protect unique dune formations, rare plants and animals, as well as archaeological findings dating back 10,000 years.

Erosion along the coast is a concern: the soft sand stone coastline is erodes at the rate of .5 to 1.0 metres annually. Coastal forests are subject to strong winds and salt spray, but areas between the small forests and dunes are varied and interesting. Bay berry, wild rose, goldenrod, hudsonia, and beech pea appear in shrubby patches. The mature spruce forests farther inland completely cover the older dunes, the first row of trees providing a protective wall.

The western tip of Greenwich, a peninsula that separates St. Peters Bay from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, became part of Prince Edward Island National Park in 1998. This area features three hiking trails varying in length from 1.25 km to 4.5 km. The landscape varies from secluded wooded areas to open abandoned agricultural fields to spectacular vistas over Bowley Pond. There is also a supervised swimming beach.

One of the most frequently visited historical sites in the park is Green Gables. Green Gables is the farm that inspired the setting of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. The home also portrays the lifestyle of many island families in the late 19th century.

Accessibility: A beach wheelchair is available for free rental.

Fees and hours of operation: A day’s admission costs $5.00 for adults, $4.25 for seniors. Campsites range from $13-21 a night. Hours of operation from late June to September 1 are 9 am to 7 pm.

The Parks Canada website has a wealth of further information regarding Canada’s national parks.