Best Places in canada for hiking
With so many amazing places in Canada for hiking the real challenge can be picking where to go hiking in Canada! With so much wilderness and beautiful landscape, this country is a paradise for hikers.
Not only that but the varying seasons in Canada can make for some amazing scenery on your hiking trip in Canada. Imagine the fall colours in Southern Ontario in autumn, or the wildflowers in the alpine meadows of the Rockies in spring. Nothing beats a multiday backcountry hike in the Rockies with in glowing Autumn colors!
In no particular order below are a few of our favourite areas to go hiking in Canada.
cape breton, Nova Scotia
If you are looking for somewhere to go hiking in Canada, look no further than Cape Breton in the autumn. Rolling hills meet black beaches and rugged, rocky shoreline, with rich red and yellow forest reaching down to the sea. There are many amazing places to hike on Cape Breton, including Black Sands Beach, Meat Cove and the Bras D’or Lakes. Take your pick, or hit them all on your hiking trip!
Bruce Trail, Ontario
The Bruce Trail stretches from Niagra to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, In fact, the Bruce Trail is 885 km long, so there are many options for you to pick from. One thing that makes this trail special is its proximity to the Niagra Escarpment, which is an ancient seabed, consisting of limestone layers that have been pushed to the surface. Many of the trail sections along the Bruce Trail feature high cliffs and lookouts, as well as caves and karst formations. One thing I love about hiking along the Bruce Trail is the canopy of foliage that forms a ceiling overhead. You feel like you are hiking in your own little world, with much of the sun being blocked and a cool shade underneath the leaves. This gigantic trail makes for much of the best hiking in Canada.
Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan
While not as visually impressive as the Rockies, hiking in the grasslands of Saskatchewan offer some breathtaking vistas with wide open skies and shimmering grass plains, blowing rhythmically in the breeze. Best of all, you are almost guaranteed sunny weather, which makes this a great area to hike in Canada.
Kluane National Park, Yukon
Larger than life meets more beautiful than life in the Yukon. Kluane Lake is an impressive sight on its own, and the breathtaking icefield spilling out of the Wrangell St Elias Mountains to the West are just a cherry on top. There are several options for hiking in Kluane National Park, some high and some low. Whatever you go with, you are sure to be impressed. This is actually a stop in a future tour that we are planning! Kluane National Park is surely one of the best hiking areas in Canada.
Banff National Park
OK, so all the national parks in the Canadian Rockies are amazing for hikers, but Banff National Park just might take the cake with such a massive variety of hiking trails and opportunities to see wildlife. Jump on a hike around Lake Louise for glacier views and impressive panoramas over the lakes, or head a bit further North to hike along the Icefields Parkway. Hiking on the Icefields Parkway is full of surprises, like climbing over Parker Ridge to see the epic views of the Saskatchewan Glacier stretching out below. Banff National Park is rich with single day hikes and multiday backpacking routes as well. Ambitious hikers could spends years hiking in Banff and not even scratch the surface. A few trails we recommend are Plain of Six Glaciers, Parker Ridge and Cory Pass, to name a few. Join one of our hiking tours in Banff National Park and we will show you a whole lot more!
Squamish and whistler
The coast mountains surrounding Squamish and Whistler are a hiker’s haven, which is why we planned a new guided hiking tour there, beginning in summer 2021. Rolling alpine meadows stretch to rocky mountain fortresses, accessed by lush old growth forests. It’s very easy to fall in love with this place, and it definitely is home to many of the best hiking trails in Canada. Try hiking up to Garibaldi Lake, Elfin Lakes, or taking a walk at the top of the Sea to Sky Gondola. Better yet, try out our tour and experience all the best hikes in one epic week!
Tofino
While most people don’t really think of hiking in Tofino, we beg to differ. There are hikes that get you up high and there are hikes that keep you down low, under the forest canopy, hiking through the lush rainforest on the west coast. Some of our favourites are Lone Cone, Rainforest Loop, and the Nuu Chuh Nulth Trail. Check out the visitor centre at the same time for some history! Tofino is definitely one of the best places to hike in Canada!
Here is a guide to spotting wildlife on Vancouver Island.
So now the rest is up to you. Where are you going hiking in Canada next summer? Let us know your favourite hikes in the comments below, and hopefully we will see you out on a guided hiking tour soon! Happy trails!