Swap 11 High-Fee U.S. Parks for These Free Canadian Parks
If concerns about safety, a growing trade war and Donald Trump’s comments about making Canada the 51st state weren’t enough, Canadians have another reason not to visit the United States.
On January 1st, the U.S. government increased National Park entrance fees for non-residents. In addition to an across-the-board day-use fee increase, 11 of America’s most iconic parks added a $100 USD per-person fee, prompting some Canadians to question trips to places like Acadia National Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.
Meanwhile, Canada has renewed the Canada Strong Pass, a program that grants discounted or free entry to national parks and historic sites across the country. Taken together, it has people looking across Canada for alternatives to some of America’s iconic parks. To help, Explore put together a guide that breaks down Canadian alternatives to America’s most iconic national parks.
Instead of Acadia National Park, Visit Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Looking for a windswept island in the North Atlantic with sheer cliffs, winding trails and stunning ocean views? Cape Breton Highlands National Park has it all. It’s also larger, wilder and sees far fewer visitors than Acadia.
With eight campgrounds and more than two dozen trails ranging from day hikes to backpacking routes, it has everything you could want in an Atlantic park. And most hikes end at a short drive from a pub and some Cape Breton fiddling.
Instead of Bryce Canyon National Park, Visit Bruce Peninsula National Park & Fathom Five National Marine Park
Bryce Canyon is home to some otherworldly rock formations. It’s not the desert, but the Georgian Bay-carved limestone shores of Bruce Peninsula National Park, and its neighbouring sister park, Fathom Five National Marine Park, offer an equally surreal landscape.
Hike or backpack along the Bruce Trail and visit the Grotto to swim through caves in Caribbean blue waters (just don’t expect the water to be as warm). Explore the coastline and head over to Flower Pot Island to check out the sea stacks. Bonus: the boat ride there takes you over some impressive Great Lakes shipwrecks.
Instead of Everglades National Park, Visit Wood Buffalo National Park
At more than 1.5 million acres, Everglades National Park is one of the largest American national parks outside of Alaska. Created in 1947, it was the first park established with biodiversity as its primary goal. While a subtropical ecosystem isn’t something you can really find in Canada’s northern latitudes, there are plenty of amazing, biodiversity-rich wetlands, such as those in Wood Buffalo National Park.
Located along the Alberta-NWT border, it’s Canada’s largest National Park. Home to the Peace-Athabasca Delta, it’s home to wolves, whooping cranes and the world’s largest wood bison herd, which are kind of like terrestrial manatees when you really think about it. Like the Everglades, one of the best ways to explore Wood Buffalo is on the water, with endless opportunities for paddling trips, including along an aquatic stretch of the Trans-Canada Trail.
Wood Buffalo is also home to the world’s largest Dark Sky Preserve, offering incredible night skies and some of the best views of Northern Lights anywhere on earth.
Instead of Glacier National Park, Visit Waterton Lakes National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park might be the most slept-on National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Located just across the Montana border from Glacier National Park, the two parks actually form the world’s first “International Peace Park.”
Expect great wildlife viewing, incredible views and amazing hiking where the Alberta Prairies meet the Southern Rockies. And as a bonus, it’s almost always less crowded than more well-known parks like Banff and Jasper.
Instead of Grand Canyon National Park, Visit Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve
Rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon has, rightfully, earned a place on the bucket list of paddlers around the world. It’s a journey through deep time, iconic canyons and a landscape rich in human and natural history. Which is exactly what you’ll find in Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve.
One of Canada’s newer parks, Nááts’įhch’oh, was created in 2014 to protect the headwaters of the mighty Nahanni River (another river trip that’s a worthy alternative to the Grand Canyon). The Broken Skull River is an approachable river trip with fun whitewater, endless views and abundant wildlife. Your boat grants access to world-class hiking, endless ridgelines and some incredible remote hot springs. And, as a bonus, getting a permit for the Broken Skull or other nearby rivers is a breeze compared to the Grand Canyon lottery.
Instead of Grand Teton National Park, Visit Riding Mountain National Park
It would be easy to point to somewhere like Mount Revelstoke National Park as a comparison to Grand Teton. Both are big, iconic massifs with rich mountaineering histories and vibrant ski and climbing communities nearby. And if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s hard to go wrong in any of Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks. But they already get a lot of attention. What doesn’t is Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba.
Located near Canada’s geographical centre, Riding Mountain is the heart of the Manitoba Escarpment. It rises from the flat prairie like the Grand Teton, albeit without quite the same vertical relief. Also, like the Grand Teton, it’s an ancient seabed.
Glacial recession and generations of erosion have smoothed the edges of Riding Mountain, but the park remains a fascinating ecosystem that’s home to more than 350 kilometres of trails. The area around Riding Mountain is also rich in Metis history, possibly even connected to the same Metis fur-traders who gave the American park its name when they saw the mountains and remarked that they looked like a “grande teton,” French for “large breast.”
Instead of Rocky Mountain National Park, Visit Yoho National Park
While the United States has one Rocky Mountain National Park, Canada has six. There’s Wateron Lakes, which we already mentioned. Then there’s Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff, probably the three most well-known parks in the country. Kootenay is beautiful and worth a visit, but Yoho might be the most underrated.
Located just west of Lake Louise, Yoho is Canada’s second-oldest national park. Founded in 1886 as the Mount Stephen Reserve, it was renamed Yoho in 1930. According to the story, the name is a borrowed, somewhat mispronounced Cree expression of awe and wonder. It’s fitting given the park’s soaring peaks and crashing waterfalls. There are plenty of amazing hikes, but backpacking the Iceline Trail and Little Yoho Valley loop is pretty unbeatable.
Instead of Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, Visit Kluane National Park
Stretching across the crest of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, Sequoia & Kings Canyon has a lot going on. It’s home to some of the world’s largest trees and is crisscrossed by the John Muir Trail, but its most famous landmark is Mount Whitney. Standing at 4,421 metres, it’s the tallest peak in the Lower 48 United States. It’s also about 1,500 metres shorter than Mt. Logan, Canada’s highest peak and the heart of Kluane National Park and Reserve.
Located about two and a half hours’ drive west of Whitehorse, Kluane is home to towering peaks and sprawling icefields. Beyond its frozen summits are glacier-carved valleys, boreal forests and postcard-perfect lakes. Mount Logan is the park’s tallest peak and a major draw for skiers and mountaineers, but it’s far from the only destination. Kluane offers a range of mountaineering objectives, epic backpacking routes and day hikes. There’s also lots of paddling, from the aforementioned lakes to backcountry trips on iconic rivers like the Alsek, or lesser-known packraft destinations like the Donjek.
Instead of Yellowstone National Park, Visit Gwaii Hanaas National Park Reserve, Marine Conservation Area Reserve & Haida Heritage Site.
You could go to Banff. In fact, if you haven’t ever been there, you probably should go to Banff. Yosemite is America’s oldest park, and Banff is Canada’s. They both protect stunning parts of the Rocky Mountains and are home to elk grizzlies, and other iconic wildlife. But, like Yellowstone, Banff can also be busy and expensive, especially in the summer.
If you want to get a bit off the beaten path, explore a historic landscape, see some amazing wildlife and get a good thermal soak, check out Gwaii Hanaas on BC’s Northwest Coast. On this remote island, you get three parks in one: a National Park Reserve, a National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and a Haida Heritage Site.
You’ll be trading land for sea, kayaking past old-growth coastal rainforests, watching whales and bears and visiting Haida totem poles preserved for generations by the coastal salt air. You can even take a boat out to G̱andll K’in Gwaay.yaay (Hotspring Island) to get your fill of impressive geothermal activity while drinking in views of the wild Pacific.
Instead of Yosemite National Park, Visit Glacier National Park
When I hear the word Yosemite, I think of one thing: rock climbing. The Yosemite Valley is both the birthplace of and a Mecca for so much of modern climbing. There are some incredible walls that rival Half Dome and El Capitan in Canadian parks. You have the Lotus Flower Tower and the Cirque of the Unclimbables in Nahanni National Park, and Mount Asgard and Mount Thor in Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island, but access to either can be challenging. That’s where Glacier National Park comes in.
Not to be mistaken for the American park of the same name, Canada’s Glacier National Park surrounds Rogers Pass. It’s home to one of the highest concentrations of high-quality alpine rock climbing in North America, described in a 1992 American Alpine Club publication as “one of the great classic areas of North American alpinism.” They also note that, unlike some other areas, “it offers fine climbs on rock, snow and ice at all standards of difficulty, with a great deal, in particular, for the intermediate mountaineer.” And with the vibrant mountain towns of Revelstoke and Golden nearby, there are plenty of options to hire a guide or take a course if you’re new to alpine climbing.
Instead of Zion National Park, Visit Grasslands National Park
While Canada is close to establishing its first true desert national park in the South Okanagan Similkameen Region, Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park offers an opportunity to explore another unique, arid ecosystem. Just north of the American border, you can explore the Saskatchewan badlands on a scenic parkway or get out and explore on your own two feet.
Trails will take you to stunning vistas and offer opportunities to see iconic wildlife and to learn about active conservation projects that protect them. You’ll also find thousands of years of history from teepee rings to dinosaur fossils. And, unlike Zion, you might not see another person, especially if you head out on one of Grasslands’ backcountry, off-trail hiking routes through the wild heart of the badlands.
