Go here: The Mealy Mountains

Locals call Labrador the Big Land, and Labrador’s soon-to-be national park reserve in the Mealy Mountains will be just that—big. In fact, at nearly 11,000 square kilometres—twice the size of Banff—the new park will become the largest in eastern Canada. The area has many striking landscapes, but the park—which has been a work in progress for more than 30 years—will centre around the Mealy Mountains themselves. Rising from sea level to about 3,500 feet, the Mealys frame a rugged subalpine world of tarns and bald granite hills.

The other well-known feature here is the Wonderstrands, long stretches of titanium-streaked sand along the Labrador Coast thought to be the beaches mentioned in Viking accounts. Wildlife in the area includes a threatened caribou herd and the (sadly) unthreatened hordes of mosquitoes and blackflies. There’s no road access, so visitors coming to hike or kayak arrive by floatplane from nearby Goose Bay or by boat from Cartwright.

FOR MORE INFO: destinationlabrador.com; experiencelabrador.com.

This article was originally published on March 25, 2010