While you could technically backpack into Waterton from Glacier, you’ll have a much easier time coming from Calgary, driving along the ultra-scenic Akamina Parkway all the way to Cameron Lake. Six wonderful waterside hikes can be accessed from the parkway, including the fir-lined, 3.2-mile (5-kilometer) trail to Summit Lake. Consider a stop at the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel, play in and around Red Rock Canyon, and get misted at Blakiston Falls, too.

Mount Revelstoke has glittering alpine lakes, jagged peaks, and boreal forests in spades. Drive the Meadows in the Sky Parkway; walk down the Giant Cedars Boardwalk; meditate on the Inspiration Woods trail; and climb or drive to the namesake summit for even more superlative views, especially at sunset. For something wild, the 9-mile (14.5-kilometer) hike to Eva Lake is all wildflowers and turquoise lake views rewarding you at the end of the long trek.

Just 3.5 hours from Toronto, Bruce Peninsula National Park boasts dramatic cliffs and tracts of ancient cedars that rise above turquoise waters. This place is so naturally stunning, and it’s also home to Canada’s oldest and longest footpath: the 485-mile (780-kilometer) Bruce Trail. Be sure to check out the Grotto, a natural sea cave falling into Georgian Bay; go bouldering on the shoreline near Halfway Log Dump; paddle the serene Cyprus Lake; and scope out the rare Alvar habitat.

The planet’s highest tides—upwards of 36 feet (11 meters)—rise and fall at this incredible national park (and designated Dark Sky Preserve). Twice a day, billions of cubic feet of water funnels in and out of the Bay of Fundy, leaving the seafloor entirely exposed. At low tide, wander the mudflats beneath the massive Hopewell Rocks; at high tide, kayak among them. Book an oTENTik, yurt, Ôasis (a teardrop-shaped loft), or a rustic cabin, perfect for watching all the stars.

A spitting image of Banff and just 45 minutes away, Yoho National Park sees fewer than 700,000 visitors a year—compared to Banff’s 4 million. Here, you can walk among endangered whitebark pine at Paget Lookout; hunt for 500-million-year-old fossils from the Cambrian Explosion; stand on the banks of the incredible Emerald Lake; drive Yoho Valley Road to the base of Takakkaw Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in Canada; and book a room at Lake O’Hara Lodge and gaze out at the hanging valley.

They call Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula the “Edge of the Earth,” and in Forillon National Park, you get to tiptoe to the brink. A maze of forests and cliffs that abruptly fall to the sea, the landscapes only play second fiddle to the wildlife—think: moose, bears, seals, and seven species of whales. Snorkel on your own (yes, you can snorkel this far north); grab a guide to go sea kayaking; or scout views of Percé Rock, one of the largest sea arches in the world.

In terms of landscape diversity, Kootenay might have Banff beat—you’ll venture from arid grasslands to icy mountain rivers to steaming hot springs to glacier-laden cliffs to tumbling waterfalls and back again. The Banff-Windermere Highway—aka Highway 93 South—winds for 58 miles (93 kilometers) through the park, making it easy to take in Kootenay by car. But you’ll probably also want to soak in Radium Hot Springs; hike to Stanley Glacier (a 6.8-mile, or 11-kilometer, roundtrip); and much more.