CANADA’S TOP 9 GREAT DRIVES
July 14th, 2010
SHOTGUN! The famous, sometimes infamous word normally yelled by someone at the top of their lungs upon realizing a road trip is in the offing.
Once again Wanderism visits our Top 9 list. This time Canadian great drives. But of course great drives are in abundance everywhere in the world there are roads, and sometimes NO roads at all.
So, what’s missing here? Where have you been that deserves to be on a Top List of terrific road trips? And no need to think only of Canada. Personally, I can remember a handful of amazing road journeys in the American Southwest, and at least one ‘gobsmacking’ asphalt experience in the hills of Tuscany. And you…?
Let us know – comments below.
1. The Icefields Parkway, Alberta
Sure, you can drive one of North America’s most scenic roads (Hwy 93) that bisects 100 glaciers, two national parks (Banff and Jasper) and sweeps past dozens of peacock-blue lakes. But even more impressive is to cycle this wide-shouldered, hostel-studded highway. Be sure to cool down with a tiptoe up to the Athabasca Glacier.
2. The Qu’Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan
If you’re speeding along the Trans-Canada Highway, remember to veer north at the tiny community of Qu’Appelle. The endless swath of golden wheat fields splits open on Hwy 210 into a spectacular valley laced with a series of lakes, coulees and groves of trees – a recreational mecca for Reginans, who live 45 minutes away.
3. The Beginning of Prairie Parkland, Manitoba
If you’re slicing across Canada on the Yellowhead Highway (#16), don’t whiz by the prettiest town on the prairies: Neepawa. Just west of the town, veer north on Hwy 10 through Riding Mountain National Park to Dauphin and west to Inglis, home of five historic grain elevators – a fantastic site at sunset.
4. The Beginning of Clearly Superior, Ontario
Now you’ll know why Canada’s Group of Seven artists lingered around this necklace of wide sandy bays on Lake Superior’s east shore in Ontario. Take Hwy 17 north from Sault Ste. Marie to Wawa, and be soothed by all that freshwater, the Lego-like blocky cliffs and spots like Pancake Bay – where voyageurs stopped to fry up some pancakes before restocking supplies in “the Soo.”
5. The St. Lawrence Route, Quebec
Linking Baie-Saint-Paul to La Malbaie, Hwy 362 meanders through the artsy villages of Charlevoix and over mountains that tumble into the St. Lawrence – the result of a meteorite two km (1.25 mi) in diameter that crashed here 350 million years ago.
6. The Dempster Highway, Yukon
Drive the Dempster, one of this continent’s loneliest strips of loose gravel, and you’ll cross the Continental Divide (three times), two mountain ranges and touch the Arctic Circle. Begin in Dawson City and head northeast for 736 km (457 mi) to Inuvik, NWT – you’ll feel like you’re driving to the ends of the earth. (You kinda are.)
7. The Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia
Drive along the skirts of Cape Breton Island, and you’ll breeze through beech forests and swoop over ocean bluffs. Dotted with fishing ports, craft barns (noted for their hooked rugs), quirky road stops and absurdly stunning ocean views, look for pods of whales in the water and moose along the forest trails.
8. The Fundy Coastal Drive, New Brunswick
We love this maritime journey especially in the fall, when the forests look like they’ve been shellacked with marmalade. Besides the fiery colours, you can marvel at some of the highest tides on earth.
9. The Viking Trail, Newfoundland & Labrador
Inhabited by Aboriginals centuries ago and landed on by the Vikings 1,000 years ago, the land this weeklong road trip slices through was later populated by 16th-century Basque whalers and is now home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: spectacular Gros Morne National Park and L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site.
10. ??? What’s missing? Let us know below. ROAD TRIP!
[REW]
Original Article Written By Debra Cummings – Courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission. The text has been modified from the original.
