A first timer’s guide to Canada’s national parks

I fantasize on a weekly basis about moving to Canada for a plethora of reasons, but at the top of the list is regular access to the country’s rugged wilderness. There’s something about the snow-dusted lodgepole pines, fiery yellow larch trees, and sparkling glacier-fed lakes that soothes my city-dwelling soul. For now, I’ve settled for being a frequent visitor, spending the majority of my travel time in Canada’s glorious national parks for a fresh-air fix.

With 37 national parks and 11 national park reserves to choose from (the latter being an area managed like a national park but subject to one or more Indigenous land claims), it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are five Canadian national parks perfect for first timers.

Don’t forget: All of Canada’s national parks require a pass for entry. The unlimited admission Parks Canada Discovery Pass is the best way to see as many as you’d like within a 12-month period.

Canada’s first national park is an all-season stunner. Snow-capped Canadian Rockies? Check. Vibrant glacial lakes? Check. Casual moose and black bear sightings? Check (but give them their space). There are over 1,000 miles of hiking and horseback riding trails and more than 1,000 glaciers and dozens of lakes too cold to swim in. To see all Banff has to offer, bunk down at the Fairmont Banff Springs where you can join a hotel guide for a forest bathing session or book a hot stone massage at the spa.

You can grab an Alpine Air Adventures shuttle from Calgary International Airport, but to maximize your time, we suggest renting a car (the drive is an easy 90 minutes on the TransCanada Highway). In the park, Roam Public Transit can take you to the popular spots like Lake Louise and the Banff Gondola.

Tip: If you rented a car, hop on the 144-mile Icefields Parkway. Known as one of the most scenic drives in the world, there are plenty of spots to pull over for a quick hike or to dip your toes in places like Bow and Peyto Lakes. Bonus: the drive ends in Jasper National Park.

You don’t have to fly to Scandinavia to see fjords. In Newfoundland, you can see magnificent glacier-carved, landlocked fjords up close from the freshwaters of Western Pond Brook. Afterward, trade your views of lush blues and greens for the otherworldly orange landscape of the Tablelands, an exposed portion of the earth’s mantle.

Deer Lake Regional Airport is a 30-minute drive from the park and is served by direct daily flights from Montreal (May–October), Toronto, Halifax, and St. John’s. If you decide to drive from the Canadian mainland, hop on the ferry between North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. From Port aux Basques, the park is a four-hour drive.

As far as Canada’s national parks go, this UNESCO World Heritage site may have all others beat when it comes to landscape diversity. Kootenay has everything from snow-capped mountains, forests, valleys, waterfalls, canyons, grasslands, hot springs, and glaciers.

Highway 93 south cuts right through the park and can be accessed from Banff National Park to the east and the towns of Golden and Cranbrook to the north and south. Calgary and Vancouver are the closest major airports.

Tip: There is no cell coverage in the park, but there’s an emergency phone at Kootenay Crossing.

Large swaths of jagged coastline meet rust-colored cliffs and gently swaying grasslands in this national park, where the coming-of-age story Anne of Green Gables takes place. Flat and paved trails throughout the park make for easy biking and hiking, while several beaches are picturesque and accessible—offering beach wheelchairs, ramps, and mobility mats.

The island is easy to reach by car, air, or water. From New Brunswick, head across the Confederation Bridge, then it’s a 50-minute drive to the park. From Nova Scotia, take a 75-minute ferry ride into Wood Islands, and the park is an hour's drive. Or, fly into the Charlottetown airport to get on the island, then the park is a 30-minute taxi ride away.

The sea is the star at this national park, located on a Nova Scotian plateau. With the Atlantic to the east, the Cabot Strait to the north, the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the west, you have an excellent chance to see marine wildlife like dolphins, pilot and humpback whales, and grey seals during the summer months.

The closest airport is in Sydney, Nova Scotia, which offers direct flights from Toronto and Montreal and is about a two-hour drive from the park. (If you fly into the larger Halifax airport, it's a four-hour drive.) Route 19 will lead you to the Chéticamp entrance of the park, while the world-famous Cabot Trail leads drivers to the Ingonish entrance.

Tip: The park offers a wide variety of summer programming to help visitors understand the lands around them. Try the evening Bat Walk to spot the nocturnal mammals, or the Lantern Walk Through Time where costumed guides share the stories of the area's early Indigenous peoples, and Irish, Scottish and French settlers.