Canadians are no strangers to outrageous winter adventures. They're used to playing ice hockey on frozen lakes, skiing down steeps in chest-deep powder, and soaring downhill on plastic saucers.
However, many Canadians and travellers from around the world are missing out on some of the most thrilling winter adventures that can be had in the Great White North. These four insane winter experiences are just a handful of the bucket-list-worthy, snow-based thrills you can find on a trip to Canada this winter.
Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk -- Whitehorse, Yukon
Most people try to steer clear of snow and ice covered roads during the winter months, but that's not the case in Canada's Yukon Territory. The world-famous, ultra challenging ice road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, Yukon, can only be travelled for a few months each year, when the Mackenzie River Delta freezes and is turned into an icy, river-top road.
Arctic Range Adventure has been praised for its Arctic Winter Explorer tours, which take travellers on an overland adventure along snow-covered roads from the Pacific to the Arctic. In addition to seeing some of the country's wildest scenery, visitors get the rare opportunity to cruise along the famed ice road to the Inuit village of Tuktoyaktuk.
Tundra Lodge Polar Bear Adventure -- Churchill, Manitoba
Photo credit: RichardBH
Once you've experienced the Tundra Lodge, you may never want to stay in a traditional hotel again. The Tundra Lodge Polar Bear Adventure by Natural Habitat Adventures allows you to stay in a cozy, mobile hotel placed in the subarctic tundra outside of Churchill, Manitoba. The private cabins offer large windows and observation decks for admiring the area's iconic polar bears, arctic fox, hare, caribou, and snowy owls in their natural habitats.
In addition to wildlife watching from the hotel, guests enjoy daily Polar Rover excursions to the shores of the Hudson Bay in search of even more breathtaking wildlife.
Winter Storm Watching in Tofino -- Tofino, British Columbia
Many iconic Canadian winter adventures don't require tours or guides. But you will want to pack your heaviest jacket and boots for winter storm watching on Vancouver Island's Pacific Coast. Tofino's famously rugged coastal scenery provides a much different feel in winter than during the sun and sand-filled days of summer.
Winter is when the biggest swells and fiercest winds lash the Tofino area's beaches, and there's no better place to experience them than from the comfort of a cozy seaside hotel. In fact, winter storm watching from the famed Wickaninnish Inn was named a Canadian Signature Experience by the Canadian Tourism Commission in 2011.
Floe Edge Ski and Kayak Expeditions -- Pond Inlet, Nunavut
Photo credit: jdanchaomian
The best way to find an authentic Canadian winter experience is to travel to the country's northernmost territory of Nunavut. Intrepid travellers can kayak among icebergs, admire rare arctic wildlife, and ski amongst some of the country's most rugged scenery with the Black Feather wilderness adventure company.
The company uses their Floe Edge base camp, on the sea ice off the coast of Baffin Island, as an otherworldly home base for ice, snow, and sea-based winter adventures. Once you experience the beauty of Canada's Arctic region, you'll never wish the cold weather away again.
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