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— Ben Woodward Winner of the 2017 Canadian Geographic Challenge, passenger aboard the One Ocean Navigator, 2017

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on a ship, but these experiences allow you to explore even farther, to have more freedom. When we sailed into Bonne Bay by Gros Morne National Park, we used stand-up paddleboards to get up close to a waterfall. That sort of ﬂexibility gives you an experience you just can’t get on a cruise with 5,000 other people.

THE ROYA

Before I hopped

on a plane and started my journey to Canada’s East Coast, I knew a little about the region — major cities, landmarks, national parks, those sorts of things — but I’d never been there. The “Fins and Fiddles” trip with One Ocean Expeditions changed that, obviously, but in the most unexpectedly amazing and rewarding ways. I was looking forward to going to Sable Island, even though I expected it to be nothing more than a sandbar. But it was far more than that. The sheer amount of wildlife on the island blew me away, from the world’s largest breeding colony of grey seals to birds such as the roseate tern, and the horses, of course — you can’t see horses like that anywhere else on the planet. I think part of what made stopping in places such as Sable Island, the Magdalen Islands and Gros Morne National Park so memorable was the variety of ways I was able to explore them. I got to learn about and see the incredibly diverse landscapes, wildlife and cultures of the region while biking, hiking, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding and going on Zodiac cruises. Yes, you’re

CONTENTS

Features 23

CANADA’S BEST WINTER DRIVES

THE LAST CONTINENT

MAKING TRACKS IN MAURICIE

Seven amazing road trips for the coolest time of the year By Kate Harris, John Lee, Conor Mihell, Susan Nerberg, Karan Smith, Jenn Smith-Nelson and Russell Wangersky

A voyage to Antarctica reveals a continent’s-worth of wildlife and ice at the end of the Earth Photography by Javier Frutos with text by Nick Walker

Experiencing the authentic winter heart of Quebec, where the snow sets the pace By Alexandra Pope

Departments 4 NOTEBOOK Family travel

By Aaron Kylie

9 GATEWAY COVERS AND TOP: JAVIER FRUTOS/CAN GEO; BOTTOM: MAURICIE-O. CROTEAU

Heart of Golden, Chef for a day, Mountain games and On our radar

18 ONECITY

Ice, water and family fun in Niagara Falls, Ont. By Aaron Kylie

46 TENBEST

Bundle up and bait your hook in preparation to visit the greatest ice-fishing destinations in the nation. By Gord Pyzer

On the cover: A king penguin on Saunders Island, part of the Falkland Islands archipelago in the southwest Atlantic Ocean. CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

NOTEBOOK

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER John G. Geiger CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND PUBLISHER Gilles Gagnier CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER EMERITUS André Préfontaine EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Aaron Kylie SENIOR EDITOR Harry Wilson MANAGING EDITOR Nick Walker ASSOCIATE EDITOR Michela Rosano DIGITAL EDITOR Alexandra Pope TRAVEL EDITOR-AT-LARGE Andrew Lovesey SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Tanya Kirnishni COPY EDITOR Stephanie Small PROOFREADER Judy Yelon EDITORIAL INTERNS Joanne Pearce, Marina Wang CREATIVE DIRECTOR Javier Frutos CARTOGRAPHER Chris Brackley PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Kendra Stieler GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jenny Chew CONTRACT DESIGNER Kathryn Barqueiro PHOTO RESEARCHER Geneviève Taylor COLOUR TECHNICIAN Glenn Campbell PHOTOGRAPHERS-IN-RESIDENCE Neil Ever Osborne, Michelle Valberg DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION Nathalie Cuerrier NEWSSTAND CONSULTANT Scott Bullock DIRECTOR OF SALES Valerie Hall Daigle

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Family travel

CHRISTINE HESS/NIAGARA FALLS TOURISM

THERE ARE FEW things as beautiful as trees coated in ice and freshly dusted with snow. Of course, seeing such a scene isn’t an everyday occurrence, which may be part of its allure. I still vividly recall a childhood holiday trip, when my family drove from our central Ontario cottage through shield country to Quebec City. For most of the journey the forests were in that perfect glorious state, sun glinting off icy boughs. Two stories in this issue jogged that memory. First and foremost is our story on the nation’s best winter drives (page 23). We may not all think of it this way, but many Canadians’ pleasure travel involves visiting family or friends. (I routinely make a four-hour drive along Ontario’s Highway 7 between Ottawa and Bobcaygeon to visit my parents.) When those trips are relatively short in nature, we typically take to the road, and we probably do so as often in the winter around the holidays as at any other time of year. So as you’re planning your family visits this coming winter, consider our picks

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

for best road trips. Perhaps one is close to your regular route anyway, but even if not, all are worth a detour or a specifically planned trip. Sure, winter driving presents its own challenges — the same ice and snow that creates those gorgeous scenes can also create treacherous road conditions, but we’re Canadians, both used to winter driving and not afraid of getting out there, no matter the weather. It’s that very weather that can make for the most memorable of road trips. And chances are, we’re making them with family anyway. Which brings me to the second story here that twigged that childhood travel memory. At my fiveyear-old son Zev’s request, we hit the road to Ontario’s “Granagara Falls” (as he says it) this past summer. And while I’ve detailed the amazing winter offerings in Niagara Falls (above) in the magazine’s “One city” section on page 18, I’m hopeful my kids will one day wistfully recall the road trip. I already do. Travel memories are made all the better with family. Enjoy yours this season. Aaron Kylie

WINTER 2017-2018

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The Royal Canadian Geographical Society Founded in 1929, the Society is a non-profit educational organization. Its object is to advance geographical knowledge and, in particular, to stimulate awareness of the significance of geography in Canada’s development, well-being and culture. Primary fields of interest include our people, resources, environment, heritage and the evolution of our country. In short, the aim is to make Canada better known to Canadians and to the world. Canadian Geographic, the Society’s magazine, is dedicated to reporting on all aspects of Canada’s geography — physical, biological, historical, cultural and economic — and on major issues of concern to Canada in which geographical dimensions play a significant role.

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WADE DAVIS Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 Gatineau, Que.

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DR. WADE DAVIS is one of Canada’s great storytellers, and has been described as a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity. An author of 20 books, including One River, The Wayfinders, The Sacred Headwaters, Into the Silence and River Notes, he is also known for his stunning photography, which has been widely published and celebrated in exhibits. A recipient of the RCGS Gold Medal and the Explorers Club Medal, Wade was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2016 and currently serves as Honorary Vice-President of the RCGS.

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Driving by dog Meet musher Matt Parr and his team of huskies in a video visit to Golden Dog Sled Adventures in mountainous southeastern British Columbia. cangeo.ca/nov17/dogsled

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Freight Boat Tours Explore the remote channels, islands & fjords of British Columbia’s rugged, central coast aboard the “M.V. Aurora Explorer”. Enjoy passenger comfort, spectacular cuisine, scenery & wildlife.

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth The hotel that hosted John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous ‘Bed-In for Peace’ has re-opened to the public after extensive renovations. Watch a video tour of its new features and retro-chic style (above). cangeo.ca/nov17/fairmont

Campbell River, British Columbia

Quebec from above Watch the pristine winter wilderness of Mauricie, Que., unfold beneath you in a stunning aerial tour of the region. cangeo.ca/nov17/quebec Digital issue Take Canadian Geographic wherever you go, while also accessing bonus videos and photos with the digital issue for tablets. cangeo.ca/digital

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BRITISH COLUMBIA

Heart of Golden BY SABRINA DOYLE

A L B E R TA

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ALBERTA

Enlarged area

BRITISH

GOLDEN DOG SLED Donald ADVENTURES Blaeberry

Rogers Pass

YOHO NATIONAL PARK

Lake Louise

Field

Golden

lu m

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

BANFF NATIONAL PARK

20 km

R C O L U M B I A iver

KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK

KONA IS NO damsel in distress. For starters, she’s a dog — a white Alaskan husky, to be exact. But the story of her rescue does carry a whiff of fairy tale (spoiler: it has a happy ending). Before Kona arrived in Golden, B.C., to trot off into her snowy sunset, she was in a rough spot in Saskatchewan. (The details aren’t entirely clear but indicate she was neglected by an ill-equipped dogsledder stretched too thin.) She was saved from that life by her current musher-cum-Prince Charming, Matt Parr. When I first meet Kona and Parr, they’re snuggled on a couch next to a crackling potbelly stove, Kona gazing into the blue eyes of the man who’s devoted his life to saving pups in similar positions. Over the past 11 years, Parr has rescued some 50 dogs. He has trained and successfully found homes for most of them with nearby farms and families. But 14 of those dogs now run for Parr’s Golden Dog Sled Adventures, the touring business he launched in 2013 in the town best known for skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling. A tour with Parr, however, is an opportunity not to be missed for visiting winter enthusiasts. It offers an introduction to the tradition of dogsledding and a heartwarming story of a man dedicated to saving sled dogs.

A team of huskies owned by Golden Dog Sled Adventures rests on a trail in Golden, B.C.

People have been using dogs as a means of snowy long-distance travel for centuries; the earliest evidence of sleighbound dogs dates back to AD 1000 and the Thule people of Canada’s North. From their history as mail-carriers in northern Canada and Alaska to the famous lead sled dogs Togo and Balto — who relayed medicine by team to a remote Alaskan village suffering from a diphtheria outbreak — to the fictional Buck from Jack London’s 1903 novel The Call of the Wild, sled dogs have long held a special place within the northern narrative. Today, the human-dog transportation relationship is less about survival and more a matter of lifestyle. Some opportunistic sledding outfits, says Parr, take advantage of aspirational dog-lovers and prioritize profits above the health of their charges. Some owners have simply grown too old for the business, he notes, but are too attached to their dogs to let them go. Parr says the small size of his outfit — he caps his capacity at two teams — is what makes it particularly special. “People want to see the connection, that bond, between the musher and the C A N A D I A N G E O G R A P H I C T R AV E L

PETER SHEARD; MAP: CHRIS BRACKLEY/CAN GEO

GATE

GATEWAY

Golden Dog Sled Adventures owner Matt Parr helps steer the sled during a ride.

coordination. From my snug and warm position on the sled, I look up to see Parr barking “Ha” and “Go” to instruct “Left” and “Right” to the team. His enthusiasm is infectious, his love for the dogs obvious. “Honestly, all the stresses of my life go away when I’m mushing dogs,” he says. Together with his girlfriend, Parr is currently working on a new project called Team Spirit, which will operate out of Golden Dog Sled Adventures and be devoted to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of retired or unwanted sled dogs. Eventually, he says, an eight-hectare sanctuary behind his main office will serve as a safe environment in which rescued dogs will be able to heal, and bring joy to others. When the tour is done, it’s time to give the dogs (and guests) a treat. Parr splashes

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WINTER 2017-2018

a warm water and chicken mixture into each dog’s bowl, giving each an appreciative pat. I join the group in the cabin for hot chocolate and cookies. It’s a perfect happily-ever-after. Watch a video of Parr with his dogs at cangeo.ca/nov17/dogsled.

PETER SHEARD

dogs,” he says. “You can’t get that with some of the larger, 100-dog kennels.” True to his words, guests don’t just get to mush dogs with Parr’s outfit. Before they hit the trails, they meet the animals, get acquainted with each one’s personality and help harness them to the sled. They also learn about the differences between the Siberian and Alaskan huskies that make up Parr’s pack. Siberians are all about brawn — their big, fluffy bodies can haul heavy weight over long distances in the coldest of conditions. Alaskan huskies such as Kona, however, are essentially mutts. They combine the speed and lightweight build of greyhounds, pointers and collies with the strength and cold resilience of their counterparts. Kona is the lead dog of the team I take to the trail with. She’s sweet and smart, and as we race through evergreens along the well-packed trail surrounded by mountains, I marvel at the team’s

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GATEWAY North Korea

Gangneung Pyeongchang

SEOUL

WINTER OLYMPICS

Mountain games

South Korea

Spectators can travel efficiently from Incheon International Airport outside of Seoul, South Korea’s capital, to Olympic venues in Pyeongchang and Gangneung on a new highspeed rail line. The line will cut transportation time between the airport and Pyeongchang from 3½ hours to just over 1½ hours.

FORGET THE SWISS ALPS this year. The “Korean Alps,” as the Taebaek Mountains near Pyeongchang, South Korea, are known, are set to steal the winter sports spotlight as the area hosts the Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 9 to 25, 2018. Athletes and spectators from around the world will stream into Pyeongchang and the surrounding region in northeastern Gangwon province for the snow, ice and alpine events. Here’s a look at the location of the Games, its venues and some of the area’s top attractions. —Michela Rosano

Bokwang Snow Park

The more than 1,000-year-old Woljeongsa Temple in Odaesan National Park is one of many Buddhist temples across the country offering accommodations during the Games. Visitors can experience the life of a monk and learn about the country’s Buddhist heritage.

Jeongseon Alpine Centre

Olympic Sliding Centre Y Yongpyong Alpine Centre

W T Wolgeongsa Temple Alpensia Biathlon Centre Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre Alpensia Cross-Country Centre PyeongChang Olympic Stadium

Daegwallyeong Snow Festival

PYEONGCHANG

The annual Daegwallyeong Snow Festival in Pyeongchang county’s Daegwallyeong township (Feb. 7 to 18, 2018) is one of the cultural events taking place during the Games. The quirky festival celebrates the region’s bountiful snow and ice, kicking off with a fireworks display followed by a snow art contest, trout ice-fishing and, most famously, an international half-naked marathon.

The PyeongChang Mountain Cluster on the snowy, high-elevation slopes of the Taebaek Mountains, which run along the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, is home to the Olympic Stadium (site of the opening and closing ceremonies) and seven other venues, including the US$1.5-billion Alpensia Resort complex, where ski jumping, biathlon and cross-country ski events will be held. Alpine events will take place in the nearby city of Jeongseon at the new Jeongseon Alpine Centre, while snowboarding and freestyle skiing events will happen to the north of the cluster at Bokwang Snow Park.

Kwandong Hockey Centre

Gangneung Curling Centre Gangneung Hockey Centre

Gangneung Oval Gangneung Ice Arena

GANGNEUNG

5 km

Approximate foreground scale Scale varies across the map

See a map of the 2018 Paralympic Games (March 9 to 18, 2018) and more top attractions in the Pyeongchang area at cangeo.ca/nov17/paralympics.

MAP: CHRIS BRACKLEY/CAN GEO

Five venues hosting the Games’ ice events, including hockey (in both the newly built Gangneung and Kwandong hockey centres), curling and skating, are in the Gangneung Coastal Cluster on the Sea of Japan in the largest city in Gangwon province. The cluster will also host large-scale cultural performances.

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Chef for a day

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

vendors selling everything from caviar and antipasto to viennoiseries and raw, gluten-free gnocchi, there’s something for every palate. Durkee knows many of the food vendors by name. He introduces me to Mario Aricci of Ponesse Foods where we buy the juiciest strawberries. At Scheffler’s Delicatessen and Cheese, we opt to replace the Manchego cheese with a wedge of Grey Owl, its dark ash rind cloaking a velvety goat’s milk cheese from Quebec. Along the way, we sample a “world famous” peameal bacon sandwich and stab through a plug of cream in a bottle to sample the most decadent chocolate milk. As Durkee and I munch on kangaroo pepperettes at Whitehouse Meats, I remember I must choose one “surprise” meat ingredient. In keeping with the safari theme, I buy a piece of camel sirloin. Back at TOCA, chef de cuisine Daniele Trivero greets Durkee and me in the kitchen. As we lay out the bounty, he scans the ingredients. When he sees the slab of camel meat I detect a slight amusement — or maybe irritation. He examines it, turning it over in his hand, sniffing it. I’m then handed a TOCA spritz cocktail, tossed an apron and put to work. I slice olives, shave parmesan and peel the eggplants I bought at the market while Trivero — a native of Italy — shows me how to make an elegantly simple eggplant parmesan.

WINTER 2017-2018

TOCA restaurant (top), where food from the St. Lawrence Market (above) was prepared.

Then, seated at the chef’s table, I watch as Trivero creates dish after gorgeous dish for me based on my St. Lawrence Market finds, including a Grey Owl cheese platter with honey, red pepper and Concord grapes and my eggplant parmesan plated with a fresh piece of halibut. As Trivero serves the main course I notice him slide the camel sirloin dish to the side. I sample a piece — a delicacy in parts of the Middle East — and find it gamey and extremely chewy. Trivero asks me what I think. “Camel bubblegum,” I say. “Exactly!” he says. “It needs to be braised.” And he whisks the dish away. —Hannah James Watch a video of Toronto’s Ritz-Carlton Urban Food Safari at cangeo.ca/nov17/ritz.

TOP: COURTNEY HAYDEN; BOTTOM: JOANNE KIM

AS THE KITCHEN awakens with the hollow clang of pots and pans and the tinkling of cooking utensils, I jot down ingredients in a notebook: Manchego cheese, green peas, eggplant, strawberries, grapes and one “surprise” meat. Perched at the chef’s table next to the kitchen, I’m being briefed by a convivial group of chefs and staff at the TOCA restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto. I’m participating in the Ritz’s Urban Food Safari, part of a new program called Off the Eaten Track that the hotel launched earlier this year. First, I’ll head to a market to shop with a local culinary tour guide. Then, I’ll bring my loot back to the restaurant, make one dish with one of the chefs, and finally enjoy a five-course meal designed especially for me from the ingredients I gather. The Ritz partnered with the Culinary Adventure Co., Canada’s largest food tourism and experience operator, to create a series of curated experiences exploring the Toronto’s vibrant and culturally diverse food scene. The tours include foraging for mushrooms in the Don Valley trail, breaking bread with top restaurateurs and chefs, and paddling a voyageur canoe around the Toronto Islands, learning about local geography and birds before enjoying a catered picnic. With my grocery list in hand, Kevin Durkee, co-owner of the Culinary Adventure Co., whisks me off to the St. Lawrence Market, the largest indoor market in Toronto. With more than 200

Â© Jad Davenport/National Geographic Creative

DESTINATIONS

On our radar SEEING THE WORKS of Michelangelo in New York City, visiting a 2018 European Capital of Culture and being in Ottawa for two major sporting events are the top travel experiences chosen by Canadian Geographic Travel staff this fall and winter. MICHELANGELO AT THE MET, NEW YORK CITY There’s a reason why Michelangelo was called “the divine one” by his peers; his mastery over various art forms still captivates us today. Luckily, you don’t need to fly to Rome to experience his work in person — starting in November, a weekend trip to New York City will suffice. There, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibit Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer (Nov. 13, 2017 to Feb. 12, 2018) features an impressive range of pieces, including nearly 150 drawings, three marble sculptures, his earliest paintings and numerous other masterpieces brought from across the United States and Europe. Sounds divine to me. metmuseum.org —Joanne Pearce, editorial intern 16

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

VALLETTA, MALTA Diminutive though it may be, Valletta is set to attract some major attention as a 2018 European Capital of Culture, a title the elegant capital of the Mediterranean island of Malta owes partly to its turbulent history. Established in the 1560s, Valletta sits on a peninsula whose occupants have spoken a multitude of languages as a revolving door of invaders — Phoenician, Roman, Spanish and French among them — spun over the centuries, creating a cultural palimpsest that earned the city UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1980. That legacy will be on show throughout 2017 and 2018 via a host of music and film festivals, dance performances, art exhibits, theatre productions, public talks and the city’s annual carnival. Do you need a better excuse to soak up some sunshine in the Med? valletta2018.org —Sabrina Doyle THE GREY CUP & NHL100 CLASSIC, OTTAWA The nation’s capital gets pretty much the last kick at the sesquicentennial

WINTER 2017-2018

Clockwise from above left: Valletta; one of the Met’s Michelangelo works; an Ottawa Redblacks player hoists the Grey Cup.

celebrations can by hosting two big sporting events less than a month apart: the 105th Grey Cup (Nov. 26) and an outdoor NHL game between the hometown Senators and the Montreal Canadiens (Dec. 16), both at TD Place Stadium. The former event is less a game than it is a six-day party featuring plenty of face paint, a street festival, tailgating and outlandishly dressed fans before culminating in the championship game. The latter contest, meanwhile, also marks the NHL’s centennial and will be the latest chapter in a rivalry that began when the two teams met on the league’s opening night on Dec. 19, 1917. Sport doesn’t get more quintessentially Canadian than this. —Harry Wilson, senior editor Tell us what destination is on your radar this fall and winter via (fb.com/cangeo).

(@CanGeo) or

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: VALLETTA2018; STUDIES FOR THE LIBYAN SIBYL (RECTO); STUDIES FOR THE LIBYAN SIBYL AND A SMALL SKETCH FOR A SEATED FIGURE (VERSO), MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART; ANDRE RINGUETTE/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/OTTAWA REDBLACKS

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ONECITY 3 VENUES

Niagara Falls, Ont. By Aaron Kylie

1 . SIGHTS

O MATTER THE SEASON, the Horseshoe (right), American and Bridal Veil falls are the attraction in the city named after the world-famous water features. But winter ups the awe-factor ante. Spray from the falls transforms lamp posts, trees and buildings along the adjacent Niagara Parkway into ice sculptures. Experience the natural art gallery with a stroll from the Floral Showhouse (home to collections of orchids, succulents and other tropical plants), past the Table Rock Welcome Centre (next to Horseshoe Falls and home to interpretive attractions that get you even closer to the raging water) to Rainbow Bridge. That route and other nearby streets are also

home to the city’s Winter Festival of Lights. Between dusk and midnight from mid-November to the end of January, millions of tree and ground lights and more than 125 animated light displays create a sparkling spectacle amid the icy mist. niagaraparks.com, niagarafallstourism.com, wfol.com

IF THERE WERE such a thing as five-star resorts for kids, the Great Wolf Lodge would fit the bill. There are 14 of these ultimate hotel-meetsindoor waterpark mashups in North America, but just one Canadian location, in Niagara Falls (left). True to its name, the resort plays up the lodge theme with natural decor, from a grand faux-stone fireplace and animated wildlife in the lobby (including wolves, bears and a big talking tree) to rustic log furnishings in the rooms. Of course, the waterpark is the real draw. It boasts nine waterslides (geared for a range of ages and adrenaline rushes), a wave pool, a lazy river, a kiddie pool and slides, and more. If the water doesn’t wear out your wee ones, there’s a variety of other kid-friendly activities on offer daily, from arts and crafts to a PJ dance party. greatwolflodge.com/niagara

3 . FUN KIDS OF ALL AGES can’t help but find fun in the Clifton Hill area, the touristy promenade near the centre of town, home to fun museums, waxworks and arcades. Get a bird’s-eye view of the action (as well as the falls and the surrounding area) from the Niagara SkyWheel (right), a 53.3-metre-high ferris wheel with enclosed and heated eight-passenger cars about halfway up the hill. Take selfies with your favourite celebs at Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks and Movieland Wax Museum of the Stars, learn about the world’s weirdest and wackiest at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Guinness World Records museums, and test your fearlessness at The House of Frankenstein. Chocolate lovers shouldn’t miss Hershey’s Chocolate World, a not-far-enough-to-burncalories walk around the corner on Falls Avenue that offers up packaged and freshmade treats from the famed candy maker. cliftonhill.com, ripleys.com/niagarafalls, houseoffrankenstein.ca, hersheyschocolateworldniagarafalls.com Read more about the family fun on offer at Niagara Falls’ Great Wolf Lodge at cangeo.ca/nov17/greatwolf. 18

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

WINTER 2017-2018

TOP: CHRISTINE HESS/NIAGARA FALLS TOURISM; MIDDLE: AARON KYLIE/CAN GEO; BOTTOM: HOCO FUN BY THE FALLS

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Trebek Family Foundation

BEST WINTER DRIVES

THE ONSET OF COLD AND SNOW shouldn’t spell the end of road tripping for the coming months. The lines of motorists that would slow your roll through resort towns and on the highways to cottage country in the summer may be in hibernation, but the routes themselves — from Newfoundland’s Viking Trail to the B.C.-Yukon bordertraversing Alaska Highway — never quit. But they are transformed. Rolling white Prairies become almost hypnotically beautiful, mountains are crusted in snow,

and the wild seas along the West Coast will drop your jaw. All cold-weather travel takes is a little bit of extra planning and a readiness to brush with the unexpected, so check the longterm forecast, throw a well-stocked safety kit in the trunk, give your winter tires a kick and set out on one of the seven spectacular winter road trips featured here. Did we miss your favourite Canadian winter drive? Let us know on (@CanGeo) or

(fb.com/cangeo). C A N A D I A N G E O G R A P H I C T R AV E L

Visitors snowshoe in Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland and Labrador.

50 km

Bu Carnt Quirpon pe

510

QUEBEC

Flower's Cove Green Island Cove Pidgeon CoveSt. Barbe

Blanc-Sablon

430

St. Anthony

AT N OR T PEN HERN IN SU LA

432

RoddicktonBide Arm

430

Port au Choix

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, Newfoundland’s Viking Trail is the spinal cord for the string of small towns dotted along the island’s Great Northern Peninsula. Route 430 winds north from Deer Lake, carrying goods to towns with names such as Sally’s Cove and Quirpon (pronounced car-poon), and with an onshore wind in winter, snow can arrive at any moment. If you really need to stretch your legs (and lungs), stop your transit of the trail in Gros Morne National Park, where there are 50 kilometres of groomed cross-country ski trails. Refuel yourself back in Deer Lake or move on to Norris Point or Rocky Harbour; all three towns traditionally stagger their winter carnivals from midFebruary through to early March, and if 24

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

your timing is good, moose soup, chili, meatballs and shepherd’s pie could be on the menu. And not just on the menu. Moose (and caribou, closer to the northern end of the route) are a common sight, with the former frequent enough to be a serious road hazard for the unwary. Sights on this portion of the trail include the small, bright huddle of shoreline houses on open ground in Green Island Cove, the Flower’s Cove lighthouse (which is so tantalizingly close it appears you can almost touch it, but is actually ensconced on a small harbour island) and, near the top of the peninsula, the sheltered bowl of St. Anthony Harbour. And finally, if you can make it, Burnt Cape, a limestone cape of broken stone so barren and windswept you would swear you had turned north and found the Arctic. —Russell Wangersky

WINTER 2017-2018

GROS MORNE Sally's NATIONAL Cove Rocky PARK Harbour 420 Ta 431 Norris ble lan Point ds

Baie Verte

430

410

Springdale 1 1

430

Deer Lake

Bishop's Falls

Corner Brook Buchans

LaScie

370

Grand FallsWindsor

DISTANCE 418 kilometres DON’T MISS A detour down Route 431, which will bring you to the Tablelands. In winter sun, it’s a sight so stark you’ll shiver no matter how well dressed you are. SOUNDTRACK The albums Honey for Bees or Sun Gets in Your Eyes, both by western Newfoundland’s Sherman Downey and the Ambiguous Case.

PREVIOUS SPREAD: FIRST LIGHT/ALL CANADA PHOTOS. THIS SPREAD, LEFT: PARKS CANADA; RIGHT: SÉBASTIEN LAROSE/TOURISME CANTONS-DE-L’EST; ALL MAPS: CHRIS BRACKLEY/CAN GEO

THE VIKING TRAIL NEWFOUNDLAND

GRE

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

BEST

WINTER DRIVES

MONTREAL TO THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS QUEBEC

A skier gets some air at Owl’s Head ski resort near Mansonville, Que.

IT MIGHT BE a stretch to call it the Powder Highway of the East. But set out from Montreal on Autoroute 10 E, and sooner than you can say “black diamond” you’ve left behind flat farm fields and hit enough contour lines to guarantee a good day on the slopes. Consider the highway to the Eastern Townships, a hill-studded swath between the St. Lawrence River and the U.S. border just east of the country’s second-largest city, your season ticket — or weekend pass — to the closest you might get to reaching skiing Nirvana this side of the Rockies. Start your weekend by heading out right after office hours for a few Friday happy hours in the snow. At Bromont, only 50 minutes from Montreal, 99 of the 143 groomed runs are lit until midnight, making it the resort with the biggest night skiing terrain in North America. It gets even better on the hill’s Nuits Blanches, which rock ’n’ roll on several consecutive Saturday nights of the season, when the lifts stay open until 2 a.m. and the bars close at 3 — because it’s never too late for après-ski. On Saturday, leave the party scene behind and ease into nature. Meandering between maple- and spruce-draped hills, the half-hour drive south along

SaintHyacinthe

St .

Dorval rence Rive r w La Châteauguay 138

Saint-Rémi 15

Marieville 112

Saint-Jeansur-Richelieu

Bedford

NEW YORK

Granby

241

Mont Orford

Sutton

112

Sherbrooke

147

Ski Bromont Lac Brome

139

DISTANCE 93 kilometres to Bromont, 115 to Sutton, 128 to Orford, 144 to Mansonville (Owl’s Head)

Windsor

Valcourt

Roxton Pond

Bromont Farnham

Saint133 Alexandre Cowansville Napierville

139

Saint-Pie

Mont Sutton 243

If the promise of speeding down the slopes isn’t enough to convince you to make the trip, perhaps the region’s après-ski offerings will whet your appetite. Some 60 per cent of Quebec’s wines, including the province’s first chardonnay, are made here. And of course, along with the wine comes food pairings from forward-thinking farmers and artisanal bakers, butchers, cheese makers and chocolatiers, not to mention the most inventive of beers at Ferme Brassicole near Mount Orford, where the brewmaster creates suds using ingredients such as maple and strawberries, offering plenty of reasons to toss a coin as to who in your party will be the designated driver. —Susan Nerberg

Richmond

Q U E B E C

Saint-Damase

Longueuil

MONTRÉAL Hudson

Acton Vale

Laval 15

137

Lac Mem phr ém ag og

SaintAmable

Route 241 and 139 drops you at the foot of Mount Sutton. If you’re the sporty type, you slap fake mohair skins on your skis and make your way to the summit on your own steam before dropping in to what some people argue is the best glade skiing experience in the country. For a more mellow ride, head a bit farther east to Mount Orford. Rated a good beginner mountain with more than half of its trails green or blue, it boasts the highest summit — and some of the best views — in the region. And at nearby Owl’s Head, where the top elevation gives you a panorama of lakes and hills, 70 per cent of the runs are beginner or intermediate.

Owl’s Head Mansonville

V E R M O N T

Lac

55 Massawippi

Coaticook 141

CANADA

DON’T MISS Balnea, a thermal spa with steam and dry saunas and hot tubs close to Bromont, for soothing ski-sore muscles or warming up after a day of playing outside. SOUNDTRACK Coeur de Pirate on the way to the hills; Jean Leloup before hitting the slopes; Leonard Cohen for the drive back to Montreal.

U.S.A.

C A N A D I A N G E O G R A P H I C T R AV E L

Snow blankets the trees along the Niagara River.

TORONTO TO NIAGARA ONTARIO

WINTER 2017-2018

407

TORONTO

Mississauga

407

401

QEW Oakville 403

O N TA R I O 6 5

427

10 km

LAKE

Burlington Hamilton

ONTARIO

.A. ADA

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

Milton

DVP 410

U.S

Brampton Acton 7

CAN

WHEN A HIGHWAY starts off with more bumper views than escarpment vistas, it may require a few deep-breath ohms to get you on your way. But a wintertime journey from Toronto to the Niagara region is no less worthy of the road-trip moniker: the cosy car, the playlist, the getaway! As you follow the QEW and the urban spread of the Greater Toronto Area toward the industrial skyline of Hamilton and the Burlington Skyway bridge, the relief of the regional roads and more intimate Lake Ontario moments are not far off. Plus, country calm awaits: local dinners with wine or craft beer pairings, cosy inns with fireplaces and seasonal events from the Shaw Festival’s A Christmas Carol (December) to the Niagara Falls Winter Festival of Lights (Nov. 18, 2017, to Jan. 31, 2018). The Niagara Peninsula’s big coldweather draw, however, is the icewine

festivities that take over the January weekend calendar to celebrate that sweet fruit of the winter vine. Niagara Falls kicks things off with a gala wine dinner at the Fallsview Casino Resort (Jan. 12, 2018), Twenty Valley is home to the artsy Winter WineFest (Jan. 12-14, 2018) in Jordan Village, and Niagara-on-the-Lake takes the party outside with its long-running Icewine Festival (Jan. 19 to Jan. 28). You can experience notable chefs and VQA icewines in formal-wear finery, but you can also watch a raucous barrel rolling competition or join an underground wine cave after-party. A Niagara Icewine Festival Discovery Pass also allows you to pick and choose wine-and-culinary matchups at participating wineries over three weekends. And it’s here, while travelling country roads past frozen fields toward warmly-lit converted barns or tasting rooms with grand vistas of the Niagara Escarpment, that you’ll get the reward that only the very best road trips can offer: your next stop unknown but no less anticipated. —Karan Smith

Niagara-on-the-Lake

403

NIA GAR A

QEW

St. Catharines Jordan ESCAR PMENT Smithville Niagara Falls

Caledonia 6

Welland

QEW

Dunnville

Port Colborne

DISTANCE 130 kilometres DON’T MISS Slipping on your mittens and savouring icewine in a glass carved from ice at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Sparkle and Ice gala. SOUNDTRACK Sample southern Ontario talent such as Whitehorse and the Strumbellas, or try some Royal Wood, a singer-songwriter-sommelier-in-training.

NEW YORK

BEST

WINTER DRIVES

SOUNDTRACK Keep warm with the smooth sounds of Saskatoon’s very own The Sheepdogs.

PRINCE ALBERT Crean Lake

Waskesiu Lake

NATIONAL PARK 263

Bodmin

240

Spruce Home Shell Lake

Shellbrook

Prince Albert 3

S A S K AT C H E W A N 11

Birch Hills 782

Blaine Lake

Hafford

Batoche National Historic Site

225

n River

225 312

Rosthern

e wa

Langham 16

Alvena

Aberdeen

Wanuskewin Heritage Park

Saskatoon 14

St. Isidorede-Bellevue Wakaw

Sa sk

DON’T MISS Posing next to what has to be the ultimate Saskatchewan roadside attraction: the giant stalk of wheat in Rosthern, where highways 11 and 312 meet.

When Highway 225 meets Highway 782, head east along the former route, making for the Francophone farming community of St. Isidore-de-Bellevue, where you can sample a traditional meat pie at the TLC Cafe. From there, it’s north on Highway 2 to the city of Prince Albert, the gateway to Prince Albert National Park. Once inside the park, watch for wildlife (Narrows Road, on the western side of Waskesiu Lake, is a prime spot for sightings) such as elk, fox and otters. You might also see wildlife while snowshoeing around the hamlet of Waskesiu Lake’s beach area or cross-country skiing the groomed pathways along Fisher Trail (loops of 7.2 and 8.4 kilometres) or Crean Lake (19 kilometres return). If this all sounds a tad too placid for you, then get a major adrenaline boost kite skiing or kite boarding on Waskesiu Lake, where Saskatchewan’s notoriously fierce winds will see you catch some serious air. Before returning to Saskatoon, stop at the Elk Ridge Resort (off Highway 264 and just outside the park’s boundary) for dinner at the Fireside Dining Room and Terrace, where the elk feature of the day will give you all the fuel you need for the gorgeous drive ahead. —Jenn Smith-Nelson

DISTANCE 230 kilometres

Cross-country skiing at Elk Ridge Resort outside Prince Albert National Park.

YOU AREN’T ALONE if you think the snow-dusted hay bales found along the wide-open Saskatchewan prairie in winter resemble giant Frosted Mini-Wheats. But these breakfastcereal-confection look-alikes are just part of the appeal of driving a route that offers a glimpse of First Nations and Métis history, Francophone farming communities and a national park, not to mention the experience of seeing the seemingly endless prairiescape metamorphose into an enticing playground of snow-laden grasslands, rolling aspen parkland and boreal forest dotted with frozen lakes. Start your journey just outside Saskatoon at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, a meeting place for First Nations people for more than 6,000 years. The park’s enriching programming includes traditional Indigenous games, arts and crafts, exhibitions and tipi construction. Continuing north on Highway 11, a.k.a. the Louis Riel Trail, detour east onto Highway 312 at Rosthern and cross the Gabriel Dumont Bridge, which spans the South Saskatchewan River, and enter the Batoche region. Highway 225 will lead you north to Batoche National Historic Site, where a small force under the command of Métis leaders Riel and Dumont lost the Battle of Batoche in 1885.

LEFT: AL HILLMAN/NIAGARA FALLS TOURISM; RIGHT: TOURISM SASKATCHEWAN/GREG HUSZAR PHOTOGRAPHY

SASKATOON TO PRINCE ALBERT NATIONAL PARK SASKATCHEWAN

Peterson

Asquith

Clavet

Elstow

C A N A D I A N G E O G R A P H I C T R AV E L

Plunkett

A roadside vista of Rocky Mountain peaks rising above Waterton Lakes National Park’s namesake lake.

CALGARY 22

CALGARY TO WATERTON LAKES ALBERTA WINTER IN ALBERTA’S cowboy country is an amalgam of snowdusted ranches and long views of the Rockies, buried deep in powder. Highway 22, a.k.a. the Cowboy Trail, traces the eastern edge of the foothills through rolling, open country. Compared with the province’s iconic 232-kilometre Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff, the road-trip vibe from Calgary to Waterton Lakes is intimate and off the beaten track — with far less traffic. The 312-kilometre journey begins on the Trans-Canada Highway, westbound from Calgary. Exit south on Highway 22 and promptly dip into sprawling ranch lands. The distinctly Prairie towns of Turner Valley and Black Diamond owe their existence to oil and coal, respectively. Today, their broad, old-fashioned main streets have been reinvigorated by 28

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

a new generation of western artists. Farther down the road, Canadian folkmusic legend Ian Tyson lives in Longview; it’s easy to see how the surrounding landscape (including the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, which once hosted the Sundance Kid) inspired great songwriting. Highway 22 merges into Highway 3 and peels away from the Rockies to Pincher Creek, where the winter Chinook winds funnel through the Oldman and Castle river valleys. A 60-kilometre drive south on Highway 6 takes you into Waterton Lakes National Park’s labyrinth of mountains. The so-called “Crown of the Continent” makes an alpine connection with Montana’s Glacier National Park. The quaint village of Waterton is the gateway to a weekend of outdoor adventure. Stay at Waterton Lakes Lodge Resort, which offers free snowshoe and ski rentals, and hit the scenic Akamina Parkway, which affords access to two cross-country ski trails. —Conor Mihell

WINTER 2017-2018

High River

Longview

A L B E R TA

520

Sparwood

Bar U Ranch National Historic Site Elkford

1 24

Claresholm

Fort Macleod Crowsnest Pass Lundbreck 3

23 3

Lethbridge

Pincher Creek

Fernie 6

WATERTON BRITISH LAKES N.P. COLUMBIA

5 2

Cardston

CANADA U.S.A.

GLACIER N.P.

M O N TA N A

DISTANCE 312 kilometres DON’T MISS Located near Waterton village, Cameron Falls is the quintessential Waterton Lakes photo op; it’s even better when it’s sheathed in ice. SOUNDTRACK Live at Longview by Ian Tyson. Your journey through cowboy country wouldn’t be complete without listening to this classic live album.

LEFT: MARILEE CAHOON/CAN GEO PHOTO CLUB; RIGHT: ERICA ELLEFSEN/CAN GEO PHOTO CLUB

Turner Valley

Black Diamond

BEST

WINTER DRIVES

Vancouver Island’s Mount Washington, just 30 minutes from the village of Cumberland.

THE ISLAND ROUTES VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park The 19A passes small communities and Salish Sea bays. Stop at Rathtrevor’s driftwood-studded sands for beachcombing and skedaddling sea otter sightings.

DRIVING THE EAST COAST of Vancouver Island from Nanaimo to Port Hardy on Highways 19 and 19A can take just four hours. But what’s the rush in the off-season, when heritage hamlets, locavore gems and surf-battered beaches beckon in Canada’s mildest winter region? Nanaimo Begin your journey in the island’s harbourfront second city, where the bookstores, coffee shops, music stores and art galleries lining Commercial Street invite leisurely exploration. Cape Scott Provincial Park

Telegraph Cove Drive past Campbell River and detour via Beaver Cove Road to reach this scenestealing charmer, where the brightly painted old buildings present the perfect photo op.

Morningstar Farm, Parksville Sidestep from the highway to visit this farm, home to the Little Qualicum Cheeseworks. They serve up generous samples (try the Bleu Claire) and also sell delectable, velvety blackberry wine from the on-site Mooberry Winery.

Alert Bay Save your memory card for equally beguiling Alert Bay, a short ferry ride away from Port McNeill. Its boardwalk shacks and striking totems are joined by bald eagles whirling overhead.

Cumberland If you prefer beer over blackberry wine, stop in at the Cumberland Brewing Company for a pint. The old village’s hip storefronts invite further perusal, but skiing at Mount Washington is just 30 minutes away.

Port Hardy Explore the north’s main town, then make for Cape Scott Provincial Park. Its forest-fringed San Josef Bay beach is a dramatic, wave-whipped reminder of the raw beauty of winter travel. —John Lee

Port Hardy

BRITISH

Port McNeill

DISTANCE 155 kilometres from Nanaimo to Campbell River, 230 from Campbell River to Port Hardy

COLUMBIA

CO U

Campbell River

101

Courtenay

PACIFIC

OCEAN

Powell River

Squamish

Cumberland

19A

Parksville

60 km

Port Alberni Tofino

101

Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park 19

Nanaimo

DONT MISS Alert Bay, a mist-shrouded waterfront village studded with incredible photo opportunities. SOUNDTRACK The albums Mememe or Dream Water Rain Music, both by Corwin Fox, a roots-folk singer-songwriter who lives in Cumberland, B.C.

VANCOUVER

C A N A D I A N G E O G R A P H I C T R AV E L

A view from the Alaska Highway, which runs northwest from Fort Nelson, B.C., to Alaska.

Wrigley Pelly Crossing

U.S.A. CANAD A

Carmacks

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

WHITEHORSE

Haines Junction

PACIFIC OCEAN

TERRITORIES 4

Teslin

7 3

Y U K O N

Fort Liard Watson Lake

Atlin Haines

BRITISH

COLUMBIA

A L A S K A

JUNEAU

dark perdition for good reason: we don’t want company. It’s nothing personal! And if you do come to northern British Columbia, Yukon or Alaska, rest assured that northerners are a welcoming bunch, whatever the season. We just selfishly prefer the Liard Hot Springs to ourselves on a –30 C night, when steam rising into the sky seems the source of the aurora borealis. We’d rather not elbow through crowds in Kluane National Park to watch herds of white-wooled Dall sheep blend into the snow, leaving only their dark curled horns visible on the slopes, like parings of wood adrift on the wind. We want to watch the low-angled sun throw gorgeous amber light over the Saint Elias Mountains, the highest range in Canada, in a silence so total you can hear time itself crack.

LIARD HOT SPRINGS PROVINCIAL PARK

Dease Lake

Fort Nelson

150 km

Winter might be the off-season on the Alaska Highway, and that makes it all the better for a road trip. Just promise you’ll tell everyone how frigid and desolate a drive it was when you return home. —Kate Harris

DISTANCE 1,395 kilometres DON’T MISS Detouring off the Alaska Highway for a hundred spectacular kilometres to Atlin, B.C., a quirky, artistic outpost on the edge of the Juneau Icefield. SOUNDTRACK Yukon-born Declan O’Donovan’s latest album, Broken Sky, features piano-driven music as moody, lyrical and expansive as the land in which this singer-songwriter was raised.

ANTON ROGOZIN/SHUTTERSTOCK

Yakutat

WINTER 2017-2018

NS TAI UN MO

S IA EL

THE BEST REASON to travel the Alaska Highway in winter is the fact that few people do. Other than the occasional transport truck lugging fresh milk and vegetables to the Yukon and Alaska, or locals commuting between towns, traffic is sparse on this road from December through March, unless you count the moose. Gone are the oversized RVs that trawl the highway from Fort Nelson to Beaver Creek all summer. Closed are the tourist traps selling overpriced cinnamon buns along the way. What’s left is a world of wind, ice, spruce, and stars — so many you’ll suspect you’ve detoured into the Milky Way. I’ll let you in on a secret. Those who live in the North generally don’t dissuade people of the notion that winter here is a cold

Fort Simpson

NAHANNI NATIONAL PARK RESERVE

KLUANE NATIONAL PARK

ALASKA HIGHWAY NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA, YUKON, ALASKA

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Energy Production and Transmission

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Arctic Alive

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Drawn to Victory

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Wild Migrations

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Canada: A Reference Map

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Canada from Space

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Vimy Ridge

Polar Knowledge Canada

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featured Route 338: Mapping Democracy

11:27 AM

2017-09-12

1:06 PM

A humpback whale breaches close to a Zodiac (this image), while gentoo penguins gather on a cliff on Antarcticaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Danco Island (opposite). 34

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A N TA R C T I C A

250 km

ARGENTINA

Falkland Islands CHILE

Enlarged area

Drake Passage Elephant Island

We d d e l l

Antarctica

NTARCTICA HAS A WAY OF making you ask, in awe, “How are we here?” but also sometimes, “Should we be here?” It frequently reminds you that, unlike the oversized mammals and teeming bird colonies that thrive in its ice-clogged waters and on its barren shores, if you had to try, you wouldn’t survive very long. Ensuring that you do, fortunately, is the domain of cruise companies such as One Ocean Expeditions. On its 12-day Ultimate Antarctica cruise in February 2017, Canadian Geographic creative director Javier Frutos and 80 other polar voyagers explored the straits and bays of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, the icy Weddell Sea and Elephant Island, and traversed stormy Drake Passage to the Falkland Islands on the ice-strengthened ship Akademik Sergey Vavilov. Frutos captured the amazing images in this photo essay during the trip. After days defined by a seemingly endless parade of killer, humpback and minke whales, fur seals, leopard seals and myriad penguins, terns and other seabirds throughout the peninsula, the Vavilov probed the Weddell Sea. Thick with tabular icebergs the shape and size of football fields carved from Antarctic ice shelves, the Weddell is thought to contain the clearest waters of any sea in the world (a visibility of nearly 80 metres was recorded in the 1980s). That clarity is a boon to those on the lookout for marine mammals. And it’s on the sea’s coast that some passengers took the opportunity to sleep out on the ice, digging long, shallow holes to fit themselves and their sleeping bags before falling asleep to the creaking of ice floes and icebergs cracking and calving in the distance. As famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and his men could attest — having lost their ship Endurance to Weddell ice in 1916 and sheltering on windswept Elephant Island for months — storms materialize here with little notice. After visiting the explorers’ historic makeshift refuge, Vavilov turned north into a building grey, and for four days and nights negotiated the famously rough Drake Passage. Despite the fact that it’s more than 800 kilometres wide, it’s still the narrowest stretch of water between Antarctica and any other continent. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current barrels through the passage unhindered, from Pacific to Atlantic, as it encircles the southernmost continent, whipping up heavy winds, sudden squalls and heaving swells.

Sea

At last, however, Vavilov emerged near the terra firma of the Falkland Islands — specifically the sandy “neck” of northwesterly Saunders Island. After swirling storms, a golden sunrise hike along coastlines crowded with Magellanic, gentoo, king and southern rockhopper penguins felt to passengers a bit like the proverbial “other side.”

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC

Clockwise from top left: One Ocean Voyager encountered wind gusts near 70 knots and 10-metre waves while crossing the Drake Passage; humpack whales feast on krill at Fournier Bay; sunrise at Rongé Island; gentoo pengiuns bask at dawn on Saunders Island in the Falkland Islands.

Javier Frutos (@Javiers_wonderplanet) is Canadian Geographic Travel’s creative director. Nick Walker (@CanGeoNick) is the magazine’s managing editor.

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

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A N TA R C T I C A

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC

A N TA R C T I C A

Clockwise from top: Sunrise on Saunders Island; an albatross chick being fed on a cliff at Saunders; One Ocean Expeditions’ Akademik Sergey Vavilov anchored near Antarctica’s Danco Island; a Weddell seal rests on an iceberg in Antarctica’s Wilhelmina Bay. Watch a video slideshow of more of Canadian Geographic Travel creative director Javier Frutos’s amazing Antarctic images at cangeo.ca/nov17/antarctica. 38

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

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How does

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STACK UP? Is it enough to POWER a

space mission?

... Or would it be barely enough to LAUNCH a

bottle rocket?

TAKE OUR QUICK SURVEY to ﬁnd out approximately how much energy you use in a year and learn a few interesting

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energyiq.canadiangeographic.ca/learning_centre/Survey

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

WINTER 2017-2018

MAKING TRACKS in Mauricie

Experiencing the authentic winter heart of Quebec, where the snow sets the pace BY ALEXANDRA POPE

Snowmobilers make the most of fresh powder on trails near the Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc resort in Quebecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mauricie region. CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC

THE SNOWMOBILE is stuck in the snow. I’ve arrived at the Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc, a rustic resort village in Quebec’s Mauricie region, about two hours northeast of Montreal, during one of those Jekyll-and-Hyde weeks of late winter — 5 C and rain one day, -11 C and bluebird skies the next — and the weight of the 12-seat Bombardier snowmobile I’m a passenger on has proven too much for the increasingly unstable snowpack. Built in 1942 to haul military personnel and equipment, it doesn’t exactly turn on a dime, and the right ski is firmly embedded in a soft rut of snow at the side of the winding wooded trail. Guide Pierre Thibault shifts between drive and reverse in a futile attempt to regain traction, but the rut only deepens. Finally, he radios back to the chalet for help, and as we wait for rescue, I can’t help but think that in a region that bills itself as “authentic” Quebec, it doesn’t get more real than this. After all, it was the vagaries of Quebec’s winter weather that motivated Joseph-Armand Bombardier to perfect his invention. His young son died of an acute infection in the winter of 1934 because the family could not reach the hospital in time. When he brought his seven-seat snowmobile to market three years later, the first buyers were doctors, ambulance drivers and priests serving rural areas. The Pourvoirie’s later model, a B12, is more of a curiosity than a practical means of winter transportation these days. Guests can book a half-hour interpretive tour in the snowmobile, which moves with all the grace of an Abrams tank, with

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

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Thibault, who is well versed in the history of the local fur trade and Franco-Indigenous relations. But parked on the frozen shore of Lac Blanc in front of the chalet are dozens of the B12’s modern descendants. Some of the snowmobiles are rentals belonging to the resort, but many belong to guests. And not all of those guests are out-of-towners staying overnight in the Pourvoirie’s private lakeside cottages; some are locals from nearby Saint-Alexis-des-Monts, warming up with a bowl of chowder after a day’s ride — or a meal of fresh-caught speckled trout. Here, it’s completely acceptable to wear your snow pants and boots to dine. The television in the bar plays extreme snowmobiling videos on a loop. The Wi-Fi is unreliable (perhaps by design). Everything is geared toward inspiring visitors to take full advantage of the few short weeks from January to March when Mauricie’s 17,500 lakes become navigable by ski, snowshoe, sled and snowmobile.

THIS SPARSELY POPULATED, 35,000-square-kilometre area of forested hills dotted with lakes and bisected by the SaintMaurice River was once prime pulp and paper territory. As I sit in the bar sipping blonde ale brewed locally in Saint-Alexis, Gaston Pellerin, owner of the Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc, tells me of his unlikely career trajectory from lumberjack to broker of authentic Québécois experiences.

PREVIOUS SPREAD: T. MAURICIE-M. JULIEN. THIS SPREAD, LEFT: MAURICIE-O. CROTEAU; RIGHT: AUBERGE DU LAC TAUREAU; MAP: CHRIS BRACKLEY/CAN GEO

SLUG TK

MAURICIE

Like his father and grandfather before him, Pellerin started working in the forestry sector as a teenager, but when an industry downturn in the early 1990s left him out of work at the age of 37, he went to his father with an ambitious plan to transform the family’s 2,000-hectare lakeside property into an all-season vacation resort. It was a radical proposition at the time. Mauricie was not exactly known as a tourism magnet, although it did have a certain cachet among wealthy Americans who came north in the summer to fish and hunt. In fact, pourvoirie means outfitter; today there are 51 in the Mauricie region alone, offering wildlife encounters in varying degrees of luxury. “When we started, it was difficult,” Pellerin admits. Investors were skeptical; a wilderness experience in deep Quebec in the winter can be a hard sell at home given the number of Canadians who would like to see Turks and Caicos become the 11th province. But Pellerin soon realized there was a market that had perhaps read Voltaire’s snide evaluation of Canada as “a few acres of snow” and thought that actually sounded quite lovely. Today, group tourism from Europe, in particular France and Belgium, is such a pillar of his business that Pellerin recommends booking a winter stay at the Pourvoirie up to four

Alexandra Pope (@XelaEpop) is Canadian Geographic Travel’s digital editor.

Road

25 km

Snowmobiling trails Trans-Quebec Regional Local

La Mauricie National Park

Auberge du Lac Taureau

Shawinigan

QUEBEC Enlarged area

Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc

Saint-Alexisdes-Monts

TROISRIVIÈRES

Snowmobiling (opposite top) is a popular activity in Mauricie and neighbouring Lanaudiere, where accommodations include the Auberge du Lac Taureau (above).

months in advance. Americans, too, have continued to come north for winter fun, along with weekenders from Montreal and the odd celebrity. (“The Canadiens’ Carey Price was here last week to fish!” Pellerin says excitedly.) Infrastructure in the area has since caught up to demand; Mauricie and neighbouring Lanaudière region boast some 4,800 kilometres of groomed trails for snowmobiling, and most inns and pourvoiries in the region offer snowmobile rentals and guided experiences. CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC

THIS PAGE, TOP: ALEXANDRA POPE/CAN GEO; BOTTOM: AUBERGE DU LAC TAUREAU. OPPOSITE PAGE: T. MAURICIE-O. CROTEAU

THE LOG BUILDINGS of the Auberge du Lac Taureau glow invitingly in the dusk, and the eponymous lake’s snow-covered surface is criss-crossed by snowmobile tracks. Like the Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc, the Auberge du Lac Taureau is both a snowmobiling hot spot and an entrepreneurial success story. Owner Stéphane Lord purchased the property with its rustic inn at the southwestern end of the lake at Saint-Michel-desSaints in 2015. At the time, it was bankrupt, and had been for sale for nearly three years. Under the stewardship of Lord and business partner Bernard Hamel, it’s been transformed into a sophisticated, family-friendly retreat. It offers fine dining, a pool and spa, and a common room with a jaw-dropping timbered cathedral ceiling, conveniently located next to the bar so you can curl up by the wood stove with a coffee spiked with maple whisky and play a board game, read or just watch the snow fall outside the floor-toceiling windows. The auberge also offers a full roster of outdoor activities including snowshoeing, dogsledding, interpretive walks, ice fishing, and, of course, snowmobiling.

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

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MAURICIE

Clockwise from bottom left: Kids play hockey on the frozen pond in front of Auberge du Lac Taureau; an ice-fishing guide at Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc prepares a fresh catch; the Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc auberge.

So it is that a couple of days after the misadventure in the 12-seat B12, it’s time for me to try driving a snowmobile myself. My ride is a two-seater Ski-Doo Grand Touring 600 ACE, which, if you’re not well versed in snowmobile makes and models, loosely translates to “sporty but comfortable for long distances.” As I prepare to set out, the sky is various shades of lavender, threatening rain or snow, or most likely both. I feel stiff and overdressed in my heavy rented coveralls and padded vinyl windbreaker, but my guide assures me that once we’re moving, I’ll be glad for the protection. After a quick overview of the controls — ignition, brake, accelerator, kill switch — it’s time to head out. At first, I’m so focused on controlling the machine, the beauty of the surrounding winter landscape barely registers. Memories of teenage driving lessons surface as I first accelerate too hard, then panic-brake when I feel the skis wobble on the uneven surface. The speedometer says I’m travelling at a sedate 30 kilometres per hour, but my senses, unaccustomed to this roofless, windowless anarchy, insist I must be doing at least 90.

After about half a kilometre, we double back to the resort and join up with a groomed trail that takes us along the western shore of the lake, through a monochrome landscape of snow and dripping trees and the occasional rock face dangling icicles. The ride is smoother here, and I start to relax, following the yellow sweep of my headlights through the late afternoon gloom. I push up the visor on my helmet and breathe the mild air, which tonight contains just a hint of spring. I know that all too soon, the guide will pull over and instruct me to turn around, but while the daylight lasts, I see no reason not to keep going. Watch a video of a scenic flight over Quebec’s snowbound Mauricie region at cangeo.ca/nov17/mauricie.

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC

TENBEST

Ice fishing faves Long-time Outdoor Canada magazine fishing editor Gord Pyzer shares the best spots to experience the nation’s amazing ice-fishing opportunities ANADA’S TWO million freshwater lakes cover almost eight per cent of the country, and winter is the ideal time to take advantage of the bounty on our doorsteps. Here are the 10 best places in Canada to drop a line through the ice.

Lake Memphremagog, Que. Nestled in the picturesque rolling countryside of Quebec’s Eastern Townships, the 42-kilometre-long Memphremagog offers ice anglers a range of species, including brown and rainbow trout, landlocked salmon, pike and perch from around Christmas until the end of March. There are several good access points around the lake for the do-it-yourselfers, or rental ice huts are available in the city of Magog. Lake Simcoe, Ont. Just a short drive north of Toronto, Simcoe is arguably the most famous ice fishery in the world and offers a variety of opportunities for newcomers and veterans alike. First-timers can take advantage of the inexpensive, all-inclusive commercial ice-hut operations and get driven to the heated shelter, then shown everything they need to know to start catching yellow perch, whitefish and lake trout. Lake Nipissing, Ont. You can rough it in style on northeastern Ontario’s Lake Nipissing by renting a four- or six-person “ice bungalow” right on top of one of the lake's best ice-fishing locations. The portable chalets are insulated, heated and include bunk beds, table and chairs, sink, stove, lights and a barbecue. Just step out the door and catch dinner. Lake Superior, Ont. The biggest freshwater lake in the world is also one of the best ice fisheries, especially around the city of Thunder Bay and the town of 46

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL

Nipigon. Thunder Bay is home to spectacular lake trout fishing, while much shallower Black Bay offers superb opportunities to catch yellow perch. Being so close to a city also means you can fish during the day and enjoy fine dining and accommodation in the evening — the best of both worlds. Lake of the Woods, Ont. Northwestern Ontario’s Lake of the Woods is a 400,000-hectare-plus winter wonderland, with 14,000 pine- and spruce-studded islands and more than 100,000 kilometres of shoreline. The federal government hires contractors each winter to maintain a multilane winter road system on the lake that lets First Nation communities in the southern portion drive to Kenora in the north. Cottagers and outdoor enthusiasts subsequently plow secondary roads off the main system to access additional parts of the lake, providing seasoned anglers with easy access to excellent wilderness fishing for walleye (ABOVE), pike and lake trout. Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, Man. Lake Winnipeg and the Red River offer convenient access to some of the finest walleye fishing on Earth. Because it’s so big — Winnipeg is the third largest lake entirely in Canada — hundreds of thousands of hefty walleye migrate in the fall to the southern end and gather around the mouth of the Red River. The action gets underway around Christmas on the river itself, and by New Year's it’s booming on the lake. Lake Athapapuskow, Man. Check Manitoba’s annual Master Angler Awards program (which officially records trophy-sized fish) and one location pops up repeatedly: Athapapuskow. Located

WINTER 2017-2018

just south of Flin Flon, 20,000-hectare “Athapap” offers quality lodge accommodation in the wintertime — a rarity across much of the northland. And you may hook a new world-record trout; Athapapuskow was home to a previous 64-pound, record-book giant. Tobin Lake, Sask. Tobin Lake is one of the premier walleye fisheries in the nation — it’s where a world ice-fishing record walleye of 18.3 pounds was caught in 2005 — but come February and March, huge northern pike stretching more than four feet long and weighing more than 30 pounds steal the scene. Last Mountain Lake, Sask. Forty kilometres northwest of Regina, Last Mountain Lake is the largest natural lake in southern Saskatchewan and a popular destination for those looking to catch walleye, whitefish, northern pike and yellow perch. But the lake is also home to a burgeoning burbot population. These freshwater cod are voracious predators and extremely active under the ice. Most people catch this fish, which looks like a cross between a catfish and an eel, by happy accident. Cold Lake, Alta. It’s fitting that Cold Lake is home to one of the Canadian Forces bases housing the country’s fleet of CF-18s because the trout in the lake that lends its name to the city and base behave like fighter jets, swooping across sonar screens, chasing after lures and attacking them with vengeance. It adds up to easy and exciting winter angling. Did we miss your favourite ice-fishing destination? Let us know on (fb.com/cangeo).

(@CanGeo) or

GORD PYZER

Thick-billed Murres (Guillemots) diving offshore Nunavut

TALLURUTIUP IMANGA What is Talluruptiup Imanga? In the future, it will be Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest marine conservation area, located offshore Nunavut. Working together has sustained people of the North for generations. The designation of this diverse marine area is a testament to that spirit of collaboration. Today we congratulate the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, the Governments of Canada and Nunavut, and all organizations that contributed to the recently announced final boundary agreement for the area. Shellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution of 860,000 hectares of offshore rights to the Nature Conservancy of Canada last year helped enable conservation of this wider marine protected area.

Explore more: www.shell.ca/conservation

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Vehicle shown solely for purposes of illustration, and may not be equipped exactly as shown. Navigation system is only available on select trim levels. See Subaru.ca for more details.