Things to Do in Canada 280

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There’s something magical about a great road trip.

The freedom to pull over whenever something catches your eye. The unexpected roadside attractions. The small towns you never planned to visit.

From coastal drives and mountain highways to wine country escapes and wilderness adventures, here are 15 Canadian road trips worth adding to your summer bucket list.

1. Icefields Parkway — Alberta

Often ranked among the most scenic drives on Earth, the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper is pure Canadian Rockies magic. Think turquoise lakes, towering peaks, waterfalls, glaciers, and enough wildlife sightings to make you question whether Parks Canada is just showing off at this point. We’ve seen the country, and this remains #1.

👉 Learn more about the Icefields Parkway in our detailed travel guide!

2. Cabot Trail — Nova Scotia

Winding along the coast of Cape Breton Island, the Cabot Trail combines ocean cliffs, mountain views, fishing villages, whale watching, and some of the best seafood in the country. Every turn somehow looks more dramatic than the last. For an added touch, consider doing this drive in October to see some of the best fall colours in Canada.

👉 Plan Your Cabot Trail Adventure with help from our travel guide!

3. Sea-to-Sky Highway — British Columbia

The drive from Vancouver to Whistler offers mountains, ocean views, waterfalls, and outdoor adventures for almost the entire route. Stop at Shannon Falls, ride the Sea to Sky Gondola, or simply enjoy one of the most beautiful highway drives in Canada.

👉 Check out some of the most popular tours and activities to do along the Sea-to-Sky Highway!

4. Viking Trail — Newfoundland & Labrador

This rugged Newfoundland route takes you through Gros Morne National Park and all the way to the ancient Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows for a taste of the subarctic. Along the way: dramatic coastlines, moose sightings, iceberg season, and enough jaw-dropping scenery to make your camera roll cry for mercy. If you don’t mind braving the potential bad weather in the spring, we highly recommend visiting during the Iceberg Festival for a true taste of Newfoundland culture.

👉 Learn more in our Newfoundland Viking Trail travel guide!

5. Pacific Rim Highway — Vancouver Island

Connecting Parksville to Tofino and Ucluelet, this coastal drive is packed with rainforests, surf beaches, ocean viewpoints, and charming West Coast towns. It’s one of those road trips where you’ll end up stopping every 20 minutes just to stare at the scenery again.

👉 Check out some of the best tours and attractions along the way!

6. Fundy Coastal Drive — New Brunswick

Home to the world’s highest tides, the Fundy Coastal Drive delivers dramatic cliffs, sea caves, lighthouses, and incredible seafood stops along the Bay of Fundy. Time your visit right, and you can literally walk on the ocean floor at low tide.

👉 Learn more in our Fundy Coastal Drive travel guide!

7. Gaspésie Tour — Québec

This legendary Quebec road trip loops around the Gaspé Peninsula with stunning coastal scenery, whale watching opportunities, mountain parks, and colourful seaside villages. Bonus: It also happens to be one of the best places in Canada to spot moose.

👉 Learn more in our travel guide!

8. Cowboy Trail — Alberta

Stretching along Alberta’s foothills, the Cowboy Trail feels like stepping into a classic Western movie. Expect rolling ranchlands, mountain views, historic small towns, and the kind of Alberta scenery that makes you suddenly understand country music a little better.

👉 Don’t forget to explore Crowsnest Pass while you’re there!

9. Algonquin & Muskoka Loop — Ontario

Lakes, forests, cottages, canoe routes, and iconic Canadian Shield scenery make this one of Ontario’s ultimate summer road trips. Whether you’re paddling in Algonquin Park or relaxing dockside in Muskoka, this route practically defines “Canadian summer.” However, if you can wait until October, this route is also known for producing some of the best fall colours in the country.

👉 Check out some of the best things to do while you’re there!

10. Dempster Highway — Yukon & NWT

For true adventure travellers, few drives compare to the legendary Dempster Highway. Stretching deep into Canada’s North, this remote route crosses tundra landscapes, mountain passes, and Arctic wilderness unlike anywhere else in the country. Once you’ve made it to Inuvik, you can also continue all the way up to Tuktoyaktuk on Canada’s only highway to the Arctic!

👉 Learn more in our guide to driving the Dempster Highway!

11. Alaska Highway — Northern BC

Built during World War II and stretching through some of the wildest landscapes in North America, the Alaska Highway is the ultimate bucket-list road trip for adventure lovers. Expect endless mountain scenery, turquoise lakes, roaming bison, tiny northern towns, and the kind of remote wilderness that makes you feel very, very small in the best possible way. It’s also home to Liard Hot Springs, one of our favourites!

👉 Learn more in this guide from Tourism BC!

12. North Shore Drive — Lake Superior

Driving along Lake Superior’s rugged north shore feels more like an ocean expedition than a typical road trip. Expect towering cliffs, epic provincial parks, waterfalls, and some of the most underrated scenery in the country.

👉 Learn more in this travel guide from Destination Ontario!

13. Kootenay Rockies Circle Route — Kootenay Rockies

This BC road trip blends hot springs, mountain towns, turquoise lakes, and scenic highways into one unforgettable loop through the Rockies. It’s the kind of route where every stop unexpectedly turns into “maybe we should stay another night.”

👉 Get help planning your Kootenay Rockies Adventure with our road trip guide!

14. Klondike Highway — Yukon

Connecting Whitehorse to Skagway, Alaska, the Klondike Highway follows historic Gold Rush territory through spectacular mountain scenery and remote wilderness. It’s dramatic, historic, and one of the most unforgettable drives in Northern Canada.

👉 Learn more in our travel guide to the best things to do in Yukon Territory!

15. Okanagan Wine Country — British Columbia

Few road trips combine lakes, wineries, beaches, orchards, and mountain scenery quite like BC's Okanagan Valley. Stretching from Vernon to Osoyoos, this sun-soaked region is packed with small towns, local flavours, and unforgettable views around every corner.

👉 While you’re there, don’t forget to sign up for one of the best winery tours!

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Experience the top Indigenous Tourism attraction in Alberta at Metis Crossing. See authentic pioneer history come alive at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. Admire the French Mural Capital of Canada in Legal. Walk with the Dinosaurs at Jurassic Forest or enjoy Agritourism Adventures at Prairie Gardens. See the awe-inspiring collection of machines at the Reynolds Alberta Museum, or take a themed ride on the Battle River Train excursions. Tour the impressive Fort Saskatchewan Fort Heritage Precinct.

It’s a paradise of wildlife viewing at Elk Island National Park, or choose the breathtaking views atop the Kinosoo Ridge Aerial Adventure Park. Steer clear of the famous black sand traps at Coal Creek Golf Resort, but you’ll rest easy at our many glamping domes, yurts, cabins and unique sleeps around the region. Or, stay at Canalta Hotels across the region.

With over 100 lakes & Rivers and over 150 campgrounds, our region is tops for trophy fishing, boating and canoeing, with some of the best beaches, trails and forest campgrounds in Alberta.

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International Departures

Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way

Stretching along Ireland’s rugged west coast, the Wild Atlantic Way combines dramatic ocean scenery, charming villages, ancient castles, and enough cozy pubs to make you seriously reconsider your return flight.

If you love Atlantic Canada, this road trip feels strangely familiar—in the best possible way.

Discover Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.

Watch

Speaking of our 150-day road trip in 2017, check out the first video we ever uploaded to YouTube. We started in Newfoundland, introducing our 12-part series as well as our introduction to what makes Newfoundland such a special place. Also, we look so young. lol.

Beaver Bites

• Canadians Are Hitting the Road in Record Numbers. Roughly two-thirds of Canadian travellers say their summer 2026 plans will focus on domestic destinations — a significant jump from prior years — driven by a mix of economic factors, evolving U.S. travel trends, and a growing appetite to explore Canada's own backyard. Destination Canada is projecting $140.9 billion in total tourism spending this year, a 6% increase from 2025, with domestic spending highlighted as a key driver. Road trip season has never been bigger.
  
  

• Road Tripping in an EV Just Got a Lot Easier. Canada now has nearly 9,500 DC fast-charging ports across the country, with hundreds more being added this year — and the trend is shifting toward larger charging hubs with more ports per location, making long highway stretches far more manageable for EV drivers.
  
  

• Canada Is Building a brand-new Northern Highway. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced this spring that construction on the Mackenzie Valley Highway will begin as early as this summer — a roughly 400-kilometre all-season road through the Northwest Territories' mineral-rich Slave Geological Province. It's been talked about since Carney was a kid growing up in Fort Smith, and now it’s happening.
  
  

• Chinese Tourists Are Choosing Canada Again. As Canada-China diplomatic relations warm up, Chinese tourism to Canada is on the rise — with China lifting restrictions on group tours to Canada and Canada expanding direct flights between the two countries. Industry leaders note that Chinese tourists typically stay longer and spend more than most visitors, making this a significant win for Canada's tourism economy.
  
  

• The Rockies Have a Secret — and It's Called Beauvais Lake. Everyone flocks to Banff and Jasper — but tucked into the Alberta foothills is a provincial park most people have never heard of. Beauvais Lake Provincial Park offers uncrowded camping, scenic hiking trails, and rare birdwatching in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies.
  
  

• Halifax Named One of the World's Top Travel Destinations for 2026. TripAdvisor named Halifax one of its top destinations in the world for 2026 in its annual Travellers' Choice Awards — the only Canadian city to make the list. If the Cabot Trail is on your road trip radar, Halifax makes for a perfect bookend to the journey.
  
  

• Speaking of Halifax, a Mystery Couple Is Hiding Cash Around the City. They have been hiding bags of cash around the Halifax Regional Municipality, and all you have to do is find one. They've been sharing clues on social media under the name "Find the Bag Halifax," sending locals on a real-life treasure hunt across the city. If Halifax is on your road trip route, this might be reason enough to stick around longer.

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