Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in south-west Alberta is a Unesco world heritage site with a fascinating history. Herds of buffalo were deliberately stampeded over the cliff’s edge here by the indigenous plains people for nearly 6,000 years. Exploring the visitor’s centre, which is built into the face of the cliff, we learned how the Blackfoot nation relied on the buffalo drive to provide food, shelter and clothing, especially over winter. The hypnotic beat of Blackfoot singing and drumming carried us back to the past. We hiked off-trail with a guide, listening to stories about the days when millions of buffalo roamed the windswept prairies. • Adult £8.80, youth £6, family £23, history.alberta.ca eurohike
Vancouver Island gardens
Butchart Gardens, Victoria, are a glorious riot of colour, scents, birds, butterflies, music and choreographed fountain and firework displays. They started life as a quarry, owned by cement businessman Robert Pim Butchart, but when the limestone deposits were exhausted, his wife and company chemist, Jennie Butchart, decided to turn a scar on the landscape to a place of beauty. She began by making the quarry into a sunken garden, adding an Italian and Japanese garden soon afterwards. The gardens (one of National Geographic’s world top 10) have remained in the family ever since 1904, the plant collection gradually expanding. Spectacular in every season, today they are a designated National Historic Site of Canada. • Autumn rates: adult £15.60, child £1.15, butchartgardens.com rja123
Ride the pipe, British Columbia
In the sleepy mountain town of Revelstoke, the new thrill is a steep, hairy monorail ride down the mountain from the top of the chair lift - you will scream all the way as it swoops and lurches 1.4km down 279 metres of vertical drops and dizzy turns over the peaceful hillside. And while you’re on it, look out for bears! • 2 rides £17, revelstokemountainresort.com CateScottTraveller
Gold rush town, British Columbia
Visit Barkerville Historic Town and park to explore a gold rush town as it was in 1862 (over 107 original buildings, as well as 60 replicas). The cemetery is particularly moving for its sparseness and remoteness; a resting place to many people from lands far across the globe, memorialised by name, country and claim number. How many found their fortune in this land of plenty? It seems that at least as many lost it as found it. We camped in a nearby site and cycled into the town for a day immersed in the life of a 19th-century frontier town – the courtroom, stables, homes, Chinatown, places of worship, doctors, hotels and newspaper offices. Far off the beaten track (there is a bus from Quesnal), but well worth a visit. • Adult £8.40, youth £5, family £20, barkerville.ca allesklar21
Weird prairie museum, Alberta
Gophers are the bane of farm life on the prairies and the super-weird Gopher Hole museum in Torrington, between Edmonton and Calgary, has a multitude of these rodents posed in dioramas. So strange but incredible. • gopherholemuseum.ca Arinn Westendorf
River valley paradise, British Columbia
For a sense of what the wild, free-flowing Columbia used to be like, before damming, visit the Columbia Wetlands, south of Golden, BC, and between Glacier and Yoho national parks. A good starting place is Columbia Wetlands Adventures, where you can rent a canoe or arrange a guided tour on a small boat. Great scenery and birding, and if you go in the evening, a good chance to see busy beavers along the shoreline. • Kayak from £23, cataraft tour from £40 adult, £15 child, wetlandsadventures.com JWilsoninVictoria
Sunshine Coast camping, British Columbia
Saltery Bay is among the loveliest of BC provincial parks. Its campground is covered in a carpet of moss, making for a comfortable night’s sleep. Near the site you can see fantastic marine life in the clear tidal pools. The campground is 1km north of Saltery Bay ferry terminal and 27km south of Powell River, which is home to the Townsite Brewery, the creator of the amber Suncoast ale. Saltery Bay and Powell River are great stops on a road trip up the Sunshine Coast and onwards to Vancouver Island and also great jumping-off points for an adventure into Desolation Sound or the 57km Powell Forest Canoe Route. • env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks Jessica Gagné
Remote mountain huts, British Columbia
At the Mount Assiniboine provincial park there are relatively cheap mountain huts, with well-appointed kitchens, or visitors can splash out for a stay in Assiniboine Lodge (built in 1928, the first backcountry ski lodge in the Canadian Rockies). Enjoy wondrous lakes, passes, and some of the highest peaks in the Rockies, with the added spice of grizzly bears (some of the trails are closed off in late summer to “reduce human-grizzly conflicts”). Access is by helicopter (£90pp) from Canmore or dirt track and a 27km hike via Bryant Creek. • Naiset and Hind huts £15pppn, assiniboinelodge.com janehardman01
Unique B&B, Okanagan valley
God’s Mountain in BC’s Okanagan valley is an unusual, small B&B, run by an English woman and (when we were there) staffed by interesting people from all over the world. It’s in a vineyard above a lake, with deer roaming the slopes below at sunset. It has a roofless room with a four-poster bed and curtains, but the rest of the room, including the bathroom, is open to the sky. It’s an amazing and peaceful place to stay. The valley itself has great cycle paths through the many tourist-friendly wineries and it’s only a day (or two if you stop somewhere on the way) from Vancouver. • Doubles for two nights from £119 B&B, godsmountain.com Ian2
Surely a great cafe, Vancouver Island
In the middle of nowhere on the road from Victoria to Port Renfrew is Shirley Delicious, a tiny inconspicuous cafe, which draws queues for its superb coffee, fresh bakes and exciting fresh food. The real treat is Phil the manager, who makes everyone feel like a VIP. • On Facebook charlyd
Beastly badlands, Alberta
Dinosaur provincial park in Alberta is a Unesco world heritage site three hours’ drive south-east of Calgary. It is absolutely otherworldy with the most fascinating topography. The two-hour bus tour we took around the site, guided by a paleontologist, was essential to our understanding of the area and we learned how to find fossils (which of course must not be disturbed) on our own. We “comfort camped” in fabulously luxurious and well-equipped tents right on the Red Deer river. A fabulous experience and off the beaten tourist track. • Campground pitches from £17pn, albertaparks.ca droflets
This article titled "Places to visit, stay and tour in western Canada – readers’ travel tips" was written by Guardian readers, for The Guardian on Thursday 29th September 2016 12.06 UTC
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