Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yoho national Park is a nice, less busy park near Banff if you are going that way.

For high budget, bucket list trip--heli hiking with CMH will knock your socks off. Very expensive though.

This is OP. Lost a good friend in a helicopter skiing accident so that's out. I still do lots of crazy stuff but I can't bring myself to do that.

NP - I'm sorry about your friend OP and can understand your hesitancy, but heli skiing outfits are all over the place in terms of skill and safety. Was it an avalanche (which would be a non-issue for the hiking ) or heli crash? I will say the CMH pilots are truly amazing with so much experience. Their safety ratings are exceptional.

I can understand why you wouldn't want to do it, but just wanted to offer a little more info.

We love Canada! My kids are a bit younger than yours at 13 and 15, but here’s what we’ve done over the years and have loved, in no particular order:

1. Meaford, ON- it’s a small town on the Georgian Bay and is at the start of the Georgian Trail for biking (and skiing). There are many wineries and good apple pie! We biked along the Trail and saw only a few others out and about. It’s a very sleepy little town but they have cute shops.

2. The Maritimes- my kids aren’t into museums at all, but they did like the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and its Titanic exhibition in Halifax. The Halifax Public Gardens were lovely to walk around as well. Besides doing the usual stuff like Peggy’s Cove and Lunenburg, we went to Hopewell Rocks Park in New Brunswick and glamped in a tiny lighthouse overlooking the Bay of Fundy. We also really liked PEI and the Anne of Green Gables play in Charlottetown, as well as biking the Confederation Trail there. The beaches are gorgeous too.

3. Vancouver Island- the first time we went, we stayed in Victoria and went to Butchart Gardens, but otherwise didn’t explore the island as it was a side trip from Seattle and Oregon. The second time we went, we went to various towns around the island and rode horses.

4. Vancouver and Whistler- Vancouver itself was ok (liked Granville Public Market and walking around the area). We went to an MiLB Vancouver Canadians game and really liked Capilano Suspension Bridge Park! In Whistler, we did more horseback riding and canoed on Alta Lake.

A note about Quebec/Montreal- the cities themselves were fine, but it wasn’t our family’s favorite Canadian trip. We rented paddle boats and quadricycles in Montreal.

Anonymous wrote:I was going to suggest Nova Scotia and specifically Cabot Trail until I saw “late teens”. There might not be enough activity for them. I would either fly into Toronto and out of Montreal, or perhaps into Victoria and out of Kelowna.

+100

The Maritimes are a great place to go to to unplug and de-stress. That said, the area is a not a good destination for people who want to be entertained, or have a number of entertainment options.

Montreal / Quebec City (loved staying at the Frontenac).

Whaling in Toudousac

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yoho national Park is a nice, less busy park near Banff if you are going that way.

For high budget, bucket list trip--heli hiking with CMH will knock your socks off. Very expensive though.

This is OP. Lost a good friend in a helicopter skiing accident so that's out. I still do lots of crazy stuff but I can't bring myself to do that.

How terrible, so sorry.
For others, I will add that when we did this trip, we noted that travel insurance to cover heli skiing is very expensive and a separate policy, but heli hiking (helicopter rides in general, which we have also done in Hawaii) are included in regular travel insurance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone (this is OP)! One other question: is mid-June too early to go? I’d rather go in July or August to get out of DC’s heat but can’t make it happen schedule-wise.

My one concern is forest fires. We’ve had two trips in MT shortened or canceled due to them in recent years.

Someone asked about budget: not unlimited but we usually add in high end hotels if we end up spending some nights in NP Lodges. We always splurge on activities and good food.

June will be too early for many of the Vancouver-area hikes/Whistler/Garibaldi unless your family is extremely experienced with backcountry winter conditions, but is a beautiful time in the city. You could still spend time in Pacific Spirit Park, Capilano, or other lower elevation walks/light hikes.

This is OP, thanks for these insights.

Anonymous wrote:Yoho national Park is a nice, less busy park near Banff if you are going that way.

For high budget, bucket list trip--heli hiking with CMH will knock your socks off. Very expensive though.

This is OP. Lost a good friend in a helicopter skiing accident so that's out. I still do lots of crazy stuff but I can't bring myself to do that.

Yoho national Park is a nice, less busy park near Banff if you are going that way.

For high budget, bucket list trip--heli hiking with CMH will knock your socks off. Very expensive though.

Nova Scotia or Western but specifically Jasper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Canadian Rockies: Banff, Lake Louis, and Jasper National Park. Crowded, but gorgeous. Recommend Becker's Chalets near Jasper for that part of the trip: https://beckerschalets.com

Banff/ Lake Louise/ Jasper. Amazing!!!

Another +1.

If you're into hiking, Garibaldi Lake outside of Vancouver is also pretty awesome.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone (this is OP)! One other question: is mid-June too early to go? I’d rather go in July or August to get out of DC’s heat but can’t make it happen schedule-wise.

My one concern is forest fires. We’ve had two trips in MT shortened or canceled due to them in recent years.

Someone asked about budget: not unlimited but we usually add in high end hotels if we end up spending some nights in NP Lodges. We always splurge on activities and good food.

June will be too early for many of the Vancouver-area hikes/Whistler/Garibaldi unless your family is extremely experienced with backcountry winter conditions, but is a beautiful time in the city. You could still spend time in Pacific Spirit Park, Capilano, or other lower elevation walks/light hikes.

Anonymous wrote:We did Montreal and Quebec City this summer. It was a nice time, great weather. We also drove up to St Catherine’s for whale watching. Reminded me of driving in New Zealand in some parts.

It was nice to escape the DC heat and humidity for 2 weeks. Montreal was a wee bit humid but nothing like DC. We got around on the subway, went to the Biosphere, saw a concert, ate poutine, did some museums. Good time.

Considering that for June but hesitant bc of wildfires.

Anonymous wrote:Vancouver and ferry to Vancouver Island, a few days in Victoria and then exploring island, staying in Tofino

If OP and family want to try surfing Tofino is the place to do it. We loved out time surfing there.