Best Travel Destinations - Canada
To skate the Rideau Canal is to conquer the fierce February winds, and then succumb to the inevitable muscle aches that sear your legs in the days that follow. Stretching out at just less then 16 km round-trip (the size of more than 100 hockey rinks laid end-to-end), Ottawa's Rideau Canal is the world's largest skating rink. Starting at the base of the copper-peaked Parliament buildings and Chateau Laurier hotel, it then winds through downtown Ottawa, weaving under bridges, alongside parks, and past neighbourhoods of heritage homes, before finally ending at the historic Hartwell Locks. At the Locks, a sign proudly proclaims that skaters have achieved 7.8 km; now they just have to skate all the way back. Originally built in 1832 as a supply ...
Festooned with giant Douglas-fir, Sitka Spruce and Western Red cedar trees, it seems only fitting that Vancouver's Stanley Park is one of the largest urban parks in the world. Each year over eight million visitors come to Stanley Park to be explore over 200 km of trails webbed between the forested area. Located only minutes from downtown Vancouver, Stanley Park has something for everyone. A seawall runs almost 14 miles around the park perimeter, which is popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists, especially in the summer. Spanning from Canada Place in downtown Vancouver, through Stanley Park, around English Bay Beach and False Creek, the Stanley Park seawall is actually apart of the world's longest uninterrupted waterfront walkway. A walk along the Stanley Park Seawall is ...
The Niagara escarpment dips down into rolling vineyards and finally into Lake Ontario – a “bench shape” that is both beautiful to look at and fundamental to the growing conditions that allow Beamsville to produce great wines. With eight wineries in walking distance and a scattering of wineries not too much further away, wine connoisseurs and travellers will have a wealth of diversions here for day trips or a holiday weekend. The Beamsville Bench wine tour route is connected to the Bruce Trail, Canada's oldest and longest hiking trail, which runs along Niagara's escarpment, an official UNESCO biosphere reserve. It is amazing how many people end up at a restaurant or winery in Niagara's wine country, having never heard of it before they saw the ...
It's the most anticipated event of the year for the rodeo fans. A short window of time where locals and visitors alike forget the hubbub of everyday life, don their cowboy boots, and hoedown. The entire city of Calgary shuts down for one of Canada’s greatest events, the Calgary Stampede. Traditionally known for its preservation of “western heritage and values”, the 10-day event has developed into the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”. For more than a century, Calgary Stampede Park has been home to an epic rodeo. So grab your boots, hat and cowboy chaps and prepare to have the time of your life. To kick off the festival, check out the Calgary Stampede Parade. Held on the first day of Stampede, it heralds the ...
Picture-perfect Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada, is one of the country’s most famous images. Nestled between towering, snow-capped mountains, with the gleaming Victoria glacier in the background, Lake Louise is a place too perfect to be real. First, spend the day tackling the slopes of Lake Louise Ski Area, which has been called the most scenic ski resort in North America. Then, when your legs are burning and your fingers are numb, strap on some skates and venture onto the lake’s frozen waters. One glide across the smooth surface, and you’ll be hypnotized by the mountains around you and forget all about your exhaustion. Warm up at a bonfire on the edge of the lake, then skate around the crystal walls of an ice castle ...
The first thing they tell you at the Ice Hotel is not to put your head inside your sleeping bag. You’ll want to. It’s cold in the Ice Hotel and your nose will want to tuck itself under the covers to keep warm. But if you do, your warm breath will mix with the hotel’s cold air and you’ll end up with a sleeping bag with an opening coated in ice. The Hotel de Glace in Quebec, Canada, is a boutique hotel made entirely of snow and ice – 20,000 tonnes of it. Redesigned and rebuilt every winter, it takes over a month to complete. Construction begins in December, when steel frames and wooden walls are mounted as a base. Snow is then blown over ...
When you first think of Yellowknife, it might conjure up visions of snow-clad tundra, caribou hunts, or maybe even ice fishing in this northernmost territory of Canada. During the winter season, October through April, Yellowknife’s almost 19,000 residents come out to celebrate during their annual Caribou Carnival. Since 1955, Yellowknife's Caribou Carnival has been held in the spring months of either March or April. Originally, the Caribou Carnival was designed as a get-together for local trappers who would compete in various events in the hopes of being crowned the champion. Don’t worry about being cold in the Diamond Capital of North America. As long as you’ve dressed appropriately, there are plenty of places to warm up and enjoy a nice big mug of hot chocolate ...
Whenever I travel to a new country, I always try and taste the local food—whatever that may involve. Sometimes you get completely grossed out, and sometimes you hit the jackpot. Often it involves something that has a slightly different approach to it, and it makes you wonder why you didn’t come up with the idea yourself. Montreal 's Poutine is one of those examples. Poutine is a staple of the Canadian province of Québec that was invented in the 1950’s. It’s quite simple, French fries covered in gravy and cheese curds. Now, while this may sound quite innocuous, it really can be incredibly delicious (especially at 3 a.m!), and depends quite a lot on the quality of the fries, the thickness of the gravy, and ...
Never heard of ice cross downhill before? Neither had most of Canada until the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship exploded onto the world of hockey in 2001. Now held annually in January, this extreme sports event in Quebec City draws followers and participants from around the world. Think of downhill skiing but substitute skating instead; then add in some great roller derby action. Throw in some BMX biking jumps. Combine all of this with ice hockey athletes, a 196-foot vertical drop over a 1,280 foot track—and you’ve got ice cross downhill. This exciting new sport sends four skaters down the course as they vie to finish first while careening along at speeds up to 43 mph. It’s crazy, fun and scary all at the ...
Rossland, B.C., is widely known for two things: powder skiing and snowboarding during the winter, and mountain biking in the summer. With only 4,000 residents year round, the population of Rossland is nearly the same as its elevation of 3,400 feet, nestled in the Monshee Mountains of southern British Columbia. In celebration of its mountain biking roots, each Labour Day weekend in September Rossland is home to the Rossland Rubberhead Bike Festival. Limited to the first one hundred racers, the Rubberhead attracts participants from across Western Canada. The Dreaded All Mountain Challenge is the main event of the Rubberhead Festival, which takes place on Saturday at the local ski hill: Red Mountain Resort. This two-part race (Dread Head Up, and Dread Head Down) sends bikers ...
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