The 7 Seasons of Canada

Here I am in New Brunswick, Canada, sitting in my office building tourism, typing away, playing with words.

Outside my window is a beautiful view of the Bay of Fundy. Just now the skies are treating us to a snowflake shower. The child in me is bursting to get out and play.

My mind is a wandering as I watch each flake float to the ground. I catch myself focusing on one flake and following its journey down to the earth. To say the least writing websites has come to an abrupt halt.

With all this winter reflection pulsing through my mind I thought I would put my wandering thoughts into good use and write a post about the “7 Seasons of Canada.” What you say, “There are only 4 seasons in Canada”? OK… um.. this may be true in your world or for travelers and visitors. But not so true when you are a local Canadian.

Winter is just 1 of 7 seasons we enjoy in Canada. And… the winter season is 1 of 2 peak tourism seasons we engage with in Canada.

Yes, we have the best of both worlds. In the winter we enjoy top notch skiing, snowboarding, xc, snowmobiling, dog sledding and Northern Lights. In the summer we enjoy every outdoor activity under the sun including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, golfing, kayaking, canoeing, boating, fishing, camping, birding and on and on we go.

So… I am guessing you got the message. Now the tough part. If the summer and and winter seasons in Canada are the book ends what are the seasons in between?

It goes like this. The sequence of seasons in Canada starting January 1st is as follows: Spring, Sprummer, Summer, Construction, Fall, Winter, Sprinter.

Spring is self explanatory but “Sprummer” – well…. that is the season between spring and summer in Canada. It is when the spring season and the summer season can not make up their minds. It is as if spring does not want to relinquish the season over to summer. It is like a “Tug-of-War” of wills. A streak of seasonal stubbornness.

Summer is prime in Canada. And most of you who live here or visit here know how much it rocks. But near the end of summer is “Construction” season. This season is not pretty. It runs, in most parts of the country, until the end of fall season. Tempers have been known to flare up at times during this season.

“Construction” season is famous for long line ups, detours & late arrivals. Road crews are out in force building bridges, paving highways and filling pot holes. I do not know many people who like traveling in long line ups in their vehicles at 10 km an hour – inching along – honking horns – in the squelching hot heat.

The fall season in Canada is very underrated & misunderstood. Some of the most popular adventures in Canada are best enjoyed in the fall season when temperatures are comfortable and the forest leaves are painted in rainbow colours like red, yellow, orange and purple. Do not neglect the many opportunities for adventure and travel in the fall. Plus… many tourism businesses have specials at this time.

After fall comes the winter season. A fav of mine because I love snowboarding! Can never get enough of it.

It is during winter every year we Canadians get a new white playground with new equipment to play on. The lakes and rivers freeze over and become ice fishing destinations and snowmobile, xc ski and snowshoe routes. The mountains dress in blankets of snow attracting skiers, snowboarders, dog sleds and more. Embrace winter with hobbies and you too will soon love the season.

After winter comes “Sprinter”. It is probably the most frustrating season of all. The snow stops dropping on ski hills shutting them down and the ice is too thin to explore waterways. Yet it may be still too cold or wet to engage in some early spring activities. It is one of the only times in Canada when it may be a challenge to do activities when conditions are so “in-the-middle” like. Lucky for us it is also the shortest season.

So that is it. There you go, “The 7 Seasons of Canada” according to Gug. To enjoy Canada all you have to do is pick a season that matches your interests or select an interest you want to learn. You just have to decide what season you want to explore based on your hobbies.

So do not believe everything you read and see in the media. Remember some in the media have never been to Canada but they have an opinion… and the media who do live here need to get outside more and experience first hand instead of reading off a teleprompter from behind a desk.

We believe, “To Share Canada you must Know Canada.” We in Canada are more than igloos, maple syrup and beavers.