From UFO Landing pads and pumpkin paddling regattas to bathtub racing and snake dens, Canada is home to otherworldly highlights.

It is no secret that Canada has many breathtaking natural wonders. Lesser known are some of our more unusual attractions. Here are 10 offbeat ones worth visiting, whichever planet you are from:

1) Snakes on a Plain

Manitoba's Interlake region has more snakes in one place than anywhere else in the world. Twice a year, tens of thousands of red sided garter snakes emerge from the Narcisse Snake Dens to mate before scattering into nearby marshes

2) Trekkie Town

To the residents of the Alberta town of Vulcan, Star Trek provided an interstellar  opportunity to build a 9 metre (30 foot) high replica of the Starship Enterprise, along with a Star Trek themed Visitor Information Office.

3) Best Foot(wear) forward

You think you own a lot of shoes? Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum showcases more than a thousand pieces of fascinating footwear dating back over 4,500 years, from ancient Egyptian  sandals to glitzy platforms.

4) Polar Bear Selfies

At Cochrane , Ontario's Polar Bear Habitat, the human pool is separated from the bear pool by a thick pane of clear Plexiglass -perfect  for aquatic photo ops with the sanctuary's newest ursine resident , Ganuk.

5) Bathtub Boating

Every July in Nainamo, British Columbia, hosts the International World Championship Bathtub race , a high seas challenge featuring ocean worthy crafts shaped like old style bathtubs , with 'tubbers' vying to bathe in the glory of finishing first.

6) Forest Signs

In 1942, an American G.I, working on the Alaska Highway posted a sign in the woods near the Yukon town of Watson Lake, to mark how far he was from home. Today , Watson Lake has over 70,000 signposts, along with a Northern Lights Space and Science Centre.

7) Pumpkin Paddle

Every October , contestants hit the waters of Lake Pesaquid in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley in huge, hollowed out homegrown gourds, weighing up to 363 kg (800lb) to compete in the annual Pumpkin Parade and Regatta.

8) Spud Stories

Surrounded by fertile fields of tasty tubers, the Canadian Potato Museum, in O'Leary, Prince Edward Island, houses the world's largest collection of potato harvesting machinery. Spud Struck visitors can also peruse its Potato Hall of Fame.

9) E.T Phone Home

In 1960, the Alberta town of St. Paul decided to attract visitors from far and wide by building a UFO landing pad. This alien - alluring attraction now includes a UFO tourist information centre that details UFO sightings

10) Canoe Capital

Before planes, trains and automobiles, canoes were Canada's main mode of transportation. The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario, showcases more than 600 canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft.

To use this article in full please credit Mark Sissons/Canadian Tourism Commission

For images www.keepexploring.ca/media  

For more media information about any of these attractions please email Ms. Nim Singh, Canadian Tourism Commission, singh.nim@ctc-cct.ca 0207 389 9983 (not for publication) @canadanim