6 Summer Adventures in Canada
Nova Scotia
Car Camping: Nova Scotia’s South Shore
Highways 101 and 103 make a great loop of the southern half of Nova Scotia, following the scenic coastline the whole way. Side trips, adventures and remote beaches are never far. Heading clockwise from Halifax, there is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lunenburg, hiking to remote beaches in Kejimkujik National Park Seaside, the lobster capital of the world around Shelburne and the Yarmouth region’s rich Acadian culture. Heading up the Fundy Bay coastline leads into the agricultural heart of the region, with vineyards, fresh produce and shellfish, not to mention the world-famous tides.
Quebec
Cycle Tour: Chemin du Roy Route Verte
Stitching together bike paths, quiet country roads and well-paved highway shoulders, this section of Quebec’s 5,000-km-long Route Verte cycling network links Montreal and Quebec City along the north shore. Usually keeping the St. Lawrence River in sight, the route passes through dozens of small farming villages with plenty of camping spots along the way. In Quebec City, take Via Rail back or make it a 700-km loop and ride the Trans Canada Trail through the Eastern Townships to Montreal.
Ontario
Canoe Tripping: Restoule-French River Loop
Samuel de Champlain paddled part of this route exactly 400 years ago, searching for the Pacific. What he found instead is what you’ll still find today: an inland maze of rivers, lakes and forest that begs to be explored by canoe. This 72-km loop begins at Restoule Provincial Park’s Stormy Lake. After passing beneath impressive cliffs, paddle down the forested river, over several portages, to the French River with its impressive granite outcrops. Working upstream, the loop connects via a series of quiet lakes, full of fish, beaver and moose.
Alberta
Hiking: Poboktan-Jonas Pass, Jasper National Park
Pack light on this three- to four-day route that treks through one of the largest chunks of alpine meadows in the mountain national parks. Beginning on Icefields Parkway, the route climbs more than 2,000 metres through three passes—Poboktan, Jonas and Nigel—meandering through prime caribou and grizzly habitat on its way back to the highway at the northern edge of Banff National Park.
British Columbia
Kayaking: Broughton Archipelago Provincial Park
Leave the crowds of other boaters in Johnstone Strait and head to the wilder waters of the Broughton Archipelago, just a little further on, between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast. This is one of the best places on Earth to see orcas and the maze of islands and channels beg to be explored. A week can easily disappear island-hopping. Don’t miss the sandy, windswept Burdwood Islands and the ruins of a great house and fallen totem at Mamalilikulla.
Yukon
Backpacking: Bocks Creek to Congdon Creek Loop, Kluane National Park
This rough route cuts into a remote chunk of northeastern Kluane National Park. You’re far more likely to spot resident grizzly bears than other campers as you complete a 100-km C shaped trek to and from the Alaska Highway. The terrain is rough and hard on the body, but the scenery never fails to inspire. Along the way, you’ll climb several passes and spend most of your trip wandering through open meadows surrounded by the front ranges of the St. Elias Mountains.
