The Most Beautiful National Parks in Canada
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Banff National Park, Alberta
Canada’s first national park, Banff, which opened in 1885, still overwhelms with movie-set views of the Canadian Rockies, jewel-colored lakes, and a regular cast of creatures whose whoops, purrs, and screeches provide an unparalleled soundtrack. The mellow Lake Louise usually gets the glory as the park’s trophy, but it's Lake Minnewanka that offers the most gasp-inducing vistas of Banff’s bounty.
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Yoho National Park, British Columbia
In Yoho, it’s all about high and low here: think soaring peaks, thunderous waterfalls, and green patches so serene they almost shock. Yoho takes its name from a Cree expression of awe and wonder, and after glimpsing the turquoise Kicking Horse River, you’ll understand. Centuries of erosion have formed a natural rock bridge over the river; climb on for magnificent views.
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Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
Consider Gros Morne a work in progress. After half a billion years, nature is still shaping this Lord of the Rings-like terrain of lush forests, freshwater fjords, pitch-dark bogs, eerie lowlands, and skyscraping peaks. Even in this eye-popping landscape, you’ll still probably gasp at the sight of the Tablelands, a mountain of flat-topped rock normally found far below the Earth’s surface. More than 5,000 moose call Gros Morne home, which is, thankfully, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Point Pelee National Park, Ontario
You’ll have company at this southwest-Ontario oasis, a rare Carolinian forest in the Great Lakes region: songbirds migrate here in spring, cicadas pass through in summer, and, come fall, monarch butterflies bring riots of color and movement. In cold-weather months, deer and wild turkeys might scoot by, but the tree-packed terrain itself becomes the star; after a snowfall, you’ll see a lunar landscape of stunning purity.
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Parc National de la Gaspésie, Quebec
With 25 peaks more than a thousand meters (3,280 feet) high, Quebec’s colossal “sea of mountains” boasts a singular climate where arctic and alpine plants have carved a habitat for rare herds of woodland caribou, along with moose, white-tailed deer, and 150 bird species. But it’s the soaring peaks that captivate here, stretching, surreally, across every vista.
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Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan
It’s as much what you don’t see at Grasslands that sticks in your memory. This 200-square-mile prairie landscape is one of the world’s largest Dark Sky Reserves, where an ink-black, star-filled sky floats undisturbed by light pollution. In daylight, the lush flats can reveal extremely rare wildlife—short-horned lizards and black-tailed prairie dogs scamper—or yield astonishing dinosaur bones.
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Nahanni National Park, Northwest Territories
Across seven million otherworldly acres, Nahanni encompasses turbo-charged waterfalls, chill-inducing limestone caves, and seemingly infinite canyons. But its centerpiece is the breathtaking South Nahanni river, whose fierce natural force is surpassed only by its painterly beauty. Wolves, grizzlies, eagles, and caribou, along with sheep and mountain goats, all reside within the park, and are reportedly not shy. Nahanni is another UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia
In a national park system full of superlatives, Cape Breton still remains a candidate for Canada’s most postcard-perfect landscape. The flat-topped Highlands Plateau comprise 90 percent of the park, and its many hiking paths—Middle Head Trail was once used used as a carriage road—provide heart-stopping Atlantic Ocean views, and a clifftop vista of Cape Breton’s wild beauty. For the park’s famous whale-watching (keep an eye out for vapor plumes), Mackenzie Mountain is the spot.
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Auyuittuq National Park, Nunavut
Auyuittuq is Inuktitut for “land that never melts,” and the 85 percent of its terrain made up of rock and ice feels both prehistoric and sci-fi. Much of the park remains untouched by humans (most of it lies within the Arctic Circle), but if you make it here you’ll find sparkling glaciers, abyss-like valleys, and zig-zag mountains. Remote Auyuittuq sees fewer visitors than superstar parks like Banff, but the rewards make up for the schlep. The Midnight Sun prevails from mid-July to September.
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Kluane National Park, Yukon
For those seeking a more extreme experience, Canada’s highest peak reigns here—the majestic, 20,000-foot Mount Logan—alongside the world’s largest non-polar ice field. Take in Kluane’s 8,500 square miles by prop plane or helicopter to get a birds-eye view of the mountains, ice rivers, frozen landscapes, and legion of grizzlies. For the ultimate thrill, join a basecamp tour to trek the icefields, the closest you’ll get to walking on the moon.
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Fathom Five National Marine Park, Ontario
“Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made.” Once you’ve glimpsed Canada’s first underwater national park, Shakespeare’s verse sends a shiver. Across 22 islands in a triangular 81 miles, Fathom Five includes 22 shipwrecks—mostly schooners, barges, and steamers—and three historic lighthouses built too late to save them. While majestic rock formations and rare flora make the park grounds a visual feast, it’s underwater that the real show begins, with some of the world’s most revelatory scuba diving; it’s like communing with ghosts.