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Canada's National Parks

Canada's National Parks

Here's a listing of some of Canada's most  beautiful and famous National Parks. I've included one or two from each province or territory in Canada with a brief description of each to show the amazing amount of diversity in this country.


British Columbia

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 
Pacific Rim National Park is located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and consists out of three sections: Long Beach, the Broken Island Group, and the West Coast Trail. Each unit is different and has its own characteristic. The West Coast Trail is one of Canada's most scenic and grueling backpacking trails. The park sees mild temperatures and heavy rains year round and is home to a dense coastal rain forest. 

Glacier National Park 
Glacier National Park occupies an area of 1349.3 square kilometres in south-eastern British Columbia. The park is bisected by the Trans-Canada Highway. The park was carved from the rugged Selkirk and Purcell Mountains by glaciers. Today you will find steep mountains, narrow valleys, icefields and glaciers. Many avalanche slopes, caused by heavy snowfall can be seen. There is an unique cave system which is listed in Canada’s top 10 largest cave systems. 

Alberta

Banff National Park 

Banff National Park is Canada’s first and most heavily visited National Park. The park is situated in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 111 kilometres east of Calgary and adjacent to Jasper National Park in the north. The mix of towering mountains, glittering glaciers and icefields, lush alpine meadows, and natural mineral hot springs makes up one of Canada’s most exciting recreational areas. It's easily accessible and offers great camping and hiking trips but is often overcrowded in the summer months.


Jasper National Park 
Jasper National Park is located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and is with a size of 10 880 square kilometers the largest and most northerly of the four adjoining mountain parks. The wonderful park of glacial origin, with towering mountain peaks up to 3747 m, is home to an abundant wildlife, including moose, elk, mule deer, black bear, coyote and bighorn sheep. 

Saskatchewan

Grasslands National Park 
Grasslands National Park is the first national park of Canada to preserve a portion of the mixed prairie grasslands. The park will eventually have a total size of 906.4 sq km. It is located between Val Marie and Killdear, south of Swift Current and west of Assiniboia. The park protects an unique flora and fauna, including Canada’s only black-tailed prairie dogs and other rare reptiles and amphibians that are mainly spotted along the Frenchman River Valley. 

Manitoba

Wapusk National Park 
Wapusk National Park is located in northern Manitoba and protects one of the world's largest known polar bear maternity denning areas. Wapusk is a Cree word for 'white bear'. If you decide to visit the park, please make sure to obey all safety precautions while in polar bear country! 



Ontario

Bruce Peninsula National Park 
Bruce Peninsula National Park is situated on the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula, between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. The spectacular park, with a size of 155 square kilometers at the end of the Niagara Escarpment, consists out of limestone cliffs, caves and underground streams, and ancient forests with some of the oldest trees in Canada. You may even discover rare orchids. A great park for hiking or sea kayaking in the Water's of Georgian Bay.

Quebec

Forillon National Park
Forillon National Park is situated on the extreme north-eastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula and has a total size of 240.4 square kilometers. The spectacular coastline is made out of limestone cliffs, pebble beaches and rocks. The park is covered by boreal forest, where you may see moose, deer, and black bears. Offshore you may enjoy whales and seals. 




New Brunswick   Bay of Fundi

Fundy National Park 
Fundy National Park is a 206 sq km park containing exhibits, self-guided trails, picnic areas and scenic viewpoints. The park is home to the world’s highest tides. Enjoy spectacular panoramic views of the Bay of Fundy; coastal cliffs and rolling forested hills. 





Nova Scotia

Cape Breton Highlands National Park 
The headlands and cliffs of Cape Breton Highlands tower over the rich, natural heritage that is all around. Home to the famous Cabot Trail, the land is blessed with spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife and a human history that stretches back to the last Ice Age. The park offers many accessible treasures and experiences remarkable in their diversity, beauty, and wonder. 



Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island National Park 
This is one of Canada’s smallest national parks, offering 40 km of some of the finest salt-water beaches in Canada. A blend of sand dunes, red sandstone cliffs and heritage abound has made this park a popular one. Green Gables House, known internationally through L.M. Montgomery's classic novel, Anne of Green Gables, is also located in the park. 

Newfoundland and Labrador

Gros Morne National Park 
Gros Morne National Park, an 1805 sq. km park, is a must for its spectacular and varied geography and great natural beauty offering an abundance of wildlife, scenery and activities. Set aside as a National Park in 1973, Gros Morne is popular with hikers who enjoy the wild, uninhabited mountains and camp areas by the sea. The park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The Long Range Traverse hike across the park is a legendary trip for it's steep climbs and isolated back-country wilderness.


Yukon Territory

Kluane National Park and Reserve
Kluane National Park and Reserve is located 150 km west of Whitehorse and encompasses an area of 22,000 sq km. The park contains unclimbed peaks, the world’s largest nonpolar icefields, crystal clear lakes, glaciers and an abundance of wildlife. It is a United Nations World Heritage Site and home to Canada’s highest peak, Mount Logan (5950 m). The park is popular with hikers enjoying marked or less defined routes surrounded by beautiful scenery. 


Nahanni National Park Reserve

Nahanni National Park encompasses 300 square kilometres of the South Mountains in the south-western corner of the Northwest Territories. The Nahanni River, named for the Naha, a tribe of fierce warriors who vanished from the valley, is a dangerous river notorious for other mysteries as well, like the story of the headless men found in Deadmen ValleyAmong its outstanding features are the Tufa mounds at Rabbitkettle Hotsprings and the karst formations of the Nahanni and Ram Plateau.


Ellesmere Island National Park
On the northern tip of Canada's most northern island, the tenth largest island in the world, lies one of Earth's last great wilderness domains. Lying just 800 kilometres from the North Pole and 25 kilometres from Greenland, our second largest national park offers spectacular mountain scenery, huge glaciers, deeply incised fiords, and ice shelves extending far into the sea. It's going to be tough to make it up there though, so it's not quite a weekend camping trip!

Sources: 
http://www.greatcanadianparks.com/
http://www.national-parks-canada.com/
oLahav
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oLahav said:

This is a great summary!
Living in Toronto, or any big city really, you tend to forget that Canada is so full of rich natural reserves and national parks. I haven’t visited nature is years, but there’s probably a great spot only a few hours away. I should really consider getting out of my air-conditioned house and go hiking or something…

Thanks for the great suggestions!

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lechuck
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lechuck said:

I’m still slightly disappointed as a guy who grew up in British Columbia to see Banff considered to be in Alberta. It’s basically smack on the border and the climate is far more BC than Alberta, at least in my opinion.

Pacific Rim is gorgeous! :)

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lechuck
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lechuck said:

How would you get to Nahanni, Dan? A lot of driving or would you have to fly there?

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acrosstheuniverse
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acrosstheuniverse said:

Jasper is absolutely beautiful. We saw a whole bunch of bald eagles on our visit!

That picture of Nahanni is fascinating. Was it created by glacial elements? Or just erosion over time?

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albrecht
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albrecht said:

@ lechuck and acrosstheuniverse

You can only get to Nahanni by floatplane or helicopter so it’s one of Canada’s least visited parks. Only 800-900 people visit each year compared to over 1.1 million visitors each year to Algonquin Park so if your looking to get away from the crowds…

The picture from the Nahanni National Park Reserve is of a geological formation called the Tufa Mounds. Briefly, they are mineral deposits built up over thousands of years from heated water rising up through the ground due to volcanic activity. I read that all visitors have to go barefoot when hiking there to preserve them!

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acrosstheuniverse
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acrosstheuniverse said:

That brings the whole “no shoes no service” statement to a whole new level! Thanks for the description albrecht. Sounds like a place that would be very interesting to visit.

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  • Posted 3 months ago.
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