How many national parks are there in Canada?

Canada has 47 national parks and national park reserves managed by Parks Canada, spanning every province and territory — from Pacific Rim on the BC coast to Quttinirpaaq on northern Ellesmere Island.

What is the largest national park in Canada?

Wood Buffalo National Park, straddling Alberta and the Northwest Territories, is the largest at roughly 44,800 km² — bigger than Switzerland. It's also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What is the best national park for camping?

Banff, Jasper, Pacific Rim, Fundy and Cape Breton Highlands all offer outstanding frontcountry campgrounds. For oTENTik villages and family camping, Fundy and Prince Albert are standouts. Backcountry purists head to Gros Morne, Kluane or the Nahanni.

Which national parks are best for wildlife?

Riding Mountain and Elk Island for bison and elk; Wapusk for polar bears; Cape Breton Highlands and Pacific Rim for whales; Wood Buffalo for whooping cranes; Pukaskwa and Banff for wolves and bears. Always view from a safe distance.

Which national parks are best for RV travel?

Banff, Jasper, Waterton Lakes, Riding Mountain, Prince Albert, Fundy, Cape Breton Highlands and PEI all have RV-friendly campgrounds with hookups or large pull-throughs. Length limits vary — check each campground loop before booking.

What is the least crowded national park?

Most of the Arctic and Northern parks — Quttinirpaaq, Sirmilik, Aulavik, Ivvavik, Tuktut Nogait, Auyuittuq — see only a few hundred visitors a year. Closer to highways, Grasslands, Pukaskwa and Kouchibouguac stay quiet even in July.

Do I need reservations for national park camping?

For popular parks (Banff, Jasper, Pacific Rim, Fundy) reservations through the Parks Canada Reservation Service are essentially required for peak summer — booking opens in waves each January and February. Smaller parks keep first-come loops; backcountry usually requires a permit.

When is the best time to visit Canada's national parks?

Late June through early September is peak season for almost every park. September delivers fewer crowds, fall colour and the larch reveal in the Rockies. Winter opens up snowshoe, ice-walk and aurora trips in many parks.

Do I need a Parks Canada Discovery Pass?

If you'll visit more than seven park days in a year, the Discovery Pass usually pays for itself. It covers entry to all national parks, national historic sites and marine conservation areas administered by Parks Canada.

National Parks of Canada — The Complete Hub

The Canadian difference

Why Canada's national parks are different.

Nowhere else on earth puts Pacific rainforest, Rocky Mountain glaciers, prairie grasslands, boreal lakes, Atlantic fjords and Arctic tundra inside one national park system. Parks Canada — the world's first national parks service, established in 1911 — protects 47 of those landscapes and the cultural stories woven through them, in partnership with the Indigenous Nations whose homelands they remain.

UNESCO sitesDark-sky preservesMarine reservesIndigenous co-management

Pacific coastlines

Old-growth rainforest, surf beaches and the floe-edge of Haida Gwaii.

Rocky Mountains

Turquoise lakes, glacier highways and four contiguous UNESCO parks.

Prairies & badlands

Big-sky grasslands, bison herds and Canada's darkest skies.

Boreal forest

The world's largest intact forest — paddling country and the aurora.

Atlantic shores

Fundy's record tides, Cabot cliffs and the Tablelands of Gros Morne.

Arctic wilderness

Polar bears, muskox, midnight sun and the highest peaks in Canada.

Plan your trip

Plan your national park adventure.

Whether you're booking your first frontcountry campsite or planning a multi-park RV journey, start here.

Best Time to Visit National Parks

Season-by-season guide — wildflowers, wildlife, larches, snow.

Open guide

Camping & Reservations Guide

How Parks Canada bookings work, opening dates, insider tips.

Open guide

RV Travel in National Parks

RV loops, hookups, dump stations and length restrictions.

Open guide

National Parks for Families

Easy trails, oTENTik villages, Xplorer programs and beaches.

Open guide

Wildlife Viewing Guide

Where to find bears, whales, bison, puffins — ethically.

Open guide

Photography Guide

Iconic frames, light windows and lesser-known viewpoints.

Open guide

Where to start.

Alberta

Banff National Park

Canada's first national park — and still the one against which the rest are measured.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Gros Morne National Park

Earth's mantle exposed at the surface — and one of the world's great fjords inland.

British Columbia

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

Surf-pounded sand, rainforest cathedrals, and the West Coast Trail.

By region

Explore national parks by region.

Browse the way travellers actually think — by landscape, by drive, by coastline.

7 parks

Canadian Rockies

Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay — turquoise lakes, glacier highways, alpine larches.

Featured: Banff · Jasper · Yoho

Explore region

3 parks

Pacific Coast

Rainforest, storm-watching, surf beaches and the world of Haida Gwaii.

Featured: Pacific Rim · Gulf Islands · Gwaii Haanas

Explore region

2 parks

Prairies & Badlands

Big-sky grasslands, bison, dark-sky preserves and prairie horizons.

Featured: Elk Island · Grasslands

Explore region

5 parks

Great Lakes & Ontario

Inland seas, the Niagara Escarpment, Thousand Islands and Pukaskwa coast.

Featured: Bruce Peninsula · Georgian Bay Islands · Point Pelee

Explore region

5 parks

Boreal Heartland

Northern forests, paddling country, wolves and the aurora above.

Featured: Wood Buffalo · Prince Albert · Riding Mountain

Explore region

10 parks

Atlantic Canada

Fundy tides, Cabot cliffs, fjords of Gros Morne and PEI red sands.

Featured: Forillon · Mingan Archipelago · Fundy

Explore region

15 parks

Northern & Arctic

Tundra, polar bears, floe-edge, midnight sun and the highest peaks in Canada.

Featured: Wapusk · Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains · Torngat Mountains

Explore region

Canadian Rockies

7 parks

Pacific Coast

3 parks

Prairies & Badlands

2 parks

Great Lakes & Ontario

5 parks

Boreal Heartland

5 parks

Atlantic Canada

10 parks

Northern & Arctic

15 parks

Discovery collections

Find the right park for the trip.

Best National Parks for Camping

Drive-in loops, oTENTik villages and lake-edge tent pads — these are the parks where camping is the experience, not an afterthought.

Best National Parks for Wildlife

From plains bison and polar bears to humpback whales and woodland caribou — Canada's headline wildlife encounters.

Best National Parks for Families

Wide trails, interpretive programs, swimmable lakes and oTENTiks that don't require gear lists.

Best National Parks for RV Travel

Loops sized for trailers, hookups where they exist, and roads that won't shake your fillings loose.

Best National Parks for Photography

Where every turnout is a postcard — sunrise alpenglow, dark skies and signature wildlife in front of legendary backdrops.

Best Hidden Gem National Parks

The parks that don't trend on Instagram — and reward you with empty trails for the effort.

Best National Parks for Hiking

From rim-to-rim alpine traverses to ocean-floor walks, these parks are built for footsteps.

National Parks by Province

Browse every Parks Canada national park grouped by province or territory.

Itineraries

Featured national park itineraries.

Browse all itineraries →

Canadian Rockies Explorer — Banff · Yoho · Jasper

10 days

Mountains · Scenic Drives

Canadian Rockies Explorer

Banff · Yoho · Jasper

View itinerary

Atlantic Canada Parks Journey — Fundy · Cape Breton · PEI

14 days

Coast · Culture

Atlantic Canada Parks Journey

Fundy · Cape Breton · PEI

View itinerary

Pacific Coast Explorer — Pacific Rim · Sea-to-Sky · Whistler

9 days

Rainforest · Surf

Pacific Coast Explorer

Pacific Rim · Sea-to-Sky · Whistler

View itinerary

Camping

Camp inside Canada's national parks.

Frontcountry loops with hot showers, oTENTik villages, RV-friendly hookups, backcountry alpine sites and dark-sky tent platforms — every style is here.

Explore the Camping Hub

Banff National Park

Alberta

FrontcountryRVBackcountry

Jasper National Park

Alberta

FrontcountryRVBackcountry

Yoho National Park

British Columbia

FrontcountryRVBackcountry

Kootenay National Park

British Columbia

FrontcountryRVBackcountry

Waterton Lakes National Park

Alberta

FrontcountryRVBackcountry

Glacier National Park

British Columbia

FrontcountryRVBackcountry

RV-friendly parks Provincial parks Tent camping Glamping & oTENTik

Wildlife & photography

Where nature takes centre stage.

Best for wildlife

Full wildlife collection

Best for photography

Full photography collection

On the map

Explore Canada's national parks on the map.

A preview of the full interactive map — pan, zoom and tap any pin to open the park guide.

Open full map

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The directory

All 47 national parks.

Every Parks Canada national park and national park reserve, from Banff to Quttinirpaaq. Filter by what matters to you — or browse province by province.

47 of 47 parks

RockiesUNESCO

Alberta

Banff National Park

Canada's first national park — and still the one against which the rest are measured.

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RockiesUNESCO

Alberta

Jasper National Park

The wilder, quieter, darker-skied sibling of Banff.

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RockiesUNESCO

British Columbia

Yoho National Park

'Yoho' is a Cree expression of awe — and the park earns it.

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RockiesUNESCO

British Columbia

Kootenay National Park

From cactus to glacier in a single afternoon.

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RockiesUNESCO

Alberta

Waterton Lakes National Park

Where the prairie meets the peaks — abruptly and beautifully.

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Rockies

British Columbia

Glacier National Park

131 glaciers, the wettest mountain weather in Canada, and the storied Rogers Pass.

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Rockies

British Columbia

Mount Revelstoke National Park

Drive to the summit and walk through an alpine meadow.

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Pacific

British Columbia

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

Surf-pounded sand, rainforest cathedrals, and the West Coast Trail.

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Pacific

British Columbia

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve

Arbutus-fringed islets between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

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PacificUNESCO

British Columbia

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve

A co-managed Haida homeland of moss, sea otters and ancient totems.

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Prairies

Alberta

Elk Island National Park

Free-roaming plains and wood bison on Edmonton's doorstep.

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BorealUNESCO

Alberta / Northwest Territories

Wood Buffalo National Park

Canada's largest national park — and the world's largest dark-sky preserve.

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Boreal

Saskatchewan

Prince Albert National Park

Where the boreal forest, aspen parkland and prairie meet.

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Prairies

Saskatchewan

Grasslands National Park

Canada's only mixed-grass prairie park — and one of its darkest skies.

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Boreal

Manitoba

Riding Mountain National Park

Where the prairies climb into the boreal forest.

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Arctic

Manitoba

Wapusk National Park

One of the world's largest polar bear maternity denning areas.

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Boreal

Ontario

Pukaskwa National Park

Lake Superior at its wildest.

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Great LakesUNESCO

Ontario

Bruce Peninsula National Park

Caribbean-blue water on a Niagara Escarpment cliff.

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Great Lakes

Ontario

Georgian Bay Islands National Park

63 windswept islands in the world's largest freshwater archipelago.

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Great Lakes

Ontario

Point Pelee National Park

Canada's southernmost mainland — and a world-class migration funnel.

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St. Lawrence

Ontario

Thousand Islands National Park

Canada's smallest national park — and one of its oldest.

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Great Lakes

Ontario

Rouge National Urban Park

Canada's first — and currently only — national urban park.

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Boreal

Québec

La Mauricie National Park

150 lakes in the Laurentian foothills — a paddler's paradise.

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Atlantic

Québec

Forillon National Park

Where the Appalachians plunge into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

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Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve

Atlantic

Québec

Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve

A thousand sea-sculpted limestone monoliths on Québec's North Shore.

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Atlantic

New Brunswick

Fundy National Park

Walk on the ocean floor where the world's highest tides recede.

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Atlantic

New Brunswick

Kouchibouguac National Park

Warm-water lagoons and 25 kilometres of barrier dunes.

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Atlantic

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island National Park

Red cliffs, white beaches, and Anne of Green Gables.

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Atlantic

Nova Scotia

Kejimkujik National Park

Mi'kmaw paddling routes through Atlantic dark sky country.

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Atlantic

Nova Scotia

Cape Breton Highlands National Park

The Cabot Trail's high, windswept centerpiece.

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Atlantic

Nova Scotia

Sable Island National Park Reserve

Wild horses on a sandbar 290 km off the Nova Scotia coast.

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AtlanticUNESCO

Newfoundland and Labrador

Gros Morne National Park

Earth's mantle exposed at the surface — and one of the world's great fjords inland.

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Atlantic

Newfoundland and Labrador

Terra Nova National Park

Iceberg-streaked fjords on Newfoundland's east coast.

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Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

Northern

Newfoundland and Labrador (Labrador)

Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

Labrador's wild Mealy Mountains — co-managed with the Innu and Inuit.

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Arctic

Newfoundland and Labrador (Labrador)

Torngat Mountains National Park

Inuit homeland of jagged peaks, fjords and polar bears.

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NorthernUNESCO

Yukon

Kluane National Park & Reserve

Canada's highest peak, the largest non-polar icefield, and the road to Alaska.

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Arctic

Yukon

Vuntut National Park

Old Crow Flats and the Porcupine caribou herd.

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Arctic

Yukon

Ivvavik National Park

Canada's first park created through a land-claim agreement.

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NorthernUNESCO

Northwest Territories

Nahanni National Park Reserve

Virginia Falls — twice as tall as Niagara — and the legendary South Nahanni River.

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Northern

Northwest Territories

Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserve

Headwaters of the South Nahanni — protected with the Dene of the Sahtu.

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Arctic

Northwest Territories

Aulavik National Park

Banks Island musk ox country.

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Arctic

Northwest Territories

Tuktut Nogait National Park

Calving grounds of the Bluenose-West caribou.

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Arctic

Nunavut

Auyuittuq National Park

The Akshayuk Pass and the granite walls of Baffin Island.

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Arctic

Nunavut

Quttinirpaaq National Park

'The top of the world' — the second most northerly park on Earth.

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Arctic

Nunavut

Sirmilik National Park

Floe-edge narwhal and the cliffs of Bylot Island.

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Arctic

Nunavut

Ukkusiksalik National Park

Wager Bay's reversing tidal falls and inland polar bears.

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Arctic

Nunavut

Qausuittuq National Park

The Place Where The Sun Does Not Rise — Bathurst Island's Peary caribou.

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Keep exploring

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Camping Road Trips Rail Travel Experiences Itineraries Seasons

Travel guides

Guides to go deeper.

Parks Canada Reservations Guide

Launch dates, the Parks Canada Reservation Service and backup plans.

Camping Across Canada

Frontcountry, backcountry, oTENTik, glamping — explained.

RV Travel Guide

Routes, hookups, dump stations and right-size rigs.

Best Time to Visit Canada

Month-by-month conditions, crowds and price windows.

Canada Travel Guide

The full Canadian Explorer primer for first-time visitors.

Road Trip Itineraries

Multi-park drives, coast to coast to coast.

FAQ

National Parks of Canada — frequently asked.

Travel concierge

Need help choosing the right national park?

Tell us how you like to travel — by camper, with kids, behind a camera, after wildlife or off the map — and we'll match you with the parks, campgrounds and routes that fit. The Canadian Explorer's Travel Concierge is built on the same data powering this hub.

CampingWildlifePhotographyRV travelFamilyHidden gemsRoad trips

Build my national parks trip Talk to a Canada specialist

47 national parks. One country.

Why Canada's national parks are different.

Where to start.

Banff National Park

Gros Morne National Park

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

Canadian Rockies

Pacific Coast

Prairies & Badlands

Great Lakes & Ontario

Boreal Heartland

Atlantic Canada

Northern & Arctic

Banff National Park

Jasper National Park

Yoho National Park

Kootenay National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park

Glacier National Park

Mount Revelstoke National Park

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve

Elk Island National Park

Wood Buffalo National Park

Prince Albert National Park

Grasslands National Park

Riding Mountain National Park

Wapusk National Park

Pukaskwa National Park

Bruce Peninsula National Park

Georgian Bay Islands National Park

Point Pelee National Park

Thousand Islands National Park

Rouge National Urban Park

La Mauricie National Park

Forillon National Park

Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve

Fundy National Park

Kouchibouguac National Park

Prince Edward Island National Park

Kejimkujik National Park

Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Sable Island National Park Reserve

Gros Morne National Park

Terra Nova National Park

Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

Torngat Mountains National Park

Kluane National Park & Reserve

Vuntut National Park

Ivvavik National Park

Nahanni National Park Reserve

Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserve

Aulavik National Park

Tuktut Nogait National Park

Auyuittuq National Park

Quttinirpaaq National Park

Sirmilik National Park

Ukkusiksalik National Park

Qausuittuq National Park

National Parks of Canada — frequently asked.

How many national parks are there in Canada?

What is the largest national park in Canada?

What is the best national park for camping?

Which national parks are best for wildlife?

Which national parks are best for RV travel?

What is the least crowded national park?

Do I need reservations for national park camping?

When is the best time to visit Canada's national parks?

Do I need a Parks Canada Discovery Pass?

Need help choosing the right national park?

Ready to explore Canada's national parks?