Photo: jemwaldron on Instagram 

With the ends of winter just lingering behind us, the great outdoors are bound to be calling our names as soon as the sun rolls around and the warm air breezes. Whether situated near the bustling downtown core of Toronto or near the picturesque mountains of Vancouver, Canada has no shortage of rolling hills to add to your weekend list of spring and summer activities. Kick start the outdoor season with a bike ride that is worth pedaling for. From turquoise lakes to wild forests, Canada offers a host of trails around the coast that will make you fall in love with your home and native land. Here are a couple of Canada’s most scenic bike routes to schedule for the balmy weeks ahead. 

Take a pedal on the 780 kilometre route along the blue shore edges of Lake Ontario to explore Ontario’s Southeastern Waterfront Trail. Extending from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Ontario and Quebec, riders can cycle for as little or as much of the trail as their legs can handle. If you’ve got the stamina for 33 kilometres, start your ride with a courtyard breakfast at Chez Piggy in Kingston, Ontario and then head east towards Canada’s very own sightseer’s paradise, the Thousand Islands. 

Meanwhile, those who are in Quebec can explore the Route Verte, and check out the sights and sounds of Canada’s most bike friendly province with National Geographic’s top rated route. A mix of dedicated bike trails, on-road cycle paths and dirt tracks, Route Verte shows adventurists all of what Quebec has to offer: from cosmopolitan cities to quaint riverside villages and the in-between. With over 5,300 kilometre’s of land to bike through, perhaps the most stunning of paths to follow is Véloroute des Baleines (the Whale Route), which goes from Tadoussac to Baie-Trinité. Whichever route you decide to follow this spring, one thing is for sure- with a beautiful natural landscape of the True North, you’re in for a real treat wherever you go. Just make sure you take a stop every now and then to explore the beautiful scenery of the region, and take a few photos whenever you do!