Mountain highs in Canada

Slide into steamy natural hot springs fringed in ferns. Stomp across a frozen lake on snowshoes. Smell sweet wildflowers in a pristine alpine meadow. Hear peregrine falcons screech from cliffside nests. Count glaciers. Ski in thigh-deep powder snow. Track a grizzly bear’s amble across tundra. Sip hot chocolate in front of a crackling fireplace. Gaze down on the rest of the world. Canada is a majestic country, and our mountains are a big reason for that.

Grab a jacket and go into the high-altitude outback. Up where the air is crisp and clean. You can see forever. Arrive on your own two feet or hitch a ride on a snowcat, bush plane or helicopter. Strap on skis, tie on hiking boots, rig up a fishing rod or lounge in a hot tub. Your lodge can be rustic or regal—a pampering stone chateau, a simple tent or a log cabin with a whisper of chimney smoke revealing its forest hiding place, vintage snowshoes decorating the walls.

Let the resident chef feed you braised venison or salmon cakes after a day in alpine air. Or haul out the camp stove and cook up a feast beside a mountain pond under the midnight sun. In the morning, throw open the curtains to see a panorama of peaks framed in the window.