1. Poles fit for a prince

Cross-country skiing, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

Lake Louise is for lovers. Ski lovers, that is. You can check out tree-lined cross-country trails or fly downhill in waist-deep powder, all under gorgeous blue skies. And if you’re up for more rustic adventure, try the famous Skoki Lodge, where Prince William and theDuchess of Cambridge visited in the summer.

TIP: Bring a camera to take great snaps of deer and elk as you shush by on your Nordic skis.

Lake Louise area cross-country ski trails

The Lake Louise Ski Area

2. Get seriously soaked, Radium Hot Springs, Kootenay National Park, Alberta

You can get me into hot springs at any time of year but on cool, crisp winter days, just try to get me out. Surrounded by snow-covered trees and the icy Mount Rundle, I love to wade shoulder-deep into the soothing mineral-rich waters and just smile.

TIP: For more warmth, try Banff Upper Hot Springs in Banff National Park.

Radium Hot Springs

3. Mush ado about winter  

Dog sledding, Kluane National Park and Reserve, Yukon

Here’s one for the bucket list. A chance to mush a team of gorgeous huskies through Kluane National Park and Reserve. Contact a local dog sled tour operator for itineraries.

TIP: Canada’s highest mountain, Mount Logan (5,959 metres; 19,545 feet), is located within the park.

Uncommon Journeys Ltd 

4. Go waterfall ice climbing  

Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks, Alberta and British Columbia

If you were born with a silver pick-axe in your hands, here’s news. Some 1,000 waterfalls exist through the Canadian Rockies, making it one of the world’s premier waterfall ice climbing destinations. Experienced climbers have easy access and incredible options.

TIP:  Massey’s and Pilsner Pillar are classic climbs near the village of Field in Yoho National Park.

5. Plan a family below zero family boil-up

Winter picnicking, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta
Bundle up the family and head out for a picnic along the lake, stopping at one of the park’s enclosed camp kitchens. Cook lunch over a wood stove, seasoned with a dose of the stunning Rocky Mountains.

TIP: Snowshoe up and over the Akamina Pass and have a picnic on the continental divide.

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

1. Snuggle up to polar bears, Wapusk National Park, Manitoba

Moose, wolves and caribou are all found in Wapusk National Park, but the polar bears get most of the ooh and ahhs. Book a tour, climb aboard a fat-tired tundra vehicle and go nose to snout with a mother bear wrestling her cubs. TIP: Best time to see polar bears is mid-October to mid-December.

www.tundrabuggy.com

www.watchee.com

2. Become an Ice Road Trekker   

Wood Buffalo National Park, Northwest Territories

If you’ve seen TVs Ice Road Truckers haul cargo from Yellowknife to the diamond mines of the Northwest Territories, you’re probably itching to get behind the wheel. No problem. Just drive from Fort McMurray through Wood Buffalo National Park to Fort Smith, on an epic ice road journey crossing rivers, muskeg and portages.

TIP: Stop at Fort Chipewyan to experience one of Alberta’s oldest Aboriginal settlements.

3. Strap on your skis, and fly

Kite skiing on Astotin Lake, Elk Island National Park, Alberta

Grab the reins for kite skiing on Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park. It has all the rush of downhill skiing, only you control the speed. Go from double diamond to the bunny hill in an instant. Plus, no waits for the ski lift. You can even tow the kids behind you on a toboggan.

TIP: Elk Island is a Dark Sky Preserve making it a great place to stargaze and see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

4. Dream under the dome.

Yurt stay, Forillion National Park, Québec

I love cross-country skiing except for the climbing back into my cold car part. Now you don’t have to. Book a yurt and watch the sunset from your comfy tent cottage, surrounded by sea at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. Imagine a cozy wood stove, hardwood floor and comfy beds. Rustic, this ain’t.

TIP: In addition to more than 40 km (25 miles) of cross-country trails, the park offers dogsledding and snowshoeing.

5. Dance on frozen water

Maligne Canyon Ice Walk, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Nature puts on her ice show at the bottom of narrow Maligne Canyon every winter. Descend 50 metres where you’ll explore natural sculptures, waves, swirls, secret ice caves and waterfalls stretching like frozen claws over the canyon walls. Book a tour, strap on your steel grippers, and you’re off!

TIP: Strap-on a headlamp and try the romantic moonlight tour.

Maligne Canyon

Jasper Adventure Centre

SunDog tours

Overlander Trekking and Tours

Walk and Talks Jasper

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre
Writers Bio: British Columbia-based freelance writer and photographer Lori McNultyjourneys the globe to connect life and landscape. Her award-winning travel and arts essays uncover striking landscapes and soulful adventure.

“I am honoured to announce the participation of Parks Canada in the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Cultural Access Pass Program. This pass for new Canadian citizens will now open the doors to places that bring together the geography and history defining their new country,” said Minister Kent. “Our national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas are an encyclopedia of our national identity, waiting to be discovered and experienced.”

Through the Cultural Access Pass, new Canadian citizens and up to four of their children under 18 years of age will receive free admission to more than 100 of Park Canada’s treasured places. The pass will be valid for one year after the new citizens have been sworn in. Several Parks Canada locations will also serve as pick-up locations for the passes.

“Community citizenship ceremonies at treasured Parks Canada places already offer a unique transformative and memorable experience,” said Minister Kenney. “The Cultural Access Pass will offer many more opportunities for new Canadian citizens to experience Canada’s natural and cultural heritage firsthand. This initiative will benefit new Canadian citizens by enabling them to become more informed about Canada and more committed to the communities in which they live,” added Minister Kenney.

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship is a national non-profit organization that engages new Canadians citizens through innovative programs, campaigns and partnerships. Their initiatives are designed to ensure that new citizens are welcomed and included as equals and are aimed at creating meaningful connections among all Canadians, fostering a culture of active, engaged citizens and celebrating our shared identity as Canadians.

“Together with Parks Canada, we are creating opportunities for new citizens to access the essence of what so many define as a uniquely and truly Canadian experience,” said Gillian Hewitt Smith, Executive Director and CEO, Institute for Canadian Citizenship. “By opening the gates to our national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas, tens of thousands of new Canadian citizens who have been able to curate their cultural experiences at museums, galleries, and other attractions, can now step outside and discover the beauty of this country’s natural heritage and historical sites.”

Parks Canada works to ensure Canada’s historic and natural heritage is protected and, through a network of 42 national parks, 167 national historic sites, and four national marine conservation areas, invites Canadians and people around the world to engage in personal moments of inspiring discovery at our treasured natural and historic places.

For additional information or to register for a Cultural Access Pass see www.parkscanada.gc.ca or http://www.icc-icc.ca/

Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven is a special exhibit of their work at London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery, running from Oct. 19 to Jan. 8, 2012.

These early 20^th-century artists travelled by train, canoe and on foot into the wilderness, taking their sketchbooks with them. They were, perhaps, our first tourists. The places they painted are still inspiring visitors today.

Algonquin Provincial Park – Tom Thomson spent summers fishing, canoeing and sketching in Ontario’s first provincial park. Wild rivers, placid lakes, wind-ravaged pine trees all captured his eye. After his tragic death in 1917 – his body was found in Canoe Lake – his friends built a memorial cairn at one of his favourite camping spots, then went on to form the Group of Seven.

A.Y. Jackson, Winter, Québec / courtesy National Gallery

Charlevoix, Quebec – A.Y. Jackson was considered the driving force behind the group and loved to venture into the winter landscapes on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. Locals called him ‘Pere Raquette’ or Father Snowshoes for his habit of exploring on snowshoes. His paintingRoad to Baie-St. Paul captures a tiny village swathed in drifts of snow – a perfect ode to a Canadian winter.

Agawa Canyon and Ontario’s Algoma Country  on the north shore of Lake Superior were a big draw for the artists, especially in autumn when maple leaves turn brilliant orange and red. You can still journey by train into the canyon, through the granite rock of the Canadian Shield and past roaring rivers, unspoiled lakes and tumbling waterfalls.

Killarney Wilderness Park and La Cloche Mountains – Artist Franklin Carmichael built a cottage here in Ontario, while A.Y. Jackson was so enchanted with the white quartzite hills and crystal clear lakes that he campaigned for the area’s protection. Today, the park offers unbeatable canoeing and hiking.

Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park Among outdoor enthusiasts, this wilderness park in British Columbia tops their ‘to do’ lists. Again and again. Turquoise, glacier-fed lakes and soaring mountain peaks inspired Group of Seven artist J.E.H. MacDonald to write, “I got to the beautiful Lake O’Hara lying in a rainbow sleep, under the steeps of Mount Lefroy and the waterfalls of Oesa. And there I realized some of the blessedness of mortals.”

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Suzanne Morphet is passionate about exploring Canada and writing about it. She knows she’d need many lifetimes to do it justice…. So with just one, she’s working hard to see and share as much as she can. Her travel stories have appeared in The Globe and Mail, up! magazine (West Jet’s in-flight magazine), Homemakers and numerous other publications. Morphet recently co-authored The Vancouver Island Book of Everything. She is based in Victoria, BC.

The “Park Dreams Contest” simply asks people to share in 50 words or less a dream experience they’ve already had or wish for in any one of Canada’s 42 national parks. The topic is wide, and CPAWS is looking for dreams ranging from the wildest excursion to the most stunning view, wildlife sighting, paddling haven or hiking thrill. There will be a two-week voting period after the closing date to help determine which 100 dreams will make it onto Canada’s first national parks bucket list.

The top-voted dream will win the grand prize trip for two to the Nahanni and the two runners up will receive great prize packages including a Mountain Equipment Co-Op shopping spree, Parks Canada Family Discovery Passes, great gear by CPAWS and a year’s subscription to Explore Magazine. All participants will also be eligible for great weekly prize giveaways! Watch out for the 24 hours “takeover”-24 additional prizes to win!

“This is an opportunity for Canadians to share their dream experiences in our national parks.  We encourage everyone who has ever been to a national park, or dreams of getting to one, to share their ideas. We have amazing natural treasures in our parks and this is a year to celebrate them,” says CPAWS National Executive Director, Éric Hébert-Daly.

Click here for more information and to enter the competition.

Spring may still mean skiing for some, but for most Canadians it means it’s time to haul out our bikes and go for a ride. For those in Alberta, returning to the saddle means getting to pedal the spiffy, new and mellow Banff Legacy Trail — a testament to last year’s 125^thanniversary of Banff National Park and this year’s centennial of Canada’s national park system.

Last year’s lack of interpretive plaques, signage and distance markers will be not be an issue when the Trail officially opens by the end of this spring, promises Judy Glowinski, Product Development Specialist for Banff National Park. That’s when you’ll be able to stop and read the history of Canada’s first national park as well as learn about the environmentally friendly initiatives used to build this three-m (10-ft)-wide pathway. You’ll discover:

www.travelalberta.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: After a false start as an entertainment writer, Debra Cummings (“Deb”) spent six months kicking around southeast Asia—trekking up mountains and mastering the multiple meanings of the head-wobble in India—before returning to Calgary, AB, to take up the travel beat. That was 20 years ago. Since then, she’s worked as a newspaper features writer and travel editor, covered travel for CBC Radio and spent a year “voluntouring” around the planet with her husband and two children.