Quiet rural escapes in Canada off the beaten path.
What are some less-touristed rural getaways in Canada, for travelers seeking beautiful places with fewer crowds? Answer
Options include Eganville, a village in the limestone valley of the Bonnechere River; Inverness, a waterside village on Cape Breton Island; and Norris Point, a Bonne Bay village at the edge of Gros Morne. This page includes more than 40 options. Click here to see which are close enough to be day trips from major cities like Montreal.
Sun Peaks
Built around a ski resort established in 1961 and formerly known as Tod Mountain, Sun Peaks is a compact village in the mountains of British Columbia, northe…
Souris
This small waterfront town near the northeastern tip of Prince Edward Island, Souris sits in a region known for its beaches and has a café and restaurant sce…
Inverness
This little waterside village on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, sits within an hour's drive of Cape Breton Highlands National Park to the north and the Can…
Norris Point
This pocket-sized waterfront village on Bonne Bay in western Newfoundland, Norris Point sits at the edge of Gros Morne National Park amid mountain terrain.
Chambord
Val-Jalbert, a historic village within Chambord's municipal boundaries, is the main draw to this tiny Quebec community on the shores of Lac-Saint-Jean, in th…
Eganville
Billed as the Ordovician Fossil Capital of Canada, this small Ontario village sits in a deep limestone valley carved by the Bonnechere River, where fossils s…
Slocan
A small waterfront hamlet in British Columbia's West Kootenay region, Slocan sits at the foot of Slocan Lake where Springer Creek meets the water, with mount…
Hazelton
This little hamlet in west-central British Columbia sits at the confluence of the Bulkley River and the Skeena River, where the two waterways meet to form a…
Saint-François-de-Sales
This modest Quebec village set among rolling farmland and forested hills, with a white-steepled church rising above a blaze of autumn colour and open fields…
Elmvale
Compact Ontario village with a walkable main street of red-brick storefronts, flower-basket lamp posts, and a local coffee shop, sitting close to both Georgi…
Hornepayne
This small township in Northern Ontario's Algoma District sits beside water and claims a geographic curiosity: it is the closest settlement to the exact cent…
Kemptville
Modest Ontario community south of Ottawa with a café and restaurant scene and several historic churches that punch above its size, Kemptville sits alongside…
Midway
A small British Columbia village spread across a snow-dusted valley floor, Midway sits where open ranch land meets forested mountain slopes, offering a quiet…
Saint-Ambroise
Quiet Quebec village main street lined with clapboard houses and a striped-awning storefront comes alive in autumn, when the maples along the road turn vivid…
Sayward
Small waterfront hamlet on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island, Sayward sits in the Sayward Valley near Kelsey Bay, with mountains close by.
Twillingate
Sitting on the Twillingate Islands in Notre Dame Bay off northeastern Newfoundland, this tiny Canadian town is one of the island's oldest ports and a histori…
Fort Liard
A small Dene community in Canada's Northwest Territories, Fort Liard — known in Slavey as Echaot'l Koe, meaning "people from the land of the giants" — sits o…
Deloraine
This small Manitoba prairie town near the Turtle Mountains, Deloraine's well-preserved 1930 red-brick post office anchors a quiet main street worth a stop on…
Alberton
A small service-town on the western shore of Prince Edward Island, Alberton sits beside the harbour community of Northport and has served the surrounding fis…
Lac-Bouchette
Home to the Ermitage Saint-Antoine, one of Quebec's four national pilgrimage sites, Lac-Bouchette is a tiny lakeside village in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean r…
Canal Flats
Sitting between the southern end of Columbia Lake — the headwaters of the Columbia River — and the Kootenay River, Canal Flats is a modest village in British…
Neebing
A rural Ontario municipality just south of Thunder Bay, where open farmland stretches toward a dramatic flat-topped escarpment blanketed in boreal forest, of…
Saint-Emile-de-Suffolk
Modest village in Quebec's Outaouais region, Saint-Émile-de-Suffolk sits among numerous lakes that draw cottage visitors for hunting and fishing.
Lac-au-Saumon
A small village in Quebec's Matapédia Valley, Lac-au-Saumon sits on the shores of the lake that shares its name — an expansion of the Matapédia River.
Richibucto
A modest waterfront community in Kent County, New Brunswick, Richibucto sits on one of the province's more active ports and serves as the county's main comme…
Shag Harbour
A small Nova Scotia fishing hamlet on the South Shore known for the 1967 Shag Harbour UFO incident, now commemorated at the local UFO Museum.
Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover
Compact Quebec village alongside a river in Centre-du-Québec's agricultural countryside, anchored by a striking grey-stone church with multiple white-trimmed…
Cambridge-Narrows
A small village on Washademoak Lake — a navigable tributary of the Saint John River — in Queens County, New Brunswick, now part of the municipality of Arcadia.
Grand-Bouctouche
This modest francophone town on New Brunswick's southeast coast lines its main street with red-clad wooden buildings and hosts a summer mollusc festival, hin…
Bridgetown
This small Nova Scotia village in Annapolis County sits on the water and holds several historic churches for a community its size, with heritage architecture…
Lockeport
This small fishing town on a peninsula in Nova Scotia's Shelburne County, Lockeport sits in Allendale Bay and connects to the mainland via the Crescent Beach…
Great Village
Small Nova Scotia village on the shore of Cobequid Bay, where a stately white clapboard hall with a bell tower anchors a quiet rural community backed by roll…
Riverside-Albert
This little hamlet on the Shepody River in New Brunswick, Riverside-Albert sits roughly halfway between Fundy National Park and the Hopewell Rocks, making it…
Killarney
A pocket-sized agricultural community in southwestern Manitoba built around a lake that sits within the village itself, Killarney lies in the Turtle Mountain…
Hillsborough
This pocket-sized waterside village in eastern New Brunswick, Hillsborough sits in upland country near the Bay of Fundy region, offering heritage architectur…
Buchans
Tiny Canadian village on the water, ringed by hills, with a handful of historic churches that give it more architectural character than its size might suggest.
Roblin
This pocket-sized Manitoba village with a surprisingly dense cluster of churches for its size, set among rolling hills and within easy reach of water, making…
St. Anthony
This little waterfront village in Newfoundland's rugged upland country, St.
Wynyard
A compact Saskatchewan village set among gently rolling hills, with water a short drive away, offering a quiet taste of prairie life for travellers seeking o…
Kipling
Small Saskatchewan village with a walkable waterfront and rolling surrounds, Kipling is unusually rich for its size with several historic churches worth a qu…
Aylesford
This small Nova Scotia village sitting right at the water's edge, with upland country close by and a UNESCO World Heritage site within reach for day-trippers…
Wadena
A little Saskatchewan village within easy reach of nearby water, Wadena offers a quiet slice of prairie life for travellers seeking a genuine pocket-sized-to…
Fredericton Junction
A modest Canadian village sitting right on the water, with upland country close by and scenic viewpoints in the surrounding area, making it a quiet base for…
Hebbville
A small Nova Scotia village sitting right at the water's edge, Hebbville offers a quiet lakeside setting within easy reach of upland countryside and the wide…
Val-Brillant
Tiny riverside village in Quebec's rural interior, Val-Brillant sits directly on the water's edge, offering a quiet, unhurried base for those drawn to the ca…
Rural getaways in Canada: quick answers
Which rural getaways in Canada can you visit on a day trip from Montreal?
Saint-Ambroise is among 1 rural getaways on our day trips from Montreal.
Which are the highest-rated?
5 are rated gold, including Hillsborough, Souris, Twillingate and Alberton.
Which can you reach by train?
2 of the 45 have a railway station within a 10-minute drive, including Chambord and Hornepayne.