10 Canadian Parks That Are Even Better in September and October
Autumn colours, smaller crowds, fewer biting insects and clearer night skies attract outdoor enthusiasts to parks across Canada every fall. Some parks are actually at their best in September and October for their unique, sometimes surprising attributes. Here are 10 Canadian parks that are even better at the end of summer into early fall.
1. Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site
Nova Scotia
The haunting calls of the loons of Kejimkujik National Park remind us that the summer crowds are gone, giving campers their choice of sites and leaving the eponymous lake to lone paddlers and loons. The wilderness beyond feels all the wilder. Water levels in the Mersey River often rise with autumn rains for fun kayaking, and cyclists have the Ukme’k Trail (the only park trail designed specifically for mountain biking) that runs parallel to the Mersey all to themselves. Thanksgiving and Halloween are both known by frequent campers as social times when harvest inspired cookouts and spooky decorations cast fireside shadows beneath the Milky Way in this designated Dark Sky Preserve.
2. Mount Carleton Provincial Park
New Brunswick
A Dark Sky Preserve best enjoyed under clear autumn skies after crisp nights chase the last of the mosquitos, New Brunswick’s largest and most remote provincial park is the province’s king of autumn. From the top of Mount Carleton, the Maritimes’ highest peak, it’s said that 10 million trees dressed in dazzling fall colours stretch to the horizon. Sightings of Atlantic Canada’s big-three mammals—fat bears yawning into hibernation, alert white-tailed deer and meandering moose—are common.
3. Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park
Quebec
Several species of whale are most active in September and October in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park where the Saguenay and St. Lawrence rivers converge. The numbers of humpback, fin and even blue whales spike in the park as they congregate to build fat reserves before heading south by gorging on small prey most abundant in fall. Belugas live and feed in the park year-round, so whale watching excursions continue into mid to late October. The steamy exhalations of these marine giants are more visible in the cool autumn air, making them easier to spot from coastal observation points set in a patchwork quilt of fall colours, including along the steep walls of the Saguenay fjord.
4. Gros Morne National Park
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland’s deciduous forests are relatively dense on the west coast, and Gros Morne National Park is the star of the fall foliage show. Yellow birch and orange-red maple splash across dark stands of conifer, deep blue fjords and the rare, rust-coloured slice of the Earth’s mantle called the Tablelands. Fewer visitors, crisp air and the absence of biting insects make hiking the park’s many and varied trails more enjoyable. Cultural life is never far away from this UNESCO World Heritage Site’s scenic locations—the late September Gros Morne Fall Festival entices with dining, music and workshops.
5. Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park
Prince Edward Island
Who knew PEI is considered a mountain biking destination, or that the island’s off-road cycling Mecca is named for one of Canada’s most decorated paralympic athletes? Winner of 14 medals at five Paralympic Winter Games, Mark Arendz is also an 11-time world champion. Like the fine cross-country skiing trails through rolling hills, those dedicated to off-road cycling make this a top island outdoor park. PEI’s red soil adds to the autumn palette as riders navigate sharp berms, root-and-rock surfaces and technical drops. There’s a skills park to build confidence before hitting the uncrowded trails. Bonus: while on-site bike rentals are still available into late September, trail use is free.
6. Pinery Provincial Park
Ontario
While Algonquin Provincial Park likely comes to mind when most Ontarians think of paddling misty lakes surrounded by autumn colours, there’s a much smaller park with a unique autumn attribute. Pinery Provincial Park is a slim crescent at the bottom of Lake Huron, a buffer of forest between the beach and a vast chessboard of farmland. Pinery is known for its rare oak savanna forest and its freshwater beach dune ecosystem, both of which glow a golden bronze in autumn, especially when the setting sun spotlights the 25 square kilometres park.
7. Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
Saskatchewan/Alberta
In 1989, Cypress Hills became Canada’s first interprovincial park, straddling the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. In fall, the prairie’s only natural lodgepole pine forest becomes the backdrop for golden grasslands and the deeper colours of the changing deciduous species. It’s rutting season for big ruminants such as deer, moose and elk. The bugle calls of bull elk echo through meandering valleys, otherwise much quieter in autumn. Late season camping costs less in this designated Dark Sky Preserve for views beneath the shimmering firmament that improve in the clear autumn air.
8. Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
Alberta
It’s all about infinite shades of yellow in Kananaskis country in the 304 square kilometre Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, 90 kilometres west of Calgary. The mountain glades and subalpine larch forests glow in shades of gold, bronze and copper, their reflections shimmering on the surfaces of lakes less disturbed by breezes and boats in autumn. Set against jagged peaks, the park is an outdoor recreation playground with hiking, cycling, paddling, camping, fishing and wildlife viewing opportunities aplenty. Autumn is the best time to drive Highway 40, reaching 2,206 metres in the clear autumn air at Highwood Pass, the highest paved mountain pass in Canada.
9. Kootenay National Park
British Columbia
With winter fast approaching, hot springs move to the front of the line as a park attraction. The 39 C waters of the Radium Hot Springs pools in Kootenay National Park feel all the more comforting in contrast to cooler autumn temperatures. Less tourist traffic makes the experience even more relaxing, especially with the autumn show playing out across the forested slopes capped by fresh dustings of white on the mountain peaks. Adding to the park’s palette are the paint pots or small, cold water mineral springs in shades of red, yellow and brown. The springs’ ochre deposits were once used by Indigenous people and in industrial paint manufacturing.
10. Tombstone Territorial Park
Yukon
In Canada’s North, the low-growing plants of the tundra reach the end of their season in a glorious blaze of crimson, caramel and canary yellow. When Tombstone Territorial Park in the Yukon ignites in these bright shades set against the park’s aptly named dark granite peaks, the park’s nickname as the “Patagonia of the North” becomes self-explanatory. This is a park best enjoyed in late summer and early autumn when its big five wildlife species—grizzly bear, black bear, Dall’s sheep, caribou and moose—can be most active just before the snow flies.
