Canada has some of the most stunning landscapes on Earth and here are 11 Canadian destinations that are downright breathtaking.
Old Québec, Québec
Walking through Québec City’s Old Town is as close to time travel as you can get without boarding a plane to Europe. Strolling down the 400-year-old cobbled streets, gazing up at the imposing Château Frontenac, and listening to French spoken all around you gives you a powerful, visceral sense of early Canadian history.
Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
This UNESCO World Heritage Site features breathtaking cliffs, fjords, and bare earth that offer undeniable proof of plate tectonics. Standing on Precambrian rocks that haven’t changed in hundreds of millions of years, hiking along alien-looking terrain of the Tablelands, where you’re literally walking on the Earth’s mantle, will feel incredibly surreal.
Add in world-famous Newfoundland hospitality, dialect, and music scene found in nearby coastal outports, and you’ve got a destination that’s required viewing for the heart and soul of Atlantic Canada.
The Icefields Parkway, Alberta
Driving Canada’s most picturesque mountain highway, a 232-kilometre stretch connecting Banff and Jasper, is an unparalleled adventure that many rate as the best drive in the world.
Whether you’re snapping photos of enormous glaciers, ancient pine forests or surreal turquoise lakes like Lake Louise and Peyto Lake, the Icefields Parkway will help you gain a new appreciation for the awe-inspiring size of our western Canadian Rockies. It’s the wilderness that will have you pulling over every five minutes to soak it all in.
Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
Dubbed the “Galápagos of the North,” this isolated archipelago off the northern coast of British Columbia is brimming with living history. It’s also home to the ancient villages of the Haida Nation, where huge cedar totem poles gradually decompose at long-abandoned settlements such as SGang Gwaay.
Travelers who make it here will have a rare, meaningful chance to learn about Indigenous culture, art and oral histories that have influenced life along the coast for more than 10,000 years.
Churchill, Manitoba
Situated on the shores of Hudson Bay, this remote subarctic community is famous around the world as the Polar Bear Capital of the World. Come fall, gorgeous polar bears roam the coast anxiously awaiting the arrival of sea ice.
Summertime brings thousands of beluga whales who swim right up the river estuary, singing their eerie songs. Canadians who venture north to Churchill gain a life-changing education about our northland ecology. Here, they witness the stunning beauty and vulnerability of the tundra that blankets so much of our country.
Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia
Driving around Cape Breton Island’s northern tip, this world-renowned scenic road cuts through oceanic highlands, precipitous green valleys and Acadian and Celtic communities.
Gazing out at the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Skyline Trail, as the road plunges toward the cliffs hundreds of feet below, is like stepping into a postcard snapshot of Canada. But the real treat is Cabot Trail culture, be it a night spent at a fiddle-infused kitchen party or fresh Atlantic lobster on a local wharf.
Tofino, British Columbia
Tofino lies on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island. It is literally the edge of Canada’s continent, where towering forests of ancient temperate rainforest drop down to meet the Pacific Ocean.
Whether catching knee-high peaks in freezing water during summer months or watching insanely powerful Pacific storms thrash the rocky shoreline during winter, it feels like a place of epic, primal power.
Dawson City, Yukon
Captured forever in the heady days of the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, the town is complete with wooden boardwalks and dirt roads, along with gorgeous frontier-style buildings.
Exploring the town is like being in a Jack London novel, filled with a quirky, tough citizenry that proudly preserves northern eccentricity. It’s an incredible homage to the determination, drive, and isolation of the great Canadian northward expansion.
Bay of Fundy
Known for having the world’s highest tides, this natural wonder witnesses 160 billion tonnes of seawater flow into and out of the bay twice daily.
Visitors can walk across the tidal mudflats at Hopewell Rocks among towering flowerpot rock formations sculpted by waves and kayak on top of these formations (40 feet above) just hours later. This place offers a breathtaking picture of raw Canadian and Atlantic Ocean power.
Manitoulin Island, Ontario
Home to the largest freshwater island in the world, Manitoulin Island’s location in Lake Huron allows visitors to enjoy a serene, slower pace while immersing themselves in Anishinaabe culture. You’ll find powwows, storytelling and eco-adventures scattered across eight First Nations communities.
Enjoy sweeping, panoramic views of white quartzite cliffs and crystal blue water on hikes like the Cup and Saucer Trail, showcasing quintessential Canadian Shield beauty.
Prince Edward Island
It’s hard to believe that our smallest province contributes so much to our cultural identity. Picture rolling green hills, red sandstone cliffs and endless stretches of potato fields.
Strolling along the wind-blown dunes of PEI’s National Park or touring the green-gabled house that inspired L.M. Montgomery connects you instantly to a foundational piece of Canadian literary identity. It’s a gentle feeling, one that evokes strong nostalgia and represents a peaceful, community-focused side of Canadian culture.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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