Top 5 Places to See Fall Foliage in Canada
Get your cameras ready! Autumn is a highly photogenic season, and some of the best places for viewing Fall foliage are right here in our beautiful Canadian outdoor destinations. With so many rich, colourful sights on offer, here is a quick list of our Leavetown top 5.
Fall is a hugely popular favourite time of year, and it’s easy to see why… Crisp fresh air in the mornings, cooler temperatures, Thanksgiving turkeys, warm pumpkin flavoured beverages, as well as our personal favourite: colours. Lots and lots of beautiful, earthy-tone colours. There’s just something so appealing about walking down a city street or hiking through the forest and seeing that wonderful array of yellow, orange, green, red, and brown foliage.
So, in honour of this glorious season, we created a list of our top 5 places to see Fall foliage in Canada. All of you Autumn-loving individuals out there, take note – here are the best places to get the most out of this short, yet beautiful season – and the photographs to prove it!
1. Mont-Tremblant, QC
Mont-Tremblant is a charming municipality located within the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec. It’s beautiful alpine-village is littered with colourful, European-style buildings, and visitors come from all over in the Winter season to ski at the Mont-Tremblant ski resort, famed to be one of the best on the East coast. However, as powder-ful as the winters may be, Mont-Tremblant is a prime Fall foliage viewing destination – especially with all its hiking trails. For a panorama of red and yellow splendour, take the gondola from the ski village up to the Mont-Tremblant peak (also reached via one of the many hiking trails). You will be rewarded with views of birch, beech and maple trees in a rainbow of hues. The sugar maples are responsible for that stunning, deep, vibrant red colour that makes us fall even more in love with Fall!
2. Rocky Mountains, AB
The beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains are our original Leavetown playground, so naturally they made the list. But who can blame us, right? Not only are they great for outdoor adventuring, they are also home to some of the most scenic views in the world – all year round. This is especially apparent in the mild, traditionally sunny months of September and October, when the beautiful colour-palette is on full display throughout the alpine forests. Specific destinations which are both ripe with trees and easily accessible are places like Johnston Canyon, and the Tunnel Mountain Area in Banff. If you’re looking for something more adventurous, you may want to try the hike from Lake Louise to Lake Agnes to get a spectacular Fall hiking experience – the trail is littered with jaw-dropping foliage! For those just passing through the area, the drive between Jasper and Banff will not disappoint either.
While the Rocky Mountains area is vastly populated with dark green coniferous trees, poplar, larch and birch trees are dotted throughout the landscape, and their golden colours paired with the dark greens are a marvellous sight.
3. Waterton, AB
Waterton National Park in Southern Alberta borders Glacier National Park in Montana, and is home to a diverse landscape with an abundance of roaming wildlife – black bears and mountain goats are common sightings here. Beautiful larch trees are peppered through the park, and these show off a stunning copper colour for Fall. The park is also home to an array of Aspen Trees that turn a golden, or sometimes deep orange colour. Scenic hikes are located all around park, many leading to the sprawling Waterton and Summit Lakes. Bear’s Hump, one of the most popular hikes in the park, is a short but steep trail that boasts panoramic views of the mountains and prairies from the top. Interestingly, Waterton Lake National Park is the only park in the world to hold each of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, international peace park and biosphere reserve titles.
4. The Kootenays, BC
There are so many wonderful places to view Fall foliage in the Kootenay region of BC, that it is impossible to choose just one specific spot. Kootenay National Park provides a wonderful mix of larches and other coniferous trees. The golden colour of the larches paired with the dark greens of the other coniferous trees make for a dramatic, spectacular contrast. Head west near Nelson, or other small stops on the west side of the Kootenay river, and you’ll find a stunning mix of deciduous trees like oaks, maples and birches which transform into marvelous autumn colours near maturity before they shed their leaves. Great places to make a stop for viewing spectacular Fall foliage in the western region are: Duncan Lake, Nelson, Kalso, and Ymir.
5. Vancouver, BC
Whether you’re an out-of-towner or a Vancouver resident, this city is a fun and happening place with an array of activities on offer. In the Autumn months, one popular outdoor activity is hunting down the best Fall foliage viewing spots. Take the Stanley Park Seawall for example – a stroll around this 9km loop offers colourful trees to one side, and the ocean to the other! However, Stanley Park can be quite busy even on the coldest of days, and so other great viewing areas in-and-around Vancouver are:
- Queen Elizabeth Park
- Van Dusen Botanical Gardens
- UBC
- Pacific Spirit Park
- The Sylvia Hotel
- Burnaby Mountain
- Kitsilano neighbourhood
Grab a pumpkin spice latte to go and an emergency raincoat, and head to any of these neighborhoods to soak up the Fall feeling – enjoy!
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