Canada's National Parks: The Ultimate Solar Powered Road Trip

If getting away from the intense crowds, summer heat, and going off-the-grid interests you, then go north…far, far north…my friend!  From arctic tundra where the summer sun never sets, to stunning rocky summits, to grasslands larger than the state of Montana, to coastal beaches and rocky coves which seem forgotten in time, Canada has it all…and then covers it in cheese curds and gravy. Bon appetite!

Road trippin' with solar power in Canada might surprise anyone unfamiliar with the “Great White North.” While the friendly land next door might be filled with more evergreen trees than hockey pucks, it offers a surprising diversity of landscape. Many solar powered RVers might think that Canada’s forests are probably so dense that no viable charging sunlight can penetrate. And while that’s certainly true in a few places, just like down in the states, there are an equal number of places where solar is not only the best option – it’s the only option.

The US might have the oldest and perhaps the best known national parks in the world, but embark on the ultimate solar powered road trip from the Yukon Territories to Newfoundland (or even a short trip to just one region) and you’ll never think the same about this country. And yes, you’ll have all the sunshine that you need to power your life – especially if you have a variety of options to charge as we do. Combine an appropriately-sized rooftop array, with a portable panel for when you are parked in the shade, a DC to DC charger to boost your battery bank while driving, and a device (converter, inverter charger, or AC to DC charger) to charge up your house batteries with an AC electrical outlet on those days when Mother Nature just isn’t cooperating. Here's a brief tour of the modest solar powered system that allows us to live, work, and play from the road full-time. Need help with appropriately sizing your system to meet your energy needs? Our Solar System Sizing Worksheet will walk you through everything you need to know to get started.

We’ve crossed the US-Canada border at least 15 times in the past 13 years of living full-time on the road, and have found both off-grid camping in national and provincial parks, as well as boondocking in Canada to not only be beautiful, but quite easy and affordable. Most US off-grid RVers know about the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas which are friendly to off-grid camping; “Crown Lands” in Canada are most often used to define “federally owned” lands which are managed by the provinces or territories. Camping stays on these lands can vary depending upon the province, but most have the familiar 21-day stay limit like in many public lands managed in the US. We’ve used the iOverlander app all across Canada with great success! Remember it’s always your responsibility to bring out anything you brought with you and dispose of your waste and trash appropriately. To learn more, visit Leave No Trace.

Canada's National Parks With 37 national parks and 11 national park reserves, covering an area of approximately 343,377 km2 (132,579 sq mi), and at least one park located in every one of the nation's 13 provinces and territories, there are many incredible opportunities for sightseeing and recreation within Parks Canada and beyond. Hiking, cycling, climbing, paddling, fishing, and even golf (as many parks have their own course which highlights some of the best features in the park) abound in nearly every park -- be sure to look for the pair of red chairs which are strategically placed in some of the most picturesque places in all of the parks! The Parks Canada app is very helpful to find and reserve camping along the way.   Here's a short list of some of our favorite parks we've explored in Canada...

Yukon Territories
Along the Alaskan Canadian (ALCAN) Highway, Kluane National Park offers 17 of the highest summits in the country, the largest non-polar ice field in the world, and some of the most remote wilderness. Raft along the glacially fed Alsek river in the world’s second highest coastal mountain range. The landscape here offers a mix of boreal forest and sub alpine tundra. Camping sites vary throughout this region with lots of primitive and developed sites, offering a wide variety of shaded and open site options.
British Columbia  Driving along the ALCAN Highway there are so many places to stop for the night without the need for reservations or hook ups.  There are countless boondocking opportunities in recreation areas, city visitor’s centers, parking lots, and quiet paved rest areas along the way.  The ALCAN typically has a very wide greenway with trees and other vegetation cut back far from the road, so very few places have overhanging trees.  We found that we had all the sun we needed while moving through this part of the North Country.  

Not to be confused with its better known namesake below the 48th parallel, Glacier National Park resides within spitting distance of the great cluster of national parks along the provincial border with Alberta. But it is so much lesser known than those that top the bucket list and more importantly less crowded. We found camping sites without reservations on the weekend even in mid-summer. This area is the birthplace of modern mountaineering in the western hemisphere and the climbs and hikes are simply fantastic. The campgrounds offered lots of different options from shady to wide open.

Wonderful waterfalls, stunning glaciers, relaxing flat water lakes, and no crowds to speak of - except maybe a few of the folks who didn’t get an entrance pass to nearby Banff National Park.  Camping in Yoho National Park is much easier to obtain, and while many campgrounds were tucked into the forest, we also found a number with enough open sky to keep our batteries topped up.  P.S. Check your brakes if you’re coming in from the Alberta side, it’s a steep one! 

Alberta
Along the spine of the Canadian Rockies lies a particularly popular set of parks, everyone and their aunt Edna has heard about Banff National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park and perhaps even Jasper National Park. And with good reason, these parks are some of the best known in the country and subsequently the most popular. So, definitely go and visit, just maybe choose a time when visitor numbers are lower during spring and fall? Just make sure that you have self-heating LiFePO4 batteries for those frigid nights that can happen in the late spring and early fall...or an early winter storm!

While we found many camping options both in and around the parks, boondocking options along the Icefields Parkway were limited because of the regulations. The one exception is staying overnight in the Columbia Icefield parking lot. However, Jasper National Park has an incredible overflow camping area with nearly 200 sites, requires no reservations, will fit any sized rig, and even in mid-July still had hundreds of sites up for grabs. The area is completely treeless, so solar is on all day long!

Oh, give me a home…cuz, here the Wood Bison roam! The second sub-species of the Great Plains Bison, which is far more common in the US, is at home here in Elk Island National Park. If your eyeballs feel overstimulated by the rocky mountains, don’t know which way to look, here you can chill out and try to spot this park’s wildlife on their many scenic driving loops. Elk, bison, deer and so many other great plains species thrive within this park’s boundaries. Protected from the Trans-Canada Highway which barrels right down the middle, by high fencing and wildlife bridges, the fauna in this park is getting a new lease on life in the plains. Camping here offers varied solar access between shaded and open spots.

Saskatchewan
The great plains give way to the north country wetlands, and in Prince Albert National Park you’ll start to understand why first nations people perfected the canoe as a means of traveling throughout the region. Hiking and cycling options abound in this lovely park; climb the height-of-land lookout tower and survey the autumn colors of this mixed boreal forest. Solar is surprisingly good here because many campsites lie along the lakeshore which opens up opportunities for charging and recreation.



Manitoba
Continue your eastward drive through the fields of Manitoba to the highlands area of Riding Mountain National Park. Hiking, cycling, paddling, golfing and more are popular here, and you are likely to see some large fauna out roaming this park as well. We camped in a variety of sites that varied between full sun and mostly shade.

Ontario
Along the northern shores of Lake Superior, an inland sea in and of itself, Pukaskwa National Park, offers some of the best paddling among the granite islands this side of Maine, and it’s all salt-free. We found great camping options in this park with good solar gain throughout the day, so we could go paddling and the system could recharge.

Quebec
Each national park staff member will greet you in both English and French, but here at Forillon National Park, it might be their first language. This park offers not only amazing hiking and kayaking options, but stunning views of the Appalachian Mountains as they dive below the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in all directions. Camping here offers a variety of options between open sites and shaded.

New Brunswick
How about watching the largest tide in the world roar in and out twice a day? From the Bay of Fundy National Park along the Gulf of Maine, you can experience this phenomenon first hand. Camping here offers a variety of options between open sites and shaded. Hiking, cycling, paddling, golfing are a few of the many activities you are get up to during your visit.

Prince Edward Island
Strolling along red sand beaches, ocean and river kayaking, cycling and walking on an extensive trail system, and endless sunsets are just a few of the popular activities at Prince Edward Island National Park. Off-grid camping is a cinch in this pleasant seaside park as many sites are treeless or sparsely covered.


Nova Scotia
Crossing the causeway onto Cape Breton Island leads you to not only Cape Breton National Park, but also to the last bit of road in the country before you have to get onto a ferry to see the rest. This island provides the perfect destination for adventure cyclists wanting to conquer the steep climbs and quick descents. Camping in this park was also a mix between open and forested sites, but we had no problem finding enough sunlight during our early fall visit, when the weather and the water retained summer’s warmth.

Many European road trippers will begin their North American off-grid adventures in Nova Scotia, as the capital of Halifax is a major shipping port. Often times, shipping your own rig across the Atlantic offers a less expensive option to renting an RV during your trip - depending upon the length of your stay.

Newfoundland & Labrador
Taking the 7-hour ferry trip with your solar powered rig to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland is an adventure in-and-of-itself, but getting to Gros Morne National Park is well worth the investment. Here scientists finally discovered the evidence to support how our continents move and collide along the surface of our planet. You can walk along some of the oldest land on Earth as well as in the tidal flats where two former continents collided after being separated by an ocean. But hiking and geology is far from the only activity in this park. Here hanging fjords create a stunning landscape to explore on foot and boat. Camping options offered many sites with ample solar gain. We camped in 3 of their campgrounds during our summer 2025 travels in Newfoundland and Labrador, and each offered a unique and stunning camping experience.

While this ultimate road trip in Canada might take several seasons to complete, the adventure is more than worth it! Throughout your experience, for however long, you’ll have plenty of chances to live off the grid, and power your lives with the sun.



We've turned our higher education backgrounds, desire for life-long learning, and thirst for adventure travel into writing, photography, video production, and public speaking tours from coast to coast. You can learn more about our full-time, solar powered adventures on our website at freedominacan.com. Or, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube as “Freedom in a Can.” Save a bundle of money on most Renogy products using our promo code CANLIFE!