Weirdly Canadian Embrace some homegrown strangeness for your next domestic trek By: Chris Rutkowski Posted: 3:00 AM CDT Saturday, Apr. 12, 2025

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/04/2025 (208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With many Canadians shying away from travelling south of the border to their usual American vacation spots, there is an increased interest in exploring the True North this year.

Although this decision means avoiding the huge, well-known theme parks in the U.S., we do have Canada’s Wonderland and Splash Works in Ontario, and La Ronde in Montreal — however, all of these are part of the U.S.-based Six Flags Entertainment corporate empire.

Canadian tourist bureaus are ramping up their efforts to draw attention to homegrown attractions from coast to coast to coast. Arguably, the most successful of these is the series of TV ads for Newfoundland and Labrador featuring colourful houses and breathtaking coastal images, but there are many other vistas to explore in Canada.

Sure, you could just pack up the kids and drive to one of Canada’s many lakes for camping or rent a cabin in Muskoka or Tofino or Banff, but for those who want something a bit different and off the beaten track, there are many unusual and storied spots to check out.

How about a weird Canadian vacation this year? With the growing popularity of TV shows about places like Skinwalker Ranch, haunted mansions and hunts for Bigfoot, why not plan a family expedition to one of our nation’s very own mysterious sites? What’s better than sitting around a campfire telling spooky stories — especially about things that are said to be real?

Thankfully, Canada has plenty to spur your imagination.

Near the southernmost tip of Nova Scotia lies the sleepy seaside town of Shag Harbour, where one night in 1967 dozens of people reported seeing UFOs overhead and something is said to have splashed down into the ocean. RCMP rushed to the scene, thinking a plane had crashed, but all that could be found was glowing yellow foam on the water. Local residents commemorate the incident with an annual UFO Festival, and there’s a dedicated alien-themed park at the shore, perfect for picnicking.

A softer landing for alien craft is anticipated across the country in St. Paul, Alta., northeast of Edmonton, where the “World’s First UFO Landing Pad” was built in 1967 as a Canadian Centennial Project. Besides the platform for alien travellers, the site hosts a saucer-shaped UFO museum. Queen Elizabeth visited the pad in 1978, and Mother Theresa herself visited it in 1982. But nothing otherworldly has landed there — yet.

Almost halfway between the two is Falcon Lake, right here in Manitoba, where also in 1967 Stefan Michalak was doing some amateur prospecting when he said he was burned by a flying saucer that landed near him. The case was investigated by the RCMP and the Royal Canadian Air Force, both of which labelled it “unexplained.”

Today, you can get a T-shirt and souvenirs commemorating the event in the resort town, and the local riding stable offers guided “UFO Rides” to the site where it occurred.

If aliens aren’t your thing, how about legendary monsters? Lake Okanagan in the B.C. Interior is believed by many to be the home of Ogopogo, Canada’s own Loch Ness Monster. For decades, tourists and residents have claimed to have seen an eel- or serpent-like creature swimming in the lake. There’s even a statue of Ogopogo along the Kelowna waterfront. Similar mysterious aquatic creatures are said to live in other Canadian lakes, such as Manipogo (Lake Manitoba), Champ (Lake Champlain in Quebec) and even Igopogo (Lake Simcoe).

If you’re more intrigued by unexplained hirsute creatures like Bigfoot, Canada’s got ’em. Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., is home to Sasquatch Provincial Park, with the nearby Sasquatch Museum. And there’s a Sasquatch statue lurking beside the road at the entrance to a housing subdivision in Osoyoos, B.C. Of course, the hairy beast is said to have been spotted throughout Western Canada, and, closer to home, the Sam Waller Museum in The Pas has a weird natural history collection that includes a cast of a Sasquatch footprint (and also, fleas dressed in tiny clothes).

And then there are Canada’s ghosts. Every province and territory has tales of spooks and spirits in a variety of haunted hotels, churches and mansions. One of the best-known is the Screaming Tunnel near Niagara Falls, Ont., which according to legend is haunted by the ghost of a young girl who escaped a nearby burning building with her clothing ablaze and succumbed inside the tunnel. The screams people claim to hear are, of course, the girl calling for help and crying in pain. Peek inside if you dare!

In the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, the ghost of retired bell captain Sam McAuley is said to still occasionally help guests with their luggage, long after his death, while in the Hotel Fort Garry here in Winnipeg, many guests, including members of Parliament, have said they felt the presence of a spirit in their rooms.

To the east, visitors claim Kensington Mansion in P.E.I. is haunted, as is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Quebec City.

Sometimes, it’s just eerie lights that are seen. In Northumberland Strait between P.E.I. and New Brunswick, a bright light said to resemble a ship on fire has been reported by mariners, and strange lights purported to be the ghosts of pirates are said to guard Kelly’s Island in Conception Bay off Newfoundland.

Back on land, northeast of Esterhazy, Sask., residents have claimed to see “spooklights” hovering over tombstones in the “ghost town” of Tabor. Comparable stories are told about mysterious lights in the municipality of Neebing, south of Thunder Bay on Highway 61, and also on Scugog Island near Port Perry, Ont. So put your kids in the back seat and turn off your headlights when you visit — better than streaming Stranger Things on your tablet!

Sometimes, the line between UFOs and ghost lights can be hazy. North of Timmins, Ont., the town of Moonbeam got its name from stories by pioneers who saw flashing lights falling from the sky, which they called “moonbeams.” Today, there’s even a huge flying saucer monument along the highway into town, and nearby hiking trails include signage featuring green-skinned aliens directing visitors.

Another Canadian locale named in an unusual way is the small city of Flin Flon in northern Manitoba (and Saskatchewan, as it straddles the provincial border). When it was founded in the 1920s, a prospector there had found a science fiction book (The Sunless City by J.E. Preston Muddock) which features a character named Flintabbatey Flonatin who explores a bottomless lake in a submarine and discovers a strange city. When it came time to name the copper and zinc mining centre, Flin Flon was born. A friendly and welcoming statue of its namesake still greets visitors.

If you want to venture further north in Canada, strangeness abounds. The ghost of Bessie Gideon, former owner of the Caribou Hotel in Carcross, Yukon, supposedly haunts its halls, and another spectre for some reason plies its trade in the Rankin Inlet Fire Hall in Nunavut.

Then there’s the region sometimes known as Headless Valley in Northwest Territories. Officially the Nahanni National Park Reserve, it’s a UNESCO heritage site with breathtaking vistas of waterfalls and canyons. But the area has a history of hauntings and strange deaths, and within it lies the Lost McLeod Mine named after gold rush miners whose headless bodies were discovered, but not their gold.

Other natural and remarkable wonders in Canada include places such as so-called magnetic hills, where if you put your car in neutral it seems to roll uphill! The best known of these is Magnetic Hill, N.B., but there are at least a dozen more across the country, including Gravity Hill near Abbotsford, B.C., Thunder Hill in Manitoba, Magic Hill near Oshawa, Ont., and Magnetic Hill near Chartierville, Que.

Want an alternative to visiting a natural wonder like Crater Lake in Oregon? There’s West Hawk Lake right here in the Whiteshell, where a prehistoric meteorite gouged out a huge crater that is now filled with crystal-clear water. Surrounded by sandy beaches, the lake is where scuba divers train for underwater exploration. (And yes, it’s said to be home to a lake monster too.)

This overview barely scratches the surface of the many weird and wonderful places to visit on a Canadian-only vacation this year. Regional guidebooks, local tourist bureaus and residents themselves can steer your family expedition to dozens more places with own urban legends, bizarre histories and strange attractions.

And if you want a scare, at least it’s in Canada!

Chris Rutkowski is a Winnipeg writer who enjoys exploring out-of-the-way places.

chrisrutkowski@gmail.com