Known as “The Green Devil” in English, Au Diable Vert is an enchanting mountain retreat that offers all of the summer outdoor activities that kids love, including water sliding, tubing, stand-up paddleboarding, and stargazing. Sleep in a treehouse, retreat to a sustainably-built pod, or camp in style in an airstream while enjoying the outdoors in the Green Mountains of Québec. Accessible via a long day trip from Vancouver, Garibaldi offers plenty of lakes and scenic vistas to keep you busy. The longest trail at this attractive spot nestled in the Coast Mountains is the hike Take in the dramatic highlands and rugged coasts of Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island – considered one of the most beautiful islands in the world – from its famed Cabot Trail. The 299km (186-mile) loop spans an eight-hour, non-stop drive, but hiking or cycling a smaller section allows for a more leisurely pace. Cape Breton Highlands National Park is where you’ll find the greatest selection of hiking trails, with the Skyline, Fishing Cove and Acadian trails being the most popular. The route covers 25km (15.5 miles) and is best attempted over two days, breaking the trip at the Helm Creek campground. A less ambitious trail of 3km (1.9 miles) links the Cheakamus Lake Parking lot to Cheakamus Lake. Québec's capital is more than 400 years old, and its ancient stone walls, glinting spired cathedrals and jazz-filled corner cafes suffuse it with atmosphere, romance, melancholy, eccentricity and intrigue on par with any European city. The best way to soak it all up is to walk the old town's labyrinth of lanes and get lost amid the street performers and cozy inns, stopping every so often for a café au lait and flaky pastry.

Accommodations can be expensive but you can find great food for a reasonable price, and exploring by transit, bike or foot will help you save on inter-country flights or car rental fees. Where the temperate rainforest comes down to kiss the ocean, the citizens of Ucluelet have built a magnificent 10km (6.2-mile) trail that is equally spectacular in both the sunshine and rain.Planning tip: Bring a tent and binoculars. You can camp right on the smooth sandy beach, and the “bins” will enhance your appreciation of the resident wildlife including eagles and ospreys. 2. Stanhope Beach, Prince Edward Island From Kinney Lake, the longer, harder Kinney Lake to Berg Lake trail covers 23km (14 miles), with seven camping areas along the way, but the route is currently closed due to flood damage and is set to re-open in 2023. Approaching Thunder Bay, you'll pass the jagged Sleeping Giant Peninsula – a series of flat-topped ridges that resemble a large reclining man. The rugged, forested terrain here is characterized by cliffs, hiking trails and plentiful fauna, including moose, wolf and lynx.

The Grizzly Lake Trail is located in Tombstone Territorial Park, accessible via the Dempster Highway (a dirt road), and the views of the Grizzly Valley along the route will linger long in your memory.

Extending northeast from Pointe Old Harry into the wetlands of the 1690-acre (684-hectare) East Point National Wildlife Reserve, Grande Échouerie invites hours of uninterrupted meditation amid tufted dunes frequented by horned grebe and piping plover. If city escapes are more your speed, the metropolitan areas are also a must, with museums – like the Children’s Museum in the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa – and amusement parks – like Canada’s Wonderland near Toronto. Even major cities like Toronto and Montreal were built to navigate by car, although they have ample public transportation (and horrible traffic) now. One of the main reasons travelers come to Nova Scotia is to drive the Cabot Trail, the looping, dipping roller-coaster of a road that snakes its way around the northern tip of Cape Breton Island.