Canada in August

Summer means 20-hour daylight in the Yukon and $400 hotel rooms in Banff. June through September delivers perfect weather but maximum crowds and prices. Calgary Stampede in July turns the city into a giant cowboy party — book hotels six months ahead or sleep in your rental car. Fall colors peak in Ontario around October 1st. Algonquin Park looks like someone spilled paint across the forest, and those Instagram shots practically take themselves. But mosquito season ends in September, which alone makes autumn worth the trip. Winter skiing in Whistler rivals the Alps, minus the attitude. Powder days in February mean fresh tracks and empty chairlifts. Quebec City's Winter Carnival in January turns the cold into a celebration — ice sculptures, maple taffy, and enough hot chocolate to warm a polar bear. Spring arrives late and muddy. May means black flies in the wilderness and slush in the cities. But hotel prices drop 50%, and you'll have Niagara Falls practically to yourself. Aurora season runs October through March — Yellowknife sees northern lights 240 nights per year.