Issue link: http://read.canadatravelguides.ca/i/970065
on a strenuous hike or cycle along Prince Edward Island's easy Confederation Trail—or go whale watching with the kids. It's up to you. Anyone from eight to 80 can be as active as they desire—or not, and truly feel that they've experienced the best of Canada's beautiful East Coast ( www.one oceanexpeditions.com/canadas-east-coast/ canadas-east-coast ). SEARCHING FOR THE SPIRIT BEAR Travellers from around the world arrive on this British Columbia coast, 280 nautical miles north of Vancouver, to view pristine wilderness—and its wildlife. For this largely remote area of forest that sweeps northward from Vancouver, known as the Great Bear Rainforest, is the largest tract of intact, temperate rainforest on earth. From June to October, the Kitasoo/ Xai'xais First Nations—who have protected this pristine natural world on the remote Pacifi c Northwest Coast for thousands of years—welcomes visitors from June to October ( www.spiritbear.com/site/tours/ bear-viewing-overview.html ). Travel by boat or on foot; outdoor rain gear and rain boots will be provided. Depending on weather and the season, sightings might include pods of orca and humpback whales, seals and bald eagles, black bears and grizzly bears and, perhaps—especially in late summer and fall when the salmon are spawning in great numbers, the rare kermode or spirit bear with its resplendent white coat. Only one in ten brown bears carries this recessive gene. About 400 of these rare bears live in this territory, the only place in the world where they can be found. These bears can be elusive, however, as they travel over an area the size of a small European country. Whatever the month or wildlife you discover, staying at the comfortable Indigenous-themed Spirit Bear Lodge that harkens back to traditional long houses, allows immersion in this pristine rainforest ( www.spiritbear.com ). Feast on Pacifi c wild salmon and other seafood dishes—or gaze through large picture windows to see passing orcas, white-sided dolphins and sea lions. You'll be sure to remember this pure, unspoiled glimpse of nature. DE-MYSTIFYING MUSHROOMS Would you love to forage for wild mush- rooms but don't know a shiitake from a pu all—or how to prepare either one? If so, this day-long Wilderness Mushroom Foray and culinary feast in Ontario's Long Point World Biosphere Reserve is for you ( www.lpfun.ca/guided-mushroom-foray). First, join experienced naturalist and mushroom expert Robin Tapley in a hunt around fi elds, streams and forest adjacent to the Long Point Eco-Adventures site overlooking Lake Erie. As you wander through the wooded St. Williams Conservation Reserve, Tapley will identify which mushrooms you can or cannot eat, and will enlighten you about possible healthful benefi ts. Then, back at Long Point Eco-Adventures, Executive Chef Heather Pond from the Blue Elephant restaurant, will demonstrate preparation techniques such as how to rip (rather than cut) an oyster mushroom, or how to skin a pu all. The ensuing feast of wild edibles at a long family-style table might include a warm wild mushroom salad combining leeks with shiitake mushrooms and bright yellow-or- ange chicken of the woods fungi, followed by mushroom soup, and stuff ed chicken breast with a dried mushroom morel sauce. Dessert could be "fl oating pu alls"—prof- iteroles fi lled with Chantilly cream served in a champagne glass embellished with ferns. All mushroom culinary specialties will be paired with award-winning wine from the on-site Burning Kiln Winery. Whether it is a culinary exploration, a nature fi x, an adventure or living history celebration that you and your friends and family are seeking, you'll have the certainty that these—and future Signature Experiences are truly unique, and just a sampling of the hundreds of travel possibilities across this great land of ours. GROS MORNE NATIONAL PARK, NL • ONE OCEAN EXPEDITIONS/BOOMER JERRITT SPIRIT BEAR, GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST, BC • SPIRIT BEAR LODGE/PHIL CHARLES 22 22