TAKE 2 t 24


Canada’s national parks offer a glimpse of vast, unspoilt landscapes, writes Laura French


ry naming Canada’s 38 national parks, nine park reserves and thousand-odd


provincial parks, and chances are you might hit a stumbling block. There’s good reason the big stars get the limelight – you need only to Google Banff or Jasper to see why these stretches of snow-dusted mountain, electric-blue water and film-set-worthy forest draw the masses – but to gloss over the rest would be to miss the charm of this extraordinarily diverse country. Know much about Auyuittuq


National Park? This dramatic expanse in the Canadian Arctic’s remote reaches is one of the country’s best spots for Indigenous


art, set among granite rocks pointing up like witches’ hats, with seals slumped serenely among the fjords. Then there’s Northwest Territories’ Nahanni National Park Reserve, where sulphur springs, aspen forests and Arctic tundra offer a playground for hiking, rafting and canoeing. And the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve in Quebec, where tens of thousands of seabirds nest during the breeding season, joining the humpback, minke and fin whales that call its waters home. That’s only scratching the


surface, of course. To help inspire you beyond the obvious spots, we’ve put together a few of our favourites from across Canada.


travel advice


Parks Canada has suspended visitor services and closed facilities in its parks until further notice, in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Check the Foreign Office website for the latest information.


9 APRIL 2020 travelweekly.co.uk


LIKE THIS? BANFF, ALBERTA


With its eye-popping formula of luminescent lakes, whipped-cream peaks, emerald meadows and verdant forests, there’s a lot to be said for Canada’s oldest and most-visited national park. Hiking, biking and canoeing await intrepid travellers, while the dramatic Icefields Parkway drops jaws of all those who drive it – but it’s not without its crowds.


YOHO, BC


WHY GO: This quieter underdog in British Columbia combines all the scenic glory of its bigger siblings – plunging waterfalls, milky glacial lakes, dramatic cliff faces and tree-carpeted trails – but with fewer tourists to spoil the view. Bears, coyotes, cougars, wolverines and bighorn sheep are among the 58 species of mammal that roam its varied plains, while more than 200 species of birds flit above its soaring peaks.


HIGHLIGHTS: Among its unique features is the Unesco-listed Burgess Shale Bed, where visitors can explore a collection of fossils that date back more than 500 million years. Other points of interest include Takakkaw Falls, a thundering plume of white water that comes crashing down pine-clad rocks; and the Iceline Trail, a 13-mile loop around glaciers that stand tall, like chunks of white-iced birthday cake.


BOOK IT: Prestige Holidays offers a 14-night self-drive combining Yoho with Waterton Lakes, Mount Revelstoke and Kootenay National Parks from £2,995, departing May 10, 2021, and including car hire, flights and accommodation. prestigecanada.co.uk


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