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Destination Parks with Peter Trueman
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Banff National Park (Alberta)
Banff was Canada’s first national park. Today it is a symbol of Canada, and rightly so. Majestic peaks, verdant river valleys, and a bustling town site make Banff National Park one of the country’s favourite travel destinations.
Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta)
Many thousands of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the land around Dinosaur Provincial Park. They may be gone but they are not forgotten. Their skeletons lie in the Badlands of south-eastern Alberta, waiting to be discovered by archaeologists or perhaps by visitors out hiking the park’s trails.
Ellesmere Island National Park (North West Territories & Nunavut)
Quttinirpaaq, on Ellesmere Island, protects the most northerly lands in North America. This desolate landscape at the top of the world hosts only two hundred visitors each year. But those who make the trek are richly rewarded with vistas of remarkable beauty
Fathom Five National Park (Ontario)
Fathom Five was created as Canada’s first National Marine Park to protect the shipwrecks in its waters. A diver’s paradise, the clear waters off the Bruce Peninsula allow stunning views of vessels from another era. Visitors can also tour the wrecks in glass-bottom boats, and visit the many lighthouses on the park’s islands.
Forillion National Park (Quebec)
Forillon, on the Gaspé Peninsula, has been called “five parks in one.” Limestone cliffs are home to thousands of seabirds, while in the ocean below whales ply the waters. Forests, sandspits, and fields host a variety of other animals including what are reputed to be the smallest black bears in the country.
Lake Superior Provincial Park (Ontario)
Members of The Group of Seven immortalized Lake Superior Provincial Park in paintings that showcase the exposed rocks, rushing water, and bright autumn colours. Visitors ride the same railway that took the artists through the Park, and marvel at the giant lake that stretches across the earth like an inland ocean.
Prince Edward Island National Park (PEI)
This is one of the country’s smallest and most visited parks, located in Canada’s smallest province. Wind-swept dunes and of course Anne of Green Gables attract tourists from across the country and from half the world away.
Spirit Bear Provincial Park (British Columbia)
Located on Princess Royal Island, off the BC coast, Spirit Bear is home to salmon, cedar trees, and bears in a circle of life. The most famous bear is the elusive Kermode – a form of black bear with white fur. Only the luckiest visitors will catch a glimpse of this animal, called the Spirit Bear
Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park (British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska)
And then, ten thousand years ago, the planet began to warm. Like a curtain revealing a magnificent landscape, the ice sheets retreated north. Melt water rushed to fill deep the deepest cavities, creating well over one million pristine lakes and rivers Covering over 750,000 square kilometers these remnants of the ice age contain one tenth of the world’s fresh water supply and account for more than half of the lakes on the planet.
Wapusk National Park (Manitoba)
Wapusk is the Cree word for “white bear” – a fitting name since this park protects one of the world’s largest polar bear denning areas. Here in northern Manitoba, visitors can view these dangerous bears from the safety of large-wheeled tundra buggies. Or boat on the nearby Churchill River in search of beluga whales