Maple-Dipped Adventures: Best Things to Do in Canada (With Zero Apologies)

The Absolutely Essential Best Things To Do In Canada (Unless You Hate Fun)

Compiling a definitive list of the best things to do in Canada is like trying to fold a fitted sheet—theoretically possible but maddeningly complex. From glacier-topped mountains to cosmopolitan cities where you can hear six languages while waiting for a streetcar, Canada offers experiences diverse enough to satisfy everyone from wilderness survivalists to urban sophisticates who consider “camping” staying at a hotel without room service.

Natural Wonders That Will Make Your Instagram Followers Jealous

Banff National Park serves as Canada’s showpiece wilderness, and for good reason. As Canada’s first national park, this 2,564 square mile slice of paradise in Alberta features emerald lakes so vibrantly colored they look Photoshopped in real life. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake deliver the kind of mountain-reflected-in-water shots that social media influencers would sacrifice their firstborn for. Entry costs a reasonable $10 per day, and while Banff gets compared to Yellowstone, it manages the neat trick of being similarly spectacular but with fewer tourists asking where the wolves are scheduled to appear. Pro tip: visit during weekdays in September when the summer crowds have dissipated but before snow barricades the best viewpoints.

Niagara Falls proves that sometimes the most obvious tourist attraction actually deserves its reputation. The Canadian side offers significantly better views than its American counterpart—a fact Canadians mention with unusual national pride for people who apologize when you step on their feet. The Hornblower Niagara Cruises ($30) get you close enough to the thundering water to question your life choices and waterproof mascara claims. To escape the neon-lit carnival atmosphere surrounding the falls, escape to nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake, where wineries offer tastings in settings so quaint they border on parody. Time your falls visit between 10am and 2pm on a sunny day to catch the rainbow effect, which almost makes up for the $25 parking fee.

For the patient traveler, the Northern Lights in Yukon Territory remain one of nature’s greatest magic shows. The ribbons of green, purple, and blue dancing across the night sky make even the most cynical observers momentarily believe in something greater than themselves (or at least in the impressive properties of solar radiation). Viewing season runs August through April, with winter temperatures ranging from a brisk 23F to a “why am I doing this to myself” -4F. Yukon offers better visibility statistics than Alaska, but requires a minimum three-night stay due to the lights’ diva-like unpredictability. They perform when they feel like it, not when your itinerary dictates.

Urban Adventures That Don’t Involve Moose (Usually)

Toronto, Canada’s largest city, somehow manages to be both exactly what Americans expect of a big city and nothing like American cities at all. For adrenaline junkies, the CN Tower’s EdgeWalk ($200) lets you dangle from Canada’s tallest structure while attached to a safety harness that you’ll pray was not made with budget constraints in mind. The city’s neighborhoods read like a United Nations roll call—Kensington Market, Little Italy, Greektown, Chinatown, Little Portugal—each with distinctive food and cultural offerings. Think Chicago but cleaner, or New York with functional public transit and fewer people yelling at you. Blue Jays baseball tickets start at $15, making them a relative bargain compared to their MLB counterparts south of the border.

Vancouver consistently ranks among the world’s most livable cities, a fact locals will mention within approximately 7.2 minutes of meeting you. Stanley Park’s 5.5-mile seawall—larger than New York’s Central Park—offers views of mountains, ocean, and downtown skyscrapers in a single panorama. Granville Island’s public market sends foodies into states of ecstatic bliss, while the North Shore mountains provide hiking and skiing just 30 minutes from downtown—a proximity that would make Denver residents weep with envy. Pack accordingly for the city’s infamous rainfall (averaging 62 inches annually). Umbrellas aren’t just accessories here; they’re load-bearing extensions of one’s personality.

Montreal strikes visitors as a European city that somehow drifted across the Atlantic and anchored itself in North America. Old Montreal’s cobblestone streets and centuries-old architecture create an atmosphere so French you’ll feel underdressed without a scarf, regardless of the temperature. The city’s underground network—20 miles of tunnels connecting shopping centers, metro stations, and office buildings—becomes not just convenient but necessary during winter months when temperatures make exposed skin an act of meteorological defiance. Language tip: beginning interactions with “Bonjour” before switching to English earns you exponentially better service than barreling ahead in English like you’re in Omaha. And don’t leave without trying Montreal bagels, which are smaller, sweeter, and boiled in honey water before baking—a fact that triggers immediate existential crises in visiting New Yorkers.

Outdoor Adventures That Might Involve Moose (No Guarantees)

Churchill, Manitoba, bills itself as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World,” a title no other town seems interested in challenging. October and November bring these magnificent predators to the shores of Hudson Bay, where they wait for sea ice to form so they can hunt seals. Tour operators charge $400-$500 per day to transport visitors in modified tundra buggies with elevated viewing platforms—which seems reasonable when the alternative is becoming an appetizer. The town maintains some uniquely Churchill safety protocols: vehicles are left unlocked so pedestrians can escape if they encounter a bear on their way to buy milk. It’s perhaps the only place where car theft is considered both a crime and a survival strategy.

Kayaking around Vancouver Island offers probable orca encounters and guaranteed arm fatigue. Water temperatures hover between a bracing 45-55F year-round, making wetsuits less optional than breathing. Guided tours provide equipment, expertise, and reassuring patter about how killer whales rarely mistake kayaks for seals, while rentals offer independence and the chance to test your maritime navigation skills. Think Pacific Northwest but with more British accents and fewer people claiming to have seen Bigfoot.

Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland presents a UNESCO World Heritage site with fjords carved by glaciers that retreated north, presumably because they couldn’t understand the local accent. The park receives far fewer visitors than its western counterparts, making it perfect for hikers who prefer their wilderness without influencers staging photo shoots on every scenic outcropping. Newfoundlanders have a saying: “If you don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes,” which is less a meteorological observation than a warning. The island hosts North America’s highest moose density at approximately six per square mile, creating the unique hiking hazard of rounding a bend to find 1,000 pounds of startled ungulate blocking your path.

Canadian Culinary Experiences That Go Beyond Maple Syrup

The quest for perfect poutine constitutes a legitimate reason for a Canadian road trip. This heart-stopping combination of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy originated in Quebec but has spawned regional variations across the country. Montreal’s La Banquise serves over 30 varieties 24 hours a day, making it either a late-night salvation or early-morning regret, depending on your previous activities. Québécois and Ontarians maintain fierce rivalries over who makes the “authentic” version, a debate that has probably caused more cross-provincial tension than any federal policy. Expect to pay $8-12 for a portion size that suggests cardiac concerns aren’t high on the national health agenda.

The Caesar cocktail serves as Canada’s national drink, similar to a Bloody Mary but made with clamato juice instead of tomato juice. Yes, that’s clam-infused tomato juice, a combination that sounds questionable until you taste it, after which it merely seems eccentric rather than alarming. Modern Caesars arrive garnished with everything from bacon strips to entire fried chickens, making them both beverage and meal. Ordering one stateside will earn you confused looks; ordering anything else during a Canadian brunch will mark you immediately as a foreigner.

Montreal smoked meat deserves its own category in the taxonomy of smoked beef. Schwartz’s Deli serves the definitive version, with lines that suggest either exceptional quality or exceptional marketing (it’s both). The sandwich comes piled so high with meat that eating it requires either jaw dislocation or advanced structural engineering. Proper ordering etiquette involves specifying your preferred fat content—lean, medium, fatty, or “old-fashioned”—the last being a polite Canadian euphemism for “heart attack on rye.” At $12-15, it’s both a meal and tomorrow’s regret.

Where to Rest Your Head (At Any Budget)

Canada’s luxury accommodations often occupy buildings that look like they were designed by European royalty with unlimited stone budgets. The Fairmont hotel properties represent Canada’s architectural crown jewels, with Banff Springs resembling a Scottish castle teleported to the Rockies (from $399 nightly) and Château Frontenac dominating Quebec City’s skyline like a limestone exclamation point (from $299). For the truly extravagant, Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland starts at $1,800 per night, a price that seems hallucinatory until you realize it includes not just accommodations but also cultural experiences, guided excursions, and the knowledge that your trip is supporting a remarkable community foundation.

Mid-range hotels ($150-250) flourish in major cities, with boutique properties offering distinctive alternatives to international chains. Alt Hotels has established itself as Canada’s hip, design-forward brand without the accompanying attitude or price point of similar U.S. chains. Wine regions like Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula and British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley feature bed and breakfasts where innkeepers double as amateur sommeliers, ensuring guests leave with both restful sleep and expanded palates.

Budget travelers find Canada surprisingly accommodating, with the Hostelling International Canada network offering beds from $25 per night in facilities cleaner than many mid-range American motels. During summer months, university dormitories transform into budget accommodations that provide private rooms at hostel prices—all the economy with none of the snoring strangers. For truly unique experiences, Parks Canada’s oTENTik structures split the difference between tent and cabin at around $120 nightly, providing solid roofs and real beds in wilderness settings where your nearest neighbors might well be furry and four-legged.

Getting Around (Without Getting Lost)

VIA Rail’s flagship route, The Canadian, traverses the 2,775 miles between Toronto and Vancouver over four days, offering what might be North America’s most spectacular moving window view. The train’s glass-domed observation cars showcase everything from Ontario’s lake country to prairie expanses to Rocky Mountain passes. Compared to Amtrak, VIA offers similar pricing but with significantly higher reliability and fewer mysterious stops in railyards. The journey costs less than flying and takes approximately ten times longer, making it perfect for travelers whose vacation goals include “staring contemplatively out windows while drinking Canadian whisky.”

Regional transportation varies wildly across the country. Toronto’s public transit system makes car ownership optional, while cities like Edmonton practically require vehicles with heated seats and block heaters to survive winter. Montreal’s BIXI bike share program offers an excellent way to explore the city between May and November; attempting winter cycling requires either exceptional bravery or exceptional stupidity, depending on your insurance coverage.

Car rentals provide the most flexibility but come with considerations unique to Canada. Winter driving demands skills beyond “point vehicle toward destination”—particularly understanding that sometimes the appropriate speed limit is “much slower than posted” rather than “slightly faster than posted.” Gas prices average about 30% higher than in the U.S., partly due to taxes and partly because everything in Canada costs more except healthcare and apologies, both of which are provided free of charge.