Vast expanses of stark wilderness and breathtaking scenery, there's nowhere quite like Canada for its incredible national parks. Even visiting the major cities like Toronto and Vancouver, you're never too far from beautiful nature escapes often a short drive away. For those wanting to explore the best of the great outdoors, these national parks in Canada are some of the most stunning.
Waterton Lakes National Park
Waterton Lakes is a hidden gem, often favorited by locals living in Alberta and the surrounding area but not so well known outside of the Canadian province. Sitting on the border of Canada and the US, adjacent to Montana's Glacier National Park, one of the most beautiful views of Waterton Lakes can be seen from the historic Prince of Wales Hotel that sits overlooking the Upper Waterton Lakes and the hamlet of Waterton.
Yoho National Park
Yoho might be one of the smallest national parks in the vast Canadian Rockies mountain range, but there's plenty of reasons to visit this corner of nature. Both Emerald Lake and Lake McArthur are renowned as backdrops for the incredible sweeping vistas you'll get from the surrounding mountains. In fact Yoho means admiration and astonishment in the local aboriginal language, and judging from the breathtaking landscape, it's easy to see how it got the name.
Auyuittuq National Park (Baffin Island)
Baffin Island's national parks of Sirmilik and Auyuittuq offer some of the world's most jaw-dropping scenery without the crowds of more popular places. One of the most iconic sights on the island is Mount Asgard, a twin flat-topped mountain that towers over the valley with its unique shape. Baffin is also a great place for wildlife viewing during the summer, where polar bears and other Arctic animals are a common sight.
Kluane National Park
For some of Canada's most unique landscape, you'll need to head to some of the more difficult to reach areas. The northern territory of the Yukon is filled with long stretches of rugged mountains and dramatic valleys. Like most areas of the Yukon, you'll find plenty of wildlife to spot here too, including the huge Yukon moose, rock ptarmigans and gold and bald eagles.
Kluane National Park is home to Canada's highest peak, Mount Logan, surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the world.
Banff National Park
Canada's first national park and home to one of the most photographed scenic spots in the country at Moraine Lake, Banff National Park is one of the most popular for a good reason. The Valley of the Ten Peaks view at Moraine Lake and its reflection in the lake is so iconic it was even featured on the Canadian twenty dollar bill for a time.
The glacial lake might be one of the world's most incredible landscape views, but there's much more to Banff than just Moraine Lake. Almost every turn of the corner is just as stunning as the last. The park is also home to a number of ski resorts that come alive during the winter such as Banff Sunshine Village.
Garibaldi Provincial Park
Garibaldi Provincial Park is a easy hour and a half drive from Vancouver, on the west side of Canada. The park is renowned for its hike around Garibaldi Lake, with multiple peaks around the lake providing picturesque spots to view the stunning scenery.
Jasper National Park
Stretching northwards of Banff, Jasper National Park is a continuation of the stunning scenery Canada's most famous national park is well known for. While the famous spots and photogenic scenes in Banff can get a little crowded during the high season, Jasper sees much less tourism, with the same incredible scenery.
The park is also home to one of the most incredible drives in the world, Icefields Parkway connects Banff and Jasper National Park together with stunningly beautiful scenery as a backdrop.
The national parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho together form the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, designated by UNESCO for the area's natural environment and diversity of wildlife.