Rogier at the classy Bluepeak blog parsed the results of an Explore magazine article ranking Canadian National Parks in 5 categories: adventure, scenery, wildlife, natural science, and history.
Rogier concluded these were the top 5 Parks, overall:
1. Gwaii Haanas, BC (Queen Charlotte Islands)
2. Quttinirpaaq (Ellismere Island)
3. Yoho, BC
4. Banff, Alberta
5. Gros Morne, Newfoundland
Bluepeak: Travel, tourism and photography » Best National parks in Canada
I’ve never been to Gwaii Haanas or Quttinirpaaq. Or Canada’s newest, Torngat Mountains National Park in Newfoundland.
For C$10,000 you can sign on for a 2-week Quttinirpaaq trip on Ellesmere Island.
ELLESMERE – AD ASTRA ICE CAP TREK — Quttinirpaaq National Park is the world’s most northerly park.
Situated on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island, it is less than 500 miles from the North Pole. It is an arctic oasis. Stunning mountains and glaciers, muskox, arctic wolf and fox and many bird species make this a naturalist’s delight. The area is so remote that the only visitors to hike here in 2005 and 2006 were members of Black Feather’s annual Ellesmere Trek. This is literally the end of the earth.
For 2007 our route will be a circumnavigation of the rugged mountains of the Ad Astra Ice Cap from Tanquary Fjord via the Macdonald and Airforce River valleys. We will access some of the most spectacular parts of Ellesmere!
This trip is for the avid hiker who likes physical challenge in the most remote wilderness and enjoys sharing the adventure with like-minded people. Just getting our group with their food and gear to the start of the hike is a difficult and expensive undertaking … but you will be one of a small handful of people to ever walk in these distant arctic mountains.
besthike.com 