RANKING CANADIAN NATIONAL PARKS

As of 2023, there are currently 37 National Parks and 10 National Park Reserves in Canada. Chris and I have been lucky enough to visit almost half of them! There are even a few parks that we’ve stayed at that aren’t listed here as we didn’t get to adventure around those parks in order to give them a fair ranking, only setting up a tent and sleeping at the location. There are also a few parks that we have visited, but not together or as adults, so those are also omitted from this list.

This list feels like an impossible task, ranking some of the most beautiful places we have ever visited. Most of our rankings are based on the amount of time we were able to spend and how many adventures we’ve gotten to experience in each park. We’d honestly recommend every park we’ve visited to people who want to experience some of the best Canada has to offer!

Let me know how many of these parks you’ve visited and if you agree with our ranking!

#16: Pukawaska National Park.

We made a reservation to stay in an oTentik in Pukawaska National Park last minute on our journey across Canada. At this point of the trip, we had been on the road and living out of our car/tent with our dog, Milo, for two weeks. We stayed for two days and loved our cozy little home. The oTenik’s are such a great option for accommodation, halfway between a cabin and a tent.

Unfortunately for us, it rained for the majority of our stay, which meant we took full advantage of the cozy vibes and stayed inside napping and relaxing.

What we did see of the park, the amenities and the walking trails around the Hattie Cove Campground, made us disappointed we didn’t have the chance to stay longer and explore more of the park. We would love to go back and take advantage of canoeing on Lake Superior and hiking the 18km White River Suspension Bridge Trail.

Due to the weather and our short stay, Pukawaska is last on our list. We hope we can visit this park again and fully immerse ourselves in all of its beauty and adventure.

#15: Point Pelee National Park.

Point Pelee National Park was a quick add-on to our drive from Michigan to London, Ontario. We were impressed by Canada’s southernmost point and all that this small park had to offer.

We’ve ranked Point Pelee at #15 because we were only able to spend a little over an hour there and felt we had left so much unexplored. I personally want to go back when the Monarch Butterfly migration is in the area to fully feel the magic of this park.

I would definitely recommend this park to birdwatchers and families as there was so much diversity of bird life and lots of activities for children!

#14: Kootenay National Park.

This park is home to so many of my “bucket list” adventures but sadly we’ve only been able to spend a day at Kootenay National Park so far. What we have experienced, like the Paint Pots hike featured above, have been incredible and only fuels our desire to explore more of this park!

Because we know Kootenay has so much more to offer, but we haven’t been able to experience it yet, the park ranks at #14.

#13: Pacific Rim National Reserve Park.

Pacific Rim National Reserve Park is most well known for the 75km West Coast Trail and its proximity to the ever-famous Tofino. We visited for the latter. Ringing in New Year 2022 at a cabin in Ucluelet was our reason for being on Vancouver Island but being able to pop into Pacific Rim, specifically the beautiful Rainforest Trail. It was a bit of an icy adventure, but the sunlight filtering its way through the trees was magical!

We intended to visit both Pacific Rim National Park and the Tofino area in the summertime, but our world trip was calling us, so revisiting this park was put on the list of “things to do when we return to Vancouver”.

Due to us only having visited one of two portions of this park, and during the off-season, it ranks at #13.

#12: Glacier National Park.

Another underrated and often overlooked National Park, Glacier is full of hikes and adventures we want to experience. Unfortunately, when we were most recently there in June 2023 many of our dream hikes were still snow-packed or closed for the season.

One of the hikes on our to-do list is Balu Pass, which requires we leave Milo at home and hike in a group of four or more to avoid bear encounters. Hopefully, we will be able to hike this trail and many more when we return to British Columbia.

The hikes we have completed, the Rockgarden Trail and Bear Creek Falls Trail, we’d 100% recommend!

This park ranks lower due once again to our lack of time spent exploring all it has to offer.

#11: Fundy National Park.

Fundy National Park is famous for having the world’s largest tidal change. In July 2023 I was lucky enough to visit this park for the first time with my sister, Megan. We thoroughly enjoyed our time exploring the park, staying at the Point Wolfe campground, and spending time reading on the park’s many beaches. Seeing just how drastic the change of landscape is during low and high tide is incredible!

This park’s unique tidal range helps it place higher on the list at #11. I’m sure it will climb further up the list when we have the chance to revisit and spend some time kayaking during high tide and hiking the Fundy Footpath.

#10: Riding Mountain National Park.

The wildlife viewing we experienced during our time at this park was phenomenal. Seeing Bison up close and personal is an experience I will not soon forget! We also experienced great weather and beautiful sunsets during our time in this park.

The town of Wasagaming was so cute and quaint. If we hadn’t had Milo with us I would have loved to spend an afternoon perusing all of the small local shops and cafes.

This park also had one of the nicest Visitor Centres of the parks we have visited, located in a historic building in the town of Wasagaming.

The only major downfall of this park was the amount of ticks we were covered in after hiking. We were finding them on ourselves and Milo for hours after hiking and could even see them on us in photos we had taken. Due to this Riding Mountain sits at #10.

#9: Grasslands National Park.

This park is split into two sections: the Eastern Block and the Western Block. We were lucky enough to be able to stay for two nights in the Eastern Block and spend an afternoon exploring the Western Block during our time crossing Saskatchewan.

If our time in Grasslands National Park taught us anything it’s that Saskatchewan isn’t all flat. The beautiful rolling grasslands in this park are home to hundreds of Bison and Rattlesnakes. During our time in the park, we were lucky enough to have the most INCREDIBLE sunsets and truly experience why Saskatchewan is called the land of living skies.

#8: Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

We visited Cape Breton Highlands National Park in 2021 with my friend, Amanda, and Chris’ brother, Crawford. It was both my and Amanda’s first time to the park. The famous Skyline Trail was still beautiful despite fog hiding the coastline.

Amanda and I did the entirety of the Cabot Trail, exploring beaches and hiking trails along the route. Cape Breton Island itself reminds me of Newfoundland so I’m a little biased when it comes to ranking the beauty of the park. I would love to return and complete more hiking trails in this park and to experience the Skyline Trail for sunrise or even just a clear day.

I would highly recommend the Cabot Trail and Cape Breton Highlands National Park to anyone visiting the Maritimes!

#7: Mount Revelstoke National Park.

We were beyond impressed with Mount Revelstoke National Park during our super short stay there this June. Initially, we weren’t supposed to visit this park at all, but we’re really glad we were able to camp there.

We stayed at the Snowforest Campground which BY FAR had the nicest amenities of ANY campground we’ve stayed at, National Park or otherwise. The new bathroom/shower building was beautiful, inclusive, and super clean. It really wowed us.

The one full day we had to explore the park we decided to stop at all the open viewpoints and short trails along the beautiful Meadows in the Sky Parkway. Due to how early in the season we were visiting the parkway was closed partway up due to snow, but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

It may have been a short visit, but the views, history, and amenities of this National Park shot it up the list!

#6: Jasper National Park.

We’ve been lucky enough to visit Japser National Park in both the summer and the winter seasons. Often overlooked by people visiting Banff instead, Jasper is a stunning National Park that we will continue to revisit over and over.

The mountains, the lakes, the wildlife, and the hiking. We couldn’t rave more about this park if we tried! Even with extreme heat and getting caught in deep snow on various hikes we love this park and all the memories we’ve created there.

There are two reasons why Jasper doesn’t crack the top five even though we love it so much. The first being that we have never camped in the park itself so don’t know what the campgrounds and their amenities are like. And secondly, because the parks in the top five are stiff competition! This really is an impossible task.

#5: Gros Morne National Park.

I’ll admit it. I may be biased here. As a Newfoundlander, Gros Morne has always been one of my favourite places. I was lucky enough to visit this park twice as a child and have the most incredible memories with my cousins and closest childhood friends from these trips.

Thankfully both Chris and I were able to spend a few days in Gros Morne when we first arrived in Newfoundland in August 2023. Due to feeling ill, our time there was cut short, but it didn’t take away from the magic of the area.

On this particular visit our boat tour through Western Brook Pond was definitely the highlight. I mean how can it not be given the scenery?! Chris was thoroughly impressed with the unique geographical features of the former fjord-turned-pond and all of the knowledge of the staff on our tour. I even caught him taking photos and videos for himself without any prompting from me!

While we still have to conquer Gros Morne Mountain, which I’m sure will push the park higher in the ranking upon completion, this National Park deserves all the hype and a place in our top five.

#4: Banff National Park.

To be completely honest, the only major downfall of Banff National Park is the crowds, and even with that, it is still 100% worth a visit. The first time you drive into Banff and along the Icefields Parkway, which connects it to Jasper in the North, you can’t help but stare at the mountains in amazement!

Chris and I have been incredibly lucky to have visited Banff on three separate occasions and two seasons, summer and winter. No matter how many times we’ve been there always seems to be more to hike and explore.

Another aspect that plays into our ratings of the National Parks is the memories we’ve made there. Being lucky enough to visit Banff with family, friends, and Milo makes it hard to beat! From hiking the Beehive Trail with some of our closest pals to standing on frozen Lake Louise with my Aunt Janet and Uncle Ray, we’ve had the BEST times visiting this park.

The views are stunning, the hikes are always worth the effort, and Banff town proper is cute as can be! We definitely recommend everyone visit Banff at least once if you can.

#3: Yoho National Park.

Think Banff but with less crowds. Yoho is not a hidden gem by any means, but it is often overlooked in favour of Banff so you tend to get less folks at the major attractions. In my opinion, Emerald Lake is equally stunning and has a great glacier hike on the far end. Our friends and Chris were braver than me and jumped into the freezing glacial lake for a swim on our visit in late August - early September.

On our most recent visit to Yoho, we camped at Kicking Horse Campground which had newly upgraded facilities and an incredible view of the mountains as soon as you stepped out of the bathroom building.

Another highlight of Yoho has been hiking to Wapta Falls. The spray was so nice on a hot day and the rainbows and intensity of the falls themselves are simply incredible!

Not to mention the fact that there are still so many areas and hikes we want to complete in Yoho, including visiting Lake O’Hara. This is another park that just blows us away every single time!

#2: Bruce Peninsula National Park.

This park is STUNNING. Swimming near the grotto is the easiest way to trick people into thinking you’re in the Mediterranean. The water is turquoise and clear, but equally freezing. We loved taking advantage of morning “cold plunges” in the Georgian Bay. Milo was in his element, diving off of the rocks along the shore into the cold water. By far his favourite park!

The town of Tobermory was also cute, with lots of lighthouses, cabins, and tasty restaurants.

I also took advantage of the boat tours available to visit Fathom Five National Marine Park. The clear water was perfect for looking at the famous shipwrecks in the region. The tour also brought us past the famous Flower Pot Island.

The next time we’re able to visit the area we’d love to hike on Flower Pot Island, along the Bruce Trail, and try camping in the backcountry. We simply had the most fun at this park and can’t wait to visit again!

#1: Waterton Lakes National Park.

In Chris’ words “Waterton Lakes is number 1 because it was the most beautiful”. And he’s completely right, this park is STUNNING!

Before I started researching for our travels across Canada and the first leg of our year of travel we didn’t even know this National Park existed. On the border of Alberta and Montana, Waterton Lakes National Park borders the famous Glacier National Park in the United States. They’ve actually designated the area as the first International Peace Park in the world.

We’ve added the Goat Haunt Hike aka The Great Divide Trail to our Bucket List. This hike takes you from Waterton Lakes National Park along Upper Waterton Lake into Glacier National Park. It’s supposed to be a challenging and beautiful adventure!

The photo featured for this park was taken from the top of the Bear’s Hump, a stunning viewpoint overlooking the town of Waterton Lakes. The town itself is super cute, with lots of little souvenir shops and a large Visitor Centre.

Other highlights from our time there include seeing wildlife, both bison and a bear, visiting Cameron Lake so Chris and Milo could go for a swim, hiking around lakes, walking around town, witnessing AMAZING sunsets, and exploring Red Rock Canyon!

We will definitely be back to visit Waterton Lakes National Park again. Hopefully, we can convince some of you to visit there as well. We promise its worth the journey!