Mike Legault, the managing director of Moose Travel Network, loves showing tourists the wonders of the Rocky Mountains. The company’s tours take travellers through the mountains at a leisurely pace so they can stop and enjoy picturesque views and exciting activities.MAGGIE NAYLOR/The Globe and Mail
Though more of the season is behind us than ahead, there is still roughly a month of summer weather left to enjoy. The best way to spend it is up for debate – city lovers may vie for reservations on a coveted patio, while those who prefer a remote getaway look for one last chance to escape without a coat or a thick sweater.
In a country that offers the best of both worlds, there’s no shortage of opportunities to turn the final days of summer into an enviable grand finale.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
Cross the Canadian Rockies
Mike Legault, managing director of Moose Travel Network, is originally from Waterloo, Ont. Like many Canadians who aren’t familiar with the West, he says he was astounded the first time he did the trek through the Rocky Mountain range between British Columbia and Alberta.
“For me, the highlight is the time in the middle where you’re in the mountains, and we’re driving the Icefields Parkway between Jasper National Park and Banff National Park. There are no buildings, no towns, just glaciers and mountains and roads.”
Legault’s team offers tours until October, of varying lengths, from two days to two weeks. The company’s most popular program, the Caribou tour, takes travellers through the mountains at a slow and steady pace, with stops for lunch at picturesque points, and optional activities.
Over eight days, tour goers have the chance to go bungee jumping, or take a kayak tour where locals guide the brave over small waterfalls. Some choose simplicity – opting for a dip in waters that Legault diplomatically describes as “refreshing.”
Go glamping from coast to coast
Glamping, a portmanteau of the words glamour and camping, has surged in popularity across the country in recent seasons. It’s camping for those who aren’t prepared to give up too many creature comforts – most tents come with beds of a generous sizes, dressers and well-appointed lounge areas stocked with cozy blankets.
Robin and Tristan Waley, a couple from Toronto, tried it for the first time in Prince Edward County at Frontera Farms, while hosting family visiting from Australia.
“Compared to regular camping, it was very chic, and a very Instagram-worthy experience,” Robin recalls. For Tristan, the trip’s highlight was access to fresh eggs and a vegetable garden.
“I’d recommend it to anyone who likes the outdoors or camping. It’s in the books as a very memorable experience for us.”
Glamping options on popular booking sites such as AirBnb show highly rated options all over the country, like Nova Scotia’s Koko Bay glamping experience, near St. Margaret’s Bay, which features hot tubs, fine linens and an ocean view. Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park is the home base for Glamping Resorts Ltd. tours, with accommodations that promise to rival hotel rooms, despite the teeming, forested surroundings.
Tour street art in Montreal
Whether a long-time resident or a tourist looking for something different, a walking tour through Montreal’s hidden corners, where you learn about the artists who have made the vibrant city their home, is a unique way to spend an afternoon.
Consider a street art tour, where art lovers adventure down back alleys and along busy thoroughfares, exploring the artwork that talented mural and graffiti artists have left in the public domain.
“Murals, street art, graffiti – it’s something that’s pretty prominent in the Montreal landscape, but for a long time no one was really promoting it,” says Danny Pavlopoulos, co-founder of Spade and Palacio, which offers tours.
“Even if you’re not interested in what the guide is saying, and they cover things like subculture and techniques, you’re looking at pretty things, in beautiful colour, on a massive scale – so there’s truly something for everyone.”
Spade and Palacio leads a two-hour tour that blends art history with the history of the city, sharing the backstory of more than 20 works of art, from local and international artists. Tours are offered throughout the summer and fall months.
“On the tour we highlight artists from different styles, like Shepard Fairey, also known as Obey Giant, who did a piece called Lady Justice that’s 100 feet tall and was finished in three days. There’s also a Black Lives Matter piece by Denial, a Windsor-based artist who does more pop-style pieces,” Pavlopoulos explains. Tour-goers also receive an introduction to prominent local artists like ones in the Projet Collective.
“They’re a collaboration of graffiti writers. Those are the artists who do those elaborate beautiful tags you may see on the sides of trains, or in alleys. They brought a wall to life with digital art mapping, which was also interactive.”
Catch a flick at an outdoor film festival
Nothing says summer like gathering at a local park, picnic blankets and snacks in hand. Brampton Movies Under the Stars runs until Sept. 3, and features family friendly films, both old and new, shown in big parks around the city near Toronto.
In Kelowna, B.C., Grizzli Wineries will be screening 50 First Dates under the stars on Sept. 9, calling it “a wine country version of a night at the drive-in.” There will also be food trucks on site so you can purchase snacks to eat while you sip your Grizzli wine.
In Nova Scotia, Last of the Right Whales will be shown at a special outdoor free event on Sept. 2, presented by the Canadian Wildlife Federation. In New Brunswick, the Outdoor Outdoor Film Festival, Yip Cider and the Saint John Trail Running are hosting the Trails in Motion Film Tour on Oct. 5, which is a collection of trail and ultra running films screened outdoors.
And in Edmonton, films screen in Sir Winston Churchill Square until Sept. 9.
Legault’s team offers tours until October. The company’s most popular program, the Caribou tour, takes travellers through the mountains at a slow and steady pace, with stops for lunch at picturesque points, and optional activities.Maggie Naylor/The Globe and Mail
See the Northern lights
Yellowknife may conjure thoughts of winter for those who haven’t travelled north when it’s warm outside, but August and September offer the same summer heat that the rest of the country enjoys, with a natural wonder unrivalled in many other regions: the Northern lights. As the long hours of daylight begin to cease in late August, the September night sky brings with it a display that attracts people the world over. Camp under the stars and spend the last moments of summer witnessing one of the world’s wonders.
For a guided trek to see the Northern lights, tour options abound: explore Whitehorse with Fresh Tracks Canada, take the Northern Lights Hunting Tour, which sets out from Yellowknife, or set up a home base at Aurora Borealis and Southern Lakes Resort to enjoy indoor comforts between bouts of outdoor adventure.