Best Places to See Fall Colours Across Canada

Mother Nature had the best idea to cheer us up as we realize that summer’s come to an end: she decided to make fall one of the most colourful times of year. Autumn is also one of the best times to travel in Canada, with fewer crowds and cooler weather that’s perfect for a hike. So where should you go for one last getaway before you start hibernating for winter? Go where the trees are at their most spectacular, of course! Here are some of the best places to see fall colours in Canada.

Getty Images

1 / 20

Butchart Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia

The blooms of Butchart Gardens make Victoria one of the best cities in Canada to visit during summer but this doesn’t mean that everything turns boring and colourless in fall. This time of year, the Japanese Garden is especially pretty with its red maples and golden chrysanthemums showcasing all the colours of fall.

Getty Images

2 / 20

Icefields Parkway, Alberta

The Icefields Parkway is one of those Canadian road trips you need to take at least once. It’s even better when you do it in the fall, when the aspen and spruce leaves turn gold while the evergreens remain, well, green.

Getty Images

3 / 20

Tadoussac, Quebec

Who wouldn’t want to combine leaf peeping with whale-watching? You can do this in Tadoussac in fall. As a bonus, the town hosts an annual migratory bird festival in honour of its many avian visitors this time of year. For one of the most amazing Canadian getaways for under $1000, you can stay at the famous Hotel Tadoussac.

Getty Images

4 / 20

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

There are two reasons why Algonquin Provincial Park is one of the best places to visit in September. One is that the weather is still warm enough for camping. The other is that from mid-September, the leaves start changing colour and you can see just why this landscape inspired the painters known as the Group of Seven.

Getty Images

5 / 20

Agawa Canyon Park, Ontario

One of the best train trips in Canada is a ride on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, which takes you from Sault Ste. Marie to the Agawa Canyon and back. For truly Insta-worthy pictures, take the trip in fall for a palette of warm colours.

Getty Images

6 / 20

Mont-Tremblant, Quebec

Ski season lasts into spring in Mont-Tremblant, making this one of the best places to travel in April. Before the slopes are covered in the white stuff, however, the village becomes a magnet for leaf peepers. The best way to view the riot of colour is from a gondola going up to the top of the mountain.

Getty Images

7 / 20

Confederation Trail, Prince Edward Island

The Confederation Trail that stretches across Prince Edward Island is one of the best Canadian bike tours to ride before winter. Haven’t done it yet? Don’t fret: autumn is a great time to pedal here. Because of Price Edward Island’s milder climate, the fall colours last longer than just about anywhere else in Canada.

Getty Images

8 / 20

Dempster Highway, Yukon and Northwest Territories

The Dempster Highway is a spectacular drive any time of year but especially so in the fall, when he tundra changes into a sea of red, orange and yellow. You may see caribou and grizzly bears enjoying the colours too. While rain is common this time of year, it can bring the gift of a rainbow to top it all.

Getty Images

9 / 20

Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia

Driving the Cabot Trail may be one of the best Canadian trips for solo travellers but in autumn you want to bring a friend. Not only is the landscape absolutely stunning in its fall finery, if you visit around Thanksgiving, you can add another kind of colour: the Celtic Colours International Festival, which celebrates Cape Breton Island’s unique culture and musical heritage.

Getty Images

10 / 20

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

You know the picture: the blue-green lake dominating the foreground, the rugged mountains in the back and a dark green forest separating them. But what if you could add splashes of yellow? This is what you get when you take that classic photograph of Lake Louise in fall, when the larches change colour.

SEE ALSO: 20 amazing Canadian camping spots you'll never forget.

Getty Images

11 / 20

Thousand Islands National Park, Ontario

If you want to avoid the leaf-peeping crowds but still be able to share some dreamy pictures, head to Thousand Islands National Park. Here the fall colours form the perfect backdrop to the Saint Lawrence River, where it’s still warm enough to go kayaking. No wonder it’s considered one of the most beautiful places in Ontario.

Getty Images

12 / 20

Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario

Bruce Peninsula National Park boasts some of the best hiking trails in Canada and in the fall, they aren’t as crowded as in summer. It’s surprising, really, considering just how beautiful the fall colours are around here. They’re extra fiery when you see them from a boat during a sunset cruise too.

Getty Images

13 / 20

Narrow Hills Provincial Park, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of fall colours but the province has more to offer than just rolling prairie. Narrow Hills Provincial Park is especially stunning this time of year, when the gold of the birch and aspen leaves is reflected in the calm waters of the park’s lakes.

Getty Images

14 / 20

Quebec City, Quebec

Pretty much the whole of Quebec is breathtaking in fall but not everywhere in the province can show off its fall colours with a fairytale castle in the background. At sunset, the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac takes on a warm glow that goes perfectly with the fiery fall colours. No wonder this is one of the most beautiful places in Canada.

Getty Images

15 / 20

Acadian Coast, New Brunswick

New Brunswick’s Acadian Coast gets its fall colours not only from the trees but from other flora too. The peat bogs of Miscou Island turn scarlet while the seagrasses turn golden yellow and get darker as the fall days go by.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Canada then and now: This is how we've grown.

Getty Images

16 / 20

Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador

Gros Morne National Park may be one of Canada’s best national parks to explore in summer but the park truly comes into its own in autumn. The fall colours form the perfect backdrop for wildlife reclaiming their territory now that most of the human visitors have left. You may even spot some seals putting on a show just for you.

Getty Images

17 / 20

Ottawa, Ontario

During the rest of the year, you’ll see red maple leaves on Canadian flags all over Ottawa but in the fall, you can see actual red maple leaves in places like Gatineau Park and along the Rideau Canal. They’re just one of the varieties of fall foliage that makes the nation’s capital so stunning in the months before the canal becomes the world’s largest outdoor skating rink.

Getty Images

18 / 20

Niagara Region, Ontario

Niagara Falls are without a doubt one of Canada’s must-see waterfalls and they’re extra photogenic when they’re being complemented by the colours of fall foliage. However, the entire Niagara Region is gorgeous this time of year and to add to the fun, it’s grape harvesting season too.

Getty Images

19 / 20

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

What could top a picture of fall foliage on the shores of a beautiful lake? Fall foliage on the shores of a beautiful lake under the Northern Lights, of course. Yellowknife is one of the best places to see the Northern Lights and one of the best times to see nature’s own laser show is around the autumn equinox.

Getty Images

20 / 20

Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba

Let’s face it: there are places with much more impressive fall foliage than Oak Hammock Marsh. But who says fall colours have to come from trees? Here, the fall colours come courtesy of the many species of birds, including Canadian geese, that flock to the marsh to bulk up before their migration south.

SEE ALSO: A cannabis connoisseur's guide to Toronto.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT