‘I’m bored.’ The words are guaranteed to set any parent’s teeth on edge (tinged with that little element of parental guilt). Face it, most parents do not have the time to respond to demands for 24/7 stimulation, and learning to cope with boredom is learning to cope with life. But when the opportunity arises, every parent would love to take their kids to a place where boredom never gets a look in. There are plenty of opportunities in Canada.
Camping
For a bit of everything that makes an adventure holiday you can’t really beat camping. It gets you close to nature, and Canada has the best nature in the world. Waking up to a lakeside or a view of snow-capped mountains, cooking food in the open air, playing games in wild grassland, keeping very still to watch for wildlife—these are memories children will carry with them forever.
Canada’s national parks have some superb campsites, and many offer opportunities for organised activities like horse-trekking, kayaking, trail-finding, and fishing.
Hiking
Mountains, lakes, shorelines, glaciers—Canada has hiking for which people travel from around the globe. Nothing gives a sense of achievement like getting to the top of a mountain and looking down on the world. From day trips to expeditions of several weeks, there is something for the active family in every part of the country.
There are hikes available to suit every level of ability and every age. From the gentle stillness of Appin Road, Prince Edward Island, to the heady heights of Alberta’s Lake Louis, there’s An ideal challenge for any family.
Road Trips
Canada’s road trips are rated among the best in the world. Hop into the Dodge Journey and you can confidently tackle some of the most spectacular routes you will every see. The best, inevitably, are in B.C. and Alberta, like the famous Icefields Parkway through the national parks of Banff and Jasper. But there are also great drives in the east, like the glorious Cabot Trail of Nova Scotia, littered with opportunities to swim and kayak.
River Trips
Canada is a water lover’s paradise. There are water passages through some of the remotest country in the world, where the silence of a float trip enables you to slide past without disturbing the wildlife. There are exciting white water rapids where the adrenalin will keep you on a high all day. There are classic long-distance routes like the amazing Nahanni River which combine something of everything. All the best rivers offer expert tuition and supervised trips for all levels of ability.
Child-Friendly Museums
Finally, although it doesn’t sound very adventurous, don’t forget some of the great family-focused museums that are around the country. Drumheller in Alberta has a wonderful outdoor dinosaur museum, and the Canadian Children’s Museum in Ottawa is a fascinating visit for inquisitive minds.
An Adventurer’s Playground
If you want to take your family on an exciting day trip or the experience of a lifetime over several weeks, there is really no better country to do so than Canada. If a trip has the ‘wow’ factor, you will find it here.
Bio: Maya Howell has just had her 2nd baby and is on extended maternity leave to enjoy this precious time. She’s keeping her brain active by writing articles about parenthood whilst baby naps!
I really enjoyed all the museums our family visited on our vacation trips out West from the Midwest when I was a kid. Lots of great history to soak in on those road trips but we never made it up to Canada unfortunately.
My son lives in upstate NY so he can travel more often to Canada. These are some great suggestions of things to do and places to visit.
I really enjoyed reading this post it gave me a lot of ideas. There are so many places that I would like to visit in Canada and the list just keeps growing and growing. Have a nice weekend.