Your Guide to Fun Summer Activities at Canada’s National Parks and Historic Sites

10 Things to Do in a Day

With summer holidays right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how you can make the most of those long, hot summer days.

Here’s an idea: plan a trip to one of Canada’s 200 national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas. Plus, if you have a Grade 8 student in your life they can flash their My Parks Pass for an instant family or group discount.

Whether you need a pit-stop where you can cool off, take a swim and have lunch, or you have always dreamed of a family vacation where you can tune into nature or immerse yourself in our nation’s history, there’s an adventure waiting for you at Parks Canada’s network of natural and historic areas.

1. Grab a bite – With benches, washroom facilities and food concession stands, national parks and historic sites can be great places to stop for a snack and some fresh air. Walk along a trail and find a quieter, shaded area for a perfect afternoon picnic.


2. Hike a trail – You don’t need to be an ambitious hiker to enjoy the trails at most national parks. Take a walk along the coast, hike to a viewpoint, or find an interpretive trail where you’ll learn more about the people and animals that call this park home. Heading through Banff this summer? Make a stop at the new Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail and experience Canada's oldest national park the way the first visitors did – on foot!

La Mauricie National Park

3. Get out on the water – A relaxing and peaceful way to explore the rivers, lakes and coasts of Canada’s national parks is by boat. Canoeing, kayaking and rowboating are the best ways to enjoy the lakes at La Mauricie National Park. You can glide quietly, closely observing the natural world on and around the water.

4. Get snap-happy – You never know when the perfect photo opportunity will come along when you’re exploring national parks. Teeming with wildlife and spectacular vistas, national parks are a great place for amateur and professional photographers alike to capture iconic species and landmarks on film. The unique landscape of Waterton Lakes National Park, where the prairies meet the mountains, is home to many deer, elk and black bears. Grab your camera and start snapping!

Waterton Lakes National Park

5. Bring home a souvenir – Don’t know what to get your friend for their birthday? Souvenir stores at national parks and historic sites sell one-of-a-kind pieces of Canadiana that make great presents.

6. Enjoy a performance – During the summer, you can watch re-enactments of famous battles, military drills and everyday Victorian life at many national historic sites. If you’re visiting Montreal, why not discover Old Montreal's little known heritage jewel the Sir George-Étienne Cartier National Historic Site in honour of our famous Father of Confederation?

Sir George-Étienne Cartier National Historic Site

7. Take a step back in time – Ever wonder what life was really like just a few hundred years ago? Step right into 19th century life by dressing up in period costumes, becoming a Mountie for a day and sampling heritage recipes at places like Fort Walsh.

8. Get to know our feathered friends – Try to identify as many birds species as you can as you stroll along a trail or drive through a national park. At the southernmost point in Canada, Point Pelee National Park is also one of the most spectacular nature hotspots in North America. New to birding? Check out our beginners guide to bird watching.

Fathom Five National Marine Park

9. Explore an underwater world – Discover a world of vibrant marine life at Canada’s four national marine conservation areas. . Check for sea stars in tidal pools. Spy whales off the coast. And don’t forget to look up – you don’t want to miss seabirds flying to their nesting colonies. Want to take an even closer look? Explore shipwrecks as you snorkel or take the glass bottom boat at Fathom Five National Marine Park.

10. Tour the past – Let Parks Canada interpreters guide you through key moments of Canada’s history. Their wealth of knowledge brings the stories to life as you walk in the footsteps of some of our most famous Canadians. If you’re in the Maritimes this summer, don’t miss the Halifax Citadel – this attraction is so popular that it was voted the top wonder of Halifax!
Got More Time?

If you plan on staying for more than just one day, there are plenty of activities that will bring you closer to nature. Extend your day-hike to a multi-day hike, add an overnight stay at a campground, or spend another day practicing your surfing skills.

This year, with Parks Canada celebrating its 100th birthday, there are even more opportunities to build your adventure in our national parks and historic sites. Get the inside scoop on upcoming special events and learning opportunities throughout the summer – each month has an exciting theme that celebrates Parks Canada’s past and future.

Remember: if you have a My Parks Pass, use it all summer long for great discounts on entrance fees to all of Parks Canada’s locations. Know the past. Enjoy the present. Protect the future.

Interactive Map of Canada's Forests

View Nature Canada: Conserving Our Forests in a larger map

To celebrate the 2011 International Year of Forests, we have created a map that highlights Nature Canada’s work to conserve forests in Canada.

We encourage you to explore some of this country’s rich and diverse forest ecosystems by navigating this 2-page, 6-zone map of Canada’s forested areas. Click on a coloured zone to learn about the trees in each region and the wildlife they support.

Follow the links to Nature Canada’s work in each zone to learn more about how we are helping to conserve nature for future generations across the country.

This map does not include all forest ecozones in Canada. For a complete listing, refer to the NRDC web site links below.

The Atlas of Canada – Natural Resources Canada


Forest Ecozones of Canada – Natural Resources Canada

Is Cairn Energy Prepared for an Arctic Oil Spill?

We were all transfixed by the environmental destruction of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill last year. Yet, however bad the spill in the Gulf of Mexico was, almost everyone agrees a major spill in the Arctic sea would be worse. How much worse? Last November a report commissioned by the Pew Environment Group examined that question, and concluded a cleanup could take years – if it’s even possible at all. Efforts would be hampered by wintertime temperatures that can drop below minus 50 degrees Celsius, fierce Arctic storms, endless darkness and fog that shrouds the region for more than half the days of the year.


Yes, drilling in the Arctic is reckless, and dangerous – and something big oil companies are quite eager to do.

Case in point: Edinburgh-based oil and gas company Cairn Energy has plans to drill off the coast of Greenland – without making its oil spill response plan public. This is a document that an oil company has to draw up explaining how it would clean up a spill. They are nearly always made public, but Cairn is keeping its one secret.

On Thursday, Nature Canada joined 53 other international organizations – including Greenpeace, the David Suzuki Foundation, and Council of Canadians – in sending a letter to Greenland’s Prime Minister, Kuupik Kleist, expressing serious concern over the lack of transparency regarding Cairn’s operations in this unique and fragile region.

Cairn is gambling with the pristine wilderness of the Arctic. Walrus, seal, bowhead whale and polar bear habitats could be disrupted and entire remote communities wiped out if a toxic spill eliminates their means of subsistence living.

A spill in this region could be devastating to arctic seabird colonies feeding on the ice floes at Important Bird Areas along Nunavut’s northern coast, Baffin Island or as far south as Labrador. Ivory Gulls, Northern Fulmars, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Thick-billed Murres and many other seabird or water bird species would be at risk.

Our changing climate –due in large part to the burning of fossil fuels -- is melting the Arctic sea ice, changing the nature of one of the most remote, and vulnerable places on earth. It is time to place a moratorium on new offshore drilling, including the Arctic, and to end our reliance on dirty, polluting fossil fuels in favour of responsible development of clean, renewable energy.

Here in Canada, the Government should delay new off-shore drilling projects until a consistent, strictly enforced set of regulations is in place that protects the environment, oil and gas workers and coastal communities.

Even with preventive measures in place, accidents are certain to occur, so it is important to identify places of great ecological significance and permanently protect them. Establishing a comprehensive system of marine and coastal protected areas is essential before development begins, so that irreplaceable natural habitats aren't lost forever to unsustainable development projects and unforeseen accidents. Important Bird Areas and existing Migratory Bird Sanctuaries are good starting points to better protect habitats for birds that, in many cases, Canada shares with the rest of the hemisphere.