10 fresh ways to explore Canada in 2016

Sugar shacks, dark sky preserves and sub-zero dining beckon travellers in the new year

When your backyard is just under 10-million square kilometres (3.9-million square miles), there's always a new adventure to discover. With fresh tours, jaw-dropping landscapes, bustling cities and an exchange rate that makes it more accessible than ever, Canada is waiting to be explored in 2016. Here are 10 new, different and overlooked ways to experience the country this year.

Drop pucks with hockey pros: Ready for a quintessentially Canadian adventure? Lace up your skates and learn how to play hockey with some of Canada's greats. Elite junior-league coaches and past NHL players share their expertise in this two-hour Canadian Signature Experience in the heart of Alberta's hockey country.http://www.pinnaclehockey.ca/canadian-hockey-player.html

Experience Canada's iconic Icefields Parkway … by bike: Acclaimed as one of the world's best drives, the Icefields Parkway winds past alpine lakes, glaciers and jagged peaks deep in the Canadian Rockies. Now, a unique tour is giving travellers the chance to slow down and experience it all by bike. The Jasper to Banff Mountain Madness Bike Tour is a four-day cycle adventure, complete with meals, accommodation … and your fair share of elk, caribou and bear sightings en route. http://www.mountainmadnesstours.com/

Spend the night in your own lighthouse: Redefining getaway, Newfoundland's Quirpon Lighthouse Inn is a fully restored 1922 home at the base of an operating lighthouse on remote Quirpon Island. Inside: 10 heritage rooms for guests. Outside: rugged coast, the occasional passing iceberg and plenty of wildlife, including migrating whales. http://www.linkumtours.com/

Craft beer meets music fest in Vancouver: Western Canada's biggest craft-beer festival just got bigger (and better). This summer, Vancouver Craft Beer Week is set to host more than 100 breweries and cideries from all over North America. New this year: the beer-garden-style fest adds live bands on three separate stages. June 3 to June  5. http://www.vancouvercraftbeerweek.com/

Enjoy a sub-zero gourmet dinner in Winnipeg: Winnipeg (unofficial nickname “Winterpeg”) can average temperatures around -18 Celsius (0 Fahrenheit) in its colder months, with windchills dipping to even frostier depths. But that hasn't stopped locals from putting on one of Canada's trendiest pop-up dinners—outdoors. Heated tents on the iced-over forks of the Assiniboine and Red rivers are the setting for these gourmet meals, featuring seasonal menus from a rotating lineup of top chefs. http://www.raw-almond.com/

Get up close with the world's only spirit bears: Distinct from polar bears, spirit bears are a unique breed of black bear that have cream-coloured coats owing to recessive genes. And the only place on the planet they call home is British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest. Newly protected by a landmark environmental agreement, the region boasts some of the most expansive old-growth forests in the world. See the bears in their natural habitat on one-of-a-kind tours with the local Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nations people. http://www.spiritbear.com/

Soak up the celestial sights in Jasper, Alberta: Night skies are the main attraction in this unique sanctuary in the Canadian Rockies. Jasper National Park's 11,000-square-kilometre (4,200-square-mile) dark sky preserve is almost entirely free of artificial lighting, making for incredible stargazing. The park's Dark Sky Festival each October draws astrotourists from around the world and has even featured Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. http://jasperdarksky.travel/

Get reacquainted with Toronto: Ranked seventh on The New York Times' list of 52 must-visit places for 2016, Toronto is gearing up for a banner year. The city will see its first month-long Pride festival in June and host the World Cup of Hockey, as well as the NBA All-Star game and the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup. Combine this with TO's trendy neighbourhoods, the reopening of Queens Quay on Lake Ontario (with its influx of new pretty people paths) and the acclaimed Toronto International Film Festival, and now is the time to see Toronto. http://www.seetorontonow.com/

Explore a sunken naval destroyer off the British Columbia coast: The aptly named Sunshine Coast stretches along 180 kilometres (112 miles) of British Columbia shoreline, and includes some of the best (and warmest) year-round diving sites in the province. New to the underwater ecosystem, the 112-metre-long (367-foot-long) vessel HMCS Annapolis was sunk this past year, joining the HMCS Chaudiere and HMAS Brisbane as popular diving sites. In terms of local wildlife, look out for burnt-orange Pacific octopi, jellyfish, curious porpoises, seals and even sea lions. http://www.sunshinecoastcanada.com/

Take maple syrup to gourmet heights: It's not just for pancakes anymore. In Quebec - the undisputed centre of the maple-syrup universe - options have gone upscale. Maple-forward dishes are showing up on city menus and in pop-up urban cabins. Options include pork-belly donut sandwiches with maple syrup espuma at Quebec City's Laurie Raphael restaurant and retro “sugar shacks,” like La Cabane chez Jean outside downtown Montreal, serving sugar pie and other classic dishes. http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/blog/a-cabane-a-sucre-sugar-shack-experience-in-and-around-montreal/

Looking for more uniquely Canadian events, attractions and activities in 2016? Explore the latest tours and new adventures at Destination Canada.

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