Explore Magazine

Having lived in Ottawa for more than 20 years, I’ve crossed the river into Québec’s Outaouais region more times than I can count. Some visits have been carefully planned weekends centred around hiking, cycling or paddling. Others have been spontaneous day trips when we simply wanted to spend a few hours outdoors. What keeps drawing me back is how quickly the landscape changes.

The Ottawa Valley sits a stone’s throw from Canada’s capital and on the edge of the border to Quebec. It’s a region of lakes and flowing rivers that glimmer in the sunshine. This is where outdoorsy people can thrive and city dwellers can retreat for a few days breathing in the scents of fresh water, fragrant pine and blooming summer flowers. Canada is known for being a country polka dotted with lakes, and the Ottawa Valley—and a serene little town called Petawawa—is especially waterlogged.

Years ago, when I was attempting to paddle west to east across Canada, a series of what would be considered ‘bad’ incidents derailed that journey. It began when my canoeing partner and I contracted Giardia a couple of days into the trip. A late start after a 16-hour drive found use in the dark and thirsty, deciding, we’ll purify our water starting tomorrow. Oops. Beset with gut-wrenching parasites, yet somehow unperturbed due to youthful ignorance, we paddled and dragged our canoe upstream on th...

“May you live in interesting times,” is either an ancient Confucian quote or something Einstein said (according to TikTok, any quote you can’t quite remember but want to use to sound smart is now attributable to Einstein). And from the Ukraine to the Middle East; from breathing forest fire smoke in May instead of late July—we’re living in undeniably, and chaotically, interesting times.

Camping in summer is a quintessential Canadian experience. When temperatures get warmer, we get outside to enjoy the season. It’s a time of year to connect to nature, plunging into chilly lakes to wake up in the morning, hiking through peaceful forests in the afternoon, and roasting hot dogs in the evening. Canada’s outdoor spaces, from the Rockies to the Great Lakes, are a playground for the adventurous.

Canada is ridiculously large. Over the years, I have crossed this country many times chasing wildlife, road trips and adventures. I’ve slept everywhere, from bedrolls under the stars to luxurious wilderness lodges, and once in my truck outside Moose Jaw waiting for a gas station to open. Somewhere between Atlantic fog and Pacific rainforests, puffins and polar bears, Viking sagas and surfers, I discovered that Canada isn’t just a country, it’s one enormous adventure story—complete with mosquitoes.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly expanding into the outdoor community. Its impact stretches towards how adventurers plan, prepare and experience the natural world. Increasingly, AI is powering trail recommendations, navigation, wildlife monitoring and even personalized gear suggestions. But what does this mean for the future of adventuring? What does it mean for outdoor brands and the community? For the environment? Is AI redefining our connection to the outdoors? Bike technology is always evolving.

Photo by Kathryn Anderson After years of exploring BC—and recently writing the new guidebook, 100 Things to Do in Vancouver Before You Die—I’ve logged more muddy boots, soggy kayak trips and mountain views than I can count. For the book, I focused on adventures within Metro Vancouver. For this list, I’m stretching the boundaries a little to include a few favourites worthy of a daytrip.

There’s a lot going on in the canoe tripping world this paddling season. Several extended excursions are being done across Canada, and beyond. The epic journeys are being taken on by legendary aging paddlers, but most are being done by young enthusiastic adventurers—and the best part is that most of them are women. How cool is that! Check out and follow these amazing canoe excursions on social media and help give them a boost to their finish line.

Ahhh… summer. With the dog days of July upon us, I’m making my way north for my annual wandering pilgrimage, disappearing for a while into a wilderness new and mysterious to me. This year I’m headed off with my buddy Alex Kozma on a 1,200 kilometre, 30-day northern canoe journey in the Yukon and Northwest Territories (see attached route map). I’m calling the expedition Nèhtrùh, which is the local Indigenous Gwich’in word for wolverine.