Looking to explore Canada and the United States as a family post-pandemic? Give these lovely places a look!
Inspired by Air Canada Vacations, Travel US News, and Wheres Sharon
Canada
Halifax
On Canada’s East coast, in the Maritime lobster claw-shaped province of Nova Scotia that spills into the Atlantic ocean, is Halifax.
Try out lovely rural and urban activities! Check out the view on the top floor of the Halifax Central Library, hop on a water taxi in the 200-year-old Fisherman’s Cove, find quaint locally-made souvenirs, explore the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum, solve an over 100-year-old mystery in the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, browse through sailors’ memorabilia in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, try out a Harbour Hopper tour, the Atlantic Splash Adventure, and Kartbahn Racing (Discover Halifax)!
Kelowna
Along Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia’s south central region is Kelowna, its name originating from the word for grizzly bear from the Syilx First Nation (honoured in Stuart Park by a sculpture). Surrounded by mountains, Kelowna is filled with pine forests, gardens, lakes, orchards, vineyards, and sandy beaches.
Kelowna’s beaches allow for boating, fishing, swimming, water-skiing, and windsurfing. Nine months per year, the golf courses are available! Discover artists’ studios, fine dining, galleries, museums, theatres, lovely shops, and Prospera Place home to the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League! Parents can go to the casino, attend the wine festivals, and tour internationally acclaimed wineries (Tourism Kelowna).
United States
The Adirondacks
In Northern New York lie the 6 million protected acres of Adirondack mountains and lakes from Mohawk River valley to St. Lawrence River valley. The Adirondacks are one of the world’s two constitutionally protected landscapes!
Lake George, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, and Wilmington are some lovely places to visit! With countless chalets, family resorts, lodges, and activities like going on historic walking tours, jet-skiing, sailing, hiking, skiing, and visiting the Olympic complex and the Lake Placid Olympic museum, you’ll never be bored (Family Destinations Guide)!
The Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is in Northwest Arizona, cut by the Colorado River, near Utah and Nevada, and while it looks red, each stratum is a different hue varying from gray, to brown, to green and pink, and violet (Britannica).
Check out the Grand Canyon National Park’s Junior Ranger program aimed to teach kids the Grand Canyon’s history. They will have the opportunity to earn a certificate and badge and attend a “ranger-led program” (My Grand Canyon Park). Bike the Rim Trail, hike Bright Angel Trail, walk on the Trail of Time or to Shoshone Point, take a Grand Canyon Youth trip or a WWII-era passenger train in Grand Canyon Village!
As the second and largest countries in the world, there are countless other places to discover as a family! Notably, keep your eyes peeled for Canada’s Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, and Whitehorse in the Yukon! And be sure to check out the United States Outer Banks that spit off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, and the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho!