Other activities in Canada
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McNabs Island Ferry
Fine sand and cobbled stone shorelines, salt marshes, abandoned military fortifications and forests of maple, beech and red spruce paint the scenery of the 400-hectare McNabs Island in Halifax Harbour. In all there are 30km of roads and trails to explore close to the city yet far away from its clatter and clamor. Staff of the McNabs Island Ferry will provide you with a map and an orientation to the island.
For camping reservations, contact the Department of Natural Resources; due to increased fire risks from rotting trees ploughed down by Hurricane Juan campfires are currently prohibited on the island. The ferry runs from Fisherman's Cove in Eastern Passage, a short drive…
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Paramount Canada's Wonderland
During summer keep your kids occupied at Paramount Canada’s Wonderland, a state-of-the-art amusement park with over 60 rides. Highlights include some lunch-losing roller coasters, an exploding volcano, a 20-hectare Splash Works water park, and the Fantastic World of Hanna-Barbera for the young ’uns. Queues can be lengthy; most rides operate rain or shine. Wonderland is a 45-minute drive northwest of downtown Toronto on Hwy 400. Exit at Rutherford Rd, 10 minutes north of Hwy 401. Alternatively, from Yorkdale or York Mills subway stations catch GOTransit’s hourly Wonderland Express Bus. Parking costs $10.
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Granville Island Brewing
Canada's oldest microbrewery offers half-hour tours where the smiling guides will walk you through the tiny brewing nook (production has mostly shifted to larger premises) before depositing you in the Taproom for four generous samples, often including the summer-favorite Hefeweizen, mildly-hopped Brockton IPA or the recommended Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale. You'll spot many of these brews in bars and restaurants around the city. You can also buy some takeout in the adjoining store – look out for any seasonal or special-batch tipples that might be worth a try (the Ginger Ale is a winner).
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La Ronde
Québec’s largest amusement park, La Ronde has a battery of impressive rides, including Le Monstre, the world’s highest wooden roller coaster; and Le Vampire, a corkscrew roller coaster with gut-wrenching turns. For a more peaceful experience, there’s a Ferris wheel and a gentle minirail that offers views of the river and city. Concerts and shows are held throughout the summer, and fireworks explode overhead on weekend evenings (when the park stays open later).
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Theodore Too Big Harbour Tours
One-hour tours on this funny-looking cartoon character boat of book and television fame are particularly good for under-sixes.
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Camp Fortune
In the Gatineau Hills, about 20km from downtown, groomed slopes are available.
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Island Queen
Two-hour trips push off at 10am daily and three-hour trips at 1pm.
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Prince of Whales
Long-established local operator.
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Whistler Mountain Bike Park
Colonizing the melted ski slopes in summer and accessed via lifts at the village's south end, this park offers barreling downhill runs and an orgy of jumps, beams and bridges twisting through 200km of well-maintained forested trails. Luckily, you don't have to be a bike courier to stand the gonad-crunching pace: easier routes are marked in green, while blue intermediate trails and black diamond advanced paths are offered if you want to Crank It Up – the name of one of the park's most popular routes. Outside the park area, regional trails include Comfortably Numb (a tough 26km with steep climbs and bridges); A River Runs Through It (suitable for all skill levels, it has…
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Hastings Racecourse
What it lacks in stature – this isn’t exactly the Kentucky Derby – Vancouver’s mountain-view Hastings Racecourse more than makes up for in good old-fashioned fun. It’s an alternative day out if you’ve covered all the usual spectator sports; they’re used to seeing first-timers who don’t know how to place a bet here and will be more than happy to show you how to part with your money. Even if you bet small, there’s an undeniable thrill when the bell sounds, the gates open and the thoroughbreds speed off around the dirt track. If you’re here in August, drop by for BC Cup Day, the biggest race card of the year, complete with live music, family-friendly…
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Haliburton Forest
This privately owned woodland, 30km north of Haliburton town, can be accessed through its main office on Kenneisis Lake. The recommended ‘Walk in the Clouds’ four-hour guided hike ($95) takes you on a pulse-quickening adventure along suspended planks (20m above the ground) through the treetops while providing a bird’s-eye view of the woods below. A visit to the Wolf Centre is included; here visitors can glimpse a pack of wolves (at a safe distance, of course) as they meander through their 6-hectare enclosure. Thick pillows of snow in the winter encourage a thriving snowmobiling culture, and dogsledding is a popular attraction as well ($185 for a full-day guided tour…
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Cypress Provincial Park
Around 8km north of West Van via Hwy 99, Cypress offers some great summertime hikes, including the Baden-Powell, Yew Lake and Howe Sound Crest trails, which plunge through forests of cedar, yellow cypress and Douglas fir and wind past little lakes and alpine meadows. In winter, the park's Cypress Mountain resort area – site of the snowboard and freestyle skiing events at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games – makes this one of the city's favorite snowbound playgrounds. From downtown Vancouver, drivers should cross the Lions Gate Bridge to the Upper Levels Hwy via Taylor Way in West Vancouver. Follow the signs to the park entrance.
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Wayne Gretzky Estates
Hockey: it’s not just about beers and brawls anymore, at least since Ontario’s favorite son, NHL hockey legend Wayne ‘The Great One’ Gretzky, embarked on a new career as a winemaker. Wayne Gretzky Estates opened in 2009 and is producing a veritable rainbow of wines, from cab-merlot blends to ice wine to Rieslings. Before you doubt that a switch from hockey pro to viticulturist is possible, know that No 99, as it’s dubbed, has won several awards. Nevertheless, we doubt Ontario’s legions of rabid hockey fans will be switching from beer to wine anytime soon.
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Whitewater Winter Resort
Known for its heavy powdery snowfall, which averages 1050cm per year, Whitewater Winter Resort features good skiing and boarding.
Unlike more-commercial places, Whitewater maintains its small-town charm. Whitewater has only two double chairs and a rope tow, but they can take you to an elevation of 2400m (the drop is 396m), where you can enjoy great powdery snow on 20 marked runs. Several snow-cat operators can take you to virgin territory for the day. There are 11 groomed Nordic trails. The resort is 18km south of Nelson off Hwy 6.
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Takaya Tours
Operated by North Van's Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, Takaya Tours offers fascinating eco-treks that highlight the history and culture of the Coast Salish peoples. Most departures are from Deep Cove in North Vancouver. One of the most popular tours is the two-hour trip in a traditional canoe through the gorgeous, glassy waters of Indian Arm ($55). Takaya also offers traditional dance performances, a nature walk, a full-moon paddle, kayaking lessons and overnight kayaking trips. Tours require a minimum of three or four participants.
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Harbour Air Seaplanes
Vancouver is home to the world's largest fleet of floatplane operators and, along with their regular scheduled services, some offer soaring sightseeing tours. Taking off and landing (you'll dive-bomb the water at a rate of knots) is thrilling in itself, but the scenery while you're up there will make you realize just how beautiful this region is. Harbour Air's 20-minute panoramic flight ($99) is great fun and there are additional longer flights depending on your budget.
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Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Carriages
These narrated, one-hour tours are a leisurely – actually, extremely slow – but informative way to see the park without having to walk. Lumbering Clydesdale and grey shire horses pull the 20-passenger carriages past all the usual park highlights and you'll hear some fascinating tales about the area's history and development. Tours depart from near the information booth, just off the park's W Georgia St entrance.
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Calgary Parks & Recreation Department Office
Calgary is a cyclist's, walker's and runner's dream with more than 400km of paved paths within the city limits. Many of them cruise along the rivers and bisect the many urban parks. You can easily go from one end of the city to the other without having to worry about traffic. To plan your route, check out the Calgary Pathway & Bicycle Route Map, available for around C$1 from the Calgary Parks & Recreation Department Office and from most bike shops.
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Big Bus
On cold and rainy days, you'll still see passengers huddling together for warmth on the open outer decks of these colorful tour buses – luckily they can also shelter inside if a tempest hits. Stay on for the full 90-minute narrated loop or use your ticket as a hop-on hop-off pass for up to 23 stops around the city. Departures are every 15 to 20 minutes during peak season, and good-value family tickets are $90. A two-day ticket option is also offered for a few dollars more.
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Downtown Historic Railway
This beautifully restored, clackety old streetcar hits the ancient tracks from Granville Island to Science World during a smile-inducing 15-minute journey. The railway used to be part of the Vancouver tramcar system, and today it’s still operated by the city’s Engineering Services department –you’ll see retired uniformed volunteers, who used to work on the old cars when they were in full service, staffing the line.
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Ghost Tours of Québec
Local theater actors or storytellers lead you through the streets of the Old Town by lantern recounting the hangings and hauntings of Old Québec. The 90-minute tours are great fun and usually finish with a visit to the city’s most haunted building. Tours leave from the sitting area (98 Rue du Petit-Champlain near Blvd Champlain) in the Old Lower Town. Buy your tickets from the Ghost Tours of Québec office or from the guide 15 minutes before the tour.
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Stawamus Chief Provincial Park
Attracting hardy climbers, it’s called ‘The Chief’ and it’s the highlight of Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. You don’t have to be geared-up to experience the summit’s breathtaking vistas: there are hiking routes up the back for anyone who wants to have a go. Consider Squamish Rock Guides ([tel] 604-892-7816; www.squamishrockguides.com; guided climbs half-/full-day from $75/115) for climbing assistance or lessons.
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Vancouver Trolley Company
This company operates jolly replicas of San Francisco trolley cars (without the tracks), providing a hop-on hop-off service to attractions around the city. The circuit takes 80 minutes and you buy your tickets from the driver – attraction tickets are also sold on board. If you're here in late October, the buses are decorated in spooky Halloween garb, while Christmastime sees a karaoke theme adopted for those who like to ride and sing at the same time. Check the website for discount tickets, especially off-season.
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Landsea Tours
Landsea's comfortable tours in 24-passenger stretch minibuses attract an older crowd. Treks include a three-hour city highlights tour (adult/child $65/42), departing 9am and 2pm; and a six-hour North Shore and Grouse Mountain tour (adult/child including admission $119/85). Additional guided tours to Victoria or Whistler are offered if you fancy traveling further afield.
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East Coast Trail
The epic East Coast Trail now stretches 220km from Fort Amherst in St John's south to Cappahayden; an additional 300km will be developed eventually. It is part easy coastal walking, part tough wilderness trail. Maps are available at Outfitter's (220 Water St), Downhome (303 Water St) and the trail website, which also has information on free weekly guided hikes. An excellent stretch runs along the coast from Cape Spear.
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