Canadian summer awaits (part 2)

This is the second of a two-part story about Canada’s National Parks. Read the first part here.

Jasper National Park in Alberta is one of Canada’s most iconic mountain destinations, offering a blend of accessible scenery and vast wilderness. Unlike more heavily developed parks, Jasper retains a quieter and more spacious atmosphere, while still providing excellent infrastructure for tourism. Its landscape is defined by soaring peaks, expansive valleys, glacial lakes, and fast-flowing rivers carved by the retreat of ancient ice. The townsite of Jasper is a welcoming homebase for exploring hiking trails, hot springs, and scenic drives. The area is also a designated ‘dark sky preserve’ — making it an exceptional place for stargazing.

Nestled in the Canadian Rockies in southwestern B.C., along the western slope of the Continental Divide, Yoho National Park showcases some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in Canada. Its name is said to have come from a Cree expression of awe, which would have been a fitting response to the towering peaks, emerald green lakes, and sparkling falls — including Takakkaw, one of Canada’s highest waterfalls. The park also contains important fossil beds that provide insight into early life here on earth. Less crowded than some of the neighbouring parks, Yoho features exceptional hiking, photography, and opportunities to experience the ruggedness of the Rockies in a more tranquil setting.

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on Vancouver Island’s west coast is a place where the rainforest and ocean meet. Stretching along the driftwood-strewn shoreline between Tofino and Ucluelet, it is famous for long sandy beaches, pounding Pacific surf, and ancient temperate rainforest filled with moss-draped cedar and hemlock trees. It’s one of Canada’s most atmospheric coastal destinations, especially during storm season when winter’s waves crash relentlessly against the shores. In summer, the beaches are a popular haven for surfers, kayakers, and beachcombers out exploring the tidal pools and hidden coves. Marine wildlife is abundant, with gray whales migrating offshore, sea lions lounging on the rocks, and bald eagles soaring overhead.

Wood Buffalo National Park is a massive remote region straddling the border between northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. As Canada’s largest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is home to an immense network of boreal forest, wetlands, salt plains, and one of the most intact ecosystems left on the planet. Best known for its natural population of free-roaming wood bison, these majestic animals can often be seen grazing across the grasslands. It’s also one of the last known nesting areas of the endangered whooping crane. With access primarily by small aircraft or canoe, the isolation makes it attractive to experienced adventurers seeking solitude in one of North America’s last great frontiers.

Kluane National Park in southwestern Yukon is defined by towering mountains, deep basins, and permanently frozen ground. Here you’ll find Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak, shining bright like the crowing jewel in an expansive protected area shared with Alaska. It’s a place of extremes, with some of the biggest non-polar icefields in the world, jagged peaks rising high above the glaciers, rushing rivers carving through the valleys, and alpine tundra bursting with seasonal life. It’s a haven for backcountry hiking and skiing, mountaineering, rafting, and scenic flights. Visitors must be mindful of grizzly bears, mountain goats, sheep, and caribou roaming the terrain, in a landscape that’s a constant reminder of how small human presence is against the vastness of the Yukon.