10 Best National Parks in Canada

Now that Canada is officially open, Must Do Canada has found the nation's top ten national parks, rated by opportunities for stargazing, size, number of campgrounds at each park, annual visitor population and more. So if you're ready to go ahead and explore our neighbor up north, you might want to visit one of these incredible Canadian national parks while you do.

The best national park in Canada is Jasper National Park. Located in Alberta, its two closest big cities are Edmonton and Calgary. This breathtaking park offers coniferous forests, crystal clear lakes and jagged mountain peaks. It's also a dark sky preserve, featuring plenty of beauty both during the day and at night. With 39 designated hiking routes, visitors can explore all the nature they desire while never getting bored of the scenery.

Our second best Canadian national park is once again located in Alberta, but is located in a region known for its ski resorts. Banff National Park welcomes three million visitors each year. Located within the park is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, which offer incredible views when climbed and make for a dramatic landscape to photograph, with 94 designated hiking routes. It's also a great national park for visitors who aren't quite so keen on camping: Banff offers plenty of lodges, hotels and other accommodations to enjoy.

Waterton Lakes National Park takes third place on this list and is also located in Alberta, near the Canada-U.S. border directly north of Glacier National Park. This incredible national park includes the Canadian Rockies, but also prairies that are filled with wildlife. A main attraction to this park is, unsurprisingly given its name, the Waterton lakes, which are quite beautiful. The park is also a designated dark sky preserve. You'll also find ample lakeside resorts if you're not that into camping.

Prince Albert National Park is located in Saskatchewan, just north of the city of Prince Albert. This fourth-place national park is a large park with ample opportunity to spot wildlife in their natural habitat, from migratory birds to wolves, bison and even bears. The closest town, Waskesiu, also offers a lake and beach for even more outdoor activities!

Just west of Banff National Park, located in British Columbia, is the fifth national park on this life. Yoho National Park is a mountainous park offering difficult mountain climbs and staggering views of the region below. It's not for the faint of heart, and offers 22 designated hiking routes for adventurers to climb. Hikers can explore marine fossil beds and wander amongst endangered pines here.

Riding Mountain National Park is the sixth best national park in Canada. Located in Manitoba, it's a few hours northwest of Winnipeg, and offers plenty to do and see for eager adventurers. It offers 56 designated hiking routes to explore, in which visitors will discover a diverse ecosystem of prairies, marshes and forests in which wolves, bears, beavers and plants like lilies and orchids make their homes. It also has close connections with the Anishinabe tribe, which preserve sites within the park as sacred.

Located directly south of Banff National Park is our seventh place national park, Kootenay National Park in British Columbia. This park offers hot springs, whitewater rafting opportunities and a chance to explore the Continental Divide. Explore fossil beds and hike to your heart's content before dipping into volcanic springs, which offer a relaxing rejuvenation after a long days' hike.

Another British Columbian park, in eighth place is the Canadian version of Glacier National Park, located just south of Jasper and directly west of Banff national parks. Glacier National Park of Canada is not, in fact, located by the U.S. Glacier National Park, but offers a lush and stunning mountain and meadow-filled landscape, with plenty to explore and do all year long.

In ninth place is our first national park located in Ontario, located north of Toronto on a peninsula on Lake Huron. Filled with stunning vistas of the lake, dramatic cliffs and caves, as well as rare animals like certain snake and turtle species, it offers plenty to explore and enjoy. It's also a designated dark sky preserve, so it's perfect for camping out by the lakeside to see some of the most beautiful starry night skies in Canada.

In tenth place is Wood Buffalo National Park, located in Alberta's Northwest Territories. It's the largest national park in the country, at 44,972 square kilometers, or 17,363 square miles. This truly massive park offers the perfect socially distant park experience, complete with ample wildlife spotting opportunities, with bison and whooping cranes among the many species that make this place their home. It's another designated dark sky preserve, and lucky campers can even enjoy scenes of the aurora borealis.