Canada

Rock Climbing, Ice Climbing, Dry Tooling, Mountaineering, & Scrambling

Climbing in Canada

Canada is home to some of the best rock and ice climbing in the world, offering everything from beginner-friendly crags to demanding alpine routes that challenge even the most experienced climbers. Whether you live here or are just visiting, Canada is an incredible place to climb—come experience it for yourself!

We’ve put together high-level guides for the provinces below and are continuing to expand our coverage across regions and in greater detail within each province. Take a look, and check back soon for more updates. If you have information to share, reach out—we’d love to include it!

Canada FAQs

Canada offers a diverse range of climbing opportunities, including:

  • Rock climbing on world-class limestone, granite, and quartzite crags

  • Ice climbing on frozen waterfalls and alpine routes during the winter months

  • Alpine climbing, mountaineering, and scrambling in rugged mountain ranges like the Rockies, Selkirks, and Coast Mountains

  • Bouldering areas in urban and remote settings across the country

Each province offers something unique:

  • British Columbia: Iconic granite climbing in Squamish, alpine routes in the Coast Mountains, and year-round opportunities.

  • Alberta: Home to the Canadian Rockies, with legendary ice and rock climbing around Canmore, Banff, and Jasper.

  • Ontario: Known for crags like Lion’s Head and Mount Nemo in the south, and numerous multi-pitch routes near Thunder Bay, as well as indoor gyms and bouldering near major cities.

  • Quebec: Offers multi-pitch trad, sport, and ice climbing, including around Val-David, Kamouraska, and Parc de la Jacques-Cartier.

  • Atlantic Provinces: Nova Scotia and Newfoundland feature sea cliff climbing, adventurous trad routes, and hidden bouldering gems.

  • Prairie Provinces: While flatter, areas in Manitoba and Saskatchewan offer local crags and growing climbing communities.

  • Territories: Remote and wild, the Yukon and Northwest Territories have spectacular alpine climbing for the adventurous. For instance, Thor Peak in Nunavut features the world’s longest vertical drop! 

Not yet—but we’re working on it! Our climbing guides are high-level overviews, and we’re continuously expanding them with more detailed information and new regions. Check back often for the latest updates.

Yes! If you have local knowledge, updates, or corrections to share, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out through via email or by scheduling a meeting and help grow the Canadian climbing community.

Follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter to get notified when new climbing regions, guides, or features are added.

Absolutely. Create a free Climb Onsight account and use our Climbing Journal to record your ascents, notes, and goals—whether you’re projecting in your backyard or summiting Mount Robson.

Track your Climbs in Canada

Climb Onsight offers a free, personal journal to help you track your climbing adventures. Whether you’re attempting to summit Mount Robson or tackle the Chief, make sure you have an account to record your progress. Getting started is easy:

  • Create an account

    Everyone with an account receives access to a free and private climbing journal.

  • Add climbing entries

    You can upload videos and photos, jot down your thoughts, and track your entire climbing journey in one place. We've used it to document memorable ascents, log progress, capture beta, and save valuable insights from guides.

  • Refine climbing entries

    Finally completed your project or summitted that peak? Edit the individual entry to include your attempts and successful send!

  • Share with friends and family

    Your journal is completely private by default, but you can choose to share individual entries with friends, climbing partners, or family.

Screenshot of Climbing Journal

Create your Account Today!

Reviews

Lisa Kirienko
a week ago
I booked two 8-hour courses coordinated by Climb Onsight. An outdoor sport climbing course, taught by Frederick from ONE AXE, and a top rope anchor course taught by Jonathan from Muskoka Mountainworks. Both guides were great! They explained core concepts well, were receptive to questions. The days consisted of both theory and practice. I had a great experience with Climb Onsight. Communication was prompt, scheduling was flexible, and the booking and payment process was simple. I now feel more confident climbing outside, and I wouldn’t hesitate booking another experience through Climb Onsight. I would recommend the service to anyone looking to break into outdoor climbing!
Sarah Chu
2 months ago
Shaun of Climb Onsight organized a successful corporate event for our firm retreat in Phoenix, Arizona. We had a great time rock climbing at Echo Canyon Trailhead. Some of us were first-timers and Shaun was truly an excellent source from beginning to end. Highly recommend Climb Onsight if you are looking to book a rock climbing event!
nikhil shukla
2 months ago
Awesome time learning to sport climb. Good weather, clearly very knowledgeable guide, and 6 hours later came out prepared to do it myself
Jing Han
4 months ago
Had a fantastic time on an ice climbing trip booked through Climb Onsight! The process was seamless and we saved so much time on researching guides. The Muskoka Mountainworks guides are the best. They were patient with us newbies and made sure everyone had a nice balance of challenge and fun. The incredible location also made for an unforgettable day.
Elizabeth
4 months ago
Shaun and Jonathan were great guides for ice climbing, it was our first time but they were sure to give us good guidance but also room to do things on our own. Highly recommend if anyone wants to try ice climbing!