Top 10 Hiking Trails in Canada
The foundation of Backwoods Promotions is being an Enthusiast First®, and exploring the world around you. We take pride in our Canadian heritage! This Autumn we encourage all of our audience to go out and enjoy the changing of the seasons, the migration of many native species of animals, and the crisp cool fall air. We suggest you leave the road, and take a trail on one (or several!) of the beautiful hiking trails below...
1. Athabasca Sand Dunes - Stretching approximately 100 kilometres along the south shore of Lake Athabasca, Saskatchewan, the park is the largest active sand surface in Canada. In order to protect the fragile environment, the park has been divided into three management zones. Each has different guidelines to govern camping and visitor activities. Guidelines may change as required and are available by contacting the park office. This park is accessible by float plane (talk about being off the grid!) only and recommended for experienced wilderness users. As there are no onsite services located within the park, visitors must check with a conservation officer prior to visiting the area. Guided tours by licensed outfitters are available.
2. Aiken’s Lake Wilderness Lodge - At Aikens Lake in Manitoba, you can see the remote wilderness of Canada. Visitors can hike along a historic portage where many fur traders once travelled many centuries ago. Ancient pictographs, French-Canadian sites, and Metis cuisine are just a few of the relics of the past you can enjoy! Wild animals such as black bear, moose, caribou and beavers can be seen as well!
3. Great Bear Rainforest - Set out on the adventure of a lifetime! Come peacefully face-to-face with the coastal rainforest’s most beloved creatures, from humpback and orca whales cruising the local waters, to bear cubs learning to forage along the shoreline. Explore an abundance of wilderness and wildlife from land, sea and sky. The Great Bear Rainforest, located in British Columbia is one of the largest temperate rainforests remaining today. 
4. Kulane National Park and Reserve - Kluane – high in the mountains of southwest Yukon – is a land of extremes. The park is home to Canada’s highest peak (5,959-metre Mount Logan), its largest ice field and North America’s most genetically diverse grizzly population. Travelers from around the world come to traverse alpine passes on backcountry roads and raft past glaciers. With exceptional day hikes and highway-side scenery, Kluane awes from every angle.
5. Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park - Despite its remote location the ruggedly beautiful Tatshenshini-Alsek region in British Columbia is attracting an increasing number of visitors. Kayakers and rafters are drawn to the two magnificent river systems; hikers and mountaineers confront a near-endless pristine wilderness that includes everything from alpine meadows to the jagged edges of the Alsek Ranges and Mt. Fairweather. Mountain bikers can explore old mining roads and other interesting and challenging paths.
6. Gros Morne National Park - With the motto, “Suddenly four walls and a yoga mat won’t cut it” this national park nestled in Newfoundland and Labrador excites! A UNESCO World Heritage Site covering 1,805 square kilometres, the park is a never-ending series of wonders and delights, and a demonstration of the spectacularly raw and enigmatic beauty of the physical world. You can hike the amazing landscape along the earth’s mantle, or climb to life-changing summits. Travel along the water through fjords carved by glaciers millennia ago, leaving behind towering cliffs and thunderous waterfalls.
7. Torngat Mountains National Park - Torngat Mountains National Park takes its name from the Inuktitut word Tongait, meaning place of spirits. It is 9,700 square kilometres of spectacular wilderness stretching north from Saglek Fjord to the northern tip of Labrador, and westward from the Atlantic seacoast to the Québec border. It's a land of mountains and polar bears (yes we said polar bears!), small glaciers, and caribou, where the Inuit hunt, fish, and travel, as their predecessors did for thousands of years.
8. Algonquin Provincial Park - Algonquin, the first provincial park in Ontario, protects a variety of natural, cultural, and recreational features and values. As one of the largest provincial parks, Algonquin is diverse and offers something for nearly everyone. Algonquin Provincial Park is the ultimate wilderness getaway, and only a short distance from Toronto. Hike, paddle and portage through Ontario’s 7,000-square-metre of maple forest and little islands with residents such as blue heron, moose and beaver.
9. Columbia Ice Field - Alberta’s Columbia Icefield is rated one of the best in the world. You’ll want to see the colossal peaks wrapped in prehistoric ice up-close. A number of guided interpretive glacier walks are available. For breathtaking views, try the Glacier Skywalk, a cliff-edge glass-floored observation platform cantilevered 280 metres over the Sunwapta valley. Simply, breathtaking. Be sure to bring a water bottle so you can taste the glacial water from three oceans.
10. Banff National Park - Rocky Mountain peaks, turquoise glacial lakes, a picture-perfect mountain town and village, abundant wildlife and scenic drives come together in Banff National Park - Canada’s first national park and the flagship of the nation’s park system. Over three million visitors a year make the pilgrimage to the park for a variety of activities including hiking, biking, skiing and camping in some of the world’s most breathtaking mountain scenery. Banff is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We encourage everyone to explore Canada and share with us on Instagram using the hashtag #EnthusiastsFirst to have your photos featured on our account. Be sure to check all province health mandates, and park updates on each website we included. Enjoy the Autumn ahead, and remember to leave the road and take a trail!
- Your Friends at Backwoods Promotions-
Sources:
Newfoundland Labrador Top Destinations
