Fledge
Canada

National Parks

From the Rockies to the Atlantic fjords

Lake Louise, Banff National Park

Lake Louise, Banff National Park. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Canada's national parks run from Pacific rainforest to Atlantic fjords to Arctic desert. Banff, founded in 1885, was the first; the system now covers 48 national parks and reserves, plus Rouge National Urban Park. A Parks Canada Discovery Pass covers entry to all of them for a year.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park
Banff National ParkAlberta · The first and most famous: Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, the Icefields Parkway.
Moraine Lake at sunrise, Banff National Park
Jasper National ParkAlberta · The quieter Rockies park: Maligne Lake, dark skies, elk.
A bison in Elk Island National Park, Alberta
Elk Island National ParkAlberta · Bison herds and a dark-sky preserve, 35 minutes from Edmonton.
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Waterton Lakes National ParkAlberta · Where the prairies meet the Rockies; the Prince of Wales Hotel over Upper Waterton Lake.
Sunset at Long Beach, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
Pacific Rim National Park ReserveBritish Columbia · Long Beach and west-coast rainforest near Tofino.
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Glacier National ParkBritish Columbia · Rogers Pass, the Illecillewaet Glacier and the Nakimu Caves.
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Gulf Islands National Park ReserveBritish Columbia · Fifteen islands of shoreline and Garry oak forest in the Strait of Georgia.
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Gwaii Haanas National Park ReserveBritish Columbia · Haida Gwaii's wild south; the Ninstints village site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Kootenay National ParkBritish Columbia · Radium Hot Springs, Marble Canyon and the Burgess Shale fossils.
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Mount Revelstoke National ParkBritish Columbia · Wildflower meadows and the Meadows in the Sky Parkway.
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Yoho National ParkBritish Columbia · Takakkaw Falls, Emerald Lake and the Burgess Shale.
Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba
Riding Mountain National ParkManitoba · Bison, black bears and clear lakes in the parkland.
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Wapusk National ParkManitoba · Polar bear denning country on the Hudson Bay coast.
The Hopewell Rocks at low tide, New Brunswick
Fundy National ParkNew Brunswick · Waterfalls and the world's highest tides.
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Kouchibouguac National ParkNew Brunswick · Barrier islands, dunes and salt marshes on the Northumberland Strait.
Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
Gros Morne National ParkNewfoundland and Labrador · UNESCO fjords and the Tablelands.
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Mealy Mountains National Park ReserveNewfoundland and Labrador · Boreal mountains and sandy beaches on the Labrador Sea.
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Terra Nova National ParkNewfoundland and Labrador · Boreal forest, sea inlets and coastal trails on the island's east coast.
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Torngat Mountains National ParkNewfoundland and Labrador · Arctic peaks and fjords at Labrador's northern tip; Inuit homeland.
The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton
Cape Breton Highlands National ParkNova Scotia · The Cabot Trail runs through it; highland forest and moose.
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Kejimkujik National ParkNova Scotia · Mi'kmaw cultural landscape of lakes and old-growth forest; a dark-sky preserve.
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Sable Island National Park ReserveNova Scotia · The wild horses of Sable Island, 300 km offshore.
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Bruce Peninsula National ParkOntario · The Grotto's turquoise water and the Niagara Escarpment cliffs.
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Georgian Bay Islands National ParkOntario · Beausoleil Island and the windswept islands of Georgian Bay.
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Point Pelee National ParkOntario · The southernmost point of mainland Canada; a migration hotspot for birds.
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Pukaskwa National ParkOntario · Lake Superior wilderness on the wild north shore.
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Rouge National Urban ParkOntario · The national urban park in the Toronto area; Carolinian forest and farmland.
Zavikon Island in the Thousand Islands
Thousand Islands National ParkOntario · Granite islands and pine in the St. Lawrence River.
A red sand beach in Prince Edward Island National Park
Prince Edward Island National ParkPrince Edward Island · Red sand beaches and dunes on the north shore.
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Pituamkek National Park ReservePrince Edward Island · Hog Island and the Sandhills; Canada's newest park reserve (2024), not yet open to visitors.
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Forillon National ParkQuebec · Cliffs at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula; the 'end of the world' at Cap-Bon-Ami.
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La Mauricie National ParkQuebec · Laurentian lakes and forest between Montreal and Quebec City.
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Mingan Archipelago National Park ReserveQuebec · Limestone monoliths and puffin colonies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan
Grasslands National ParkSaskatchewan · Undisturbed mixed-grass prairie, badlands and a dark-sky preserve.
Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert National ParkSaskatchewan · Boreal lakes and forest; Grey Owl's cabin at Ajawaan Lake.
Dall sheep in Kluane National Park, Yukon
Kluane National Park and ReserveYukon · Mount Logan and the great icefields.
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Ivvavik National ParkYukon · Arctic tundra on the Firth River; born of the Inuvialuit land claim.
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Vuntut National ParkYukon · Un-glaciated tundra and the Porcupine caribou herd in the far north.
Virginia Falls (Nailicho), Nahanni National Park Reserve
Nahanni National Park ReserveNorthwest Territories · Virginia Falls and the South Nahanni wilderness river.
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Aulavik National ParkNorthwest Territories · Polar desert on Banks Island; the world's largest muskox concentration.
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Nááts'įhch'oh National Park ReserveNorthwest Territories · The South Nahanni headwaters and mountain caribou.
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Thaidene Nëné National Park ReserveNorthwest Territories · 'Land of the Ancestors' around the east arm of Great Slave Lake.
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Tuktut Nogait National ParkNorthwest Territories · Caribou calving grounds on the Arctic coast.
A wood bison in Wood Buffalo National Park
Wood Buffalo National ParkNorthwest Territories · Canada's largest national park: bison and whooping cranes.
Granite monoliths in Auyuittuq National Park, Baffin Island
Auyuittuq National ParkNunavut · The Akshayuk Pass between granite monoliths on Baffin Island.
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Qausuittuq National ParkNunavut · High Arctic desert on Bathurst Island.
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Quttinirpaaq National ParkNunavut · Canada's northernmost park, on Ellesmere Island.
The Byam Martin Mountains, Sirmilik National Park
Sirmilik National ParkNunavut · Glaciers and seabird cliffs on northern Baffin Island.
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Ukkusiksalik National ParkNunavut · Wager Bay: polar bears, caribou and Inuit heritage sites.

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