Canada
Manitou Springs
A prairie lake so mineral-dense you float without trying — Canada's Dead Sea under enormous skies.
You lie back in Manitou Lake, Saskatchewan, and float without trying. The mineral concentration is three times that of the ocean — Canada's own Dead Sea, sitting improbably in the middle of the prairies.
Manitou Beach on the shore of Little Manitou Lake has been a wellness destination since the early 1900s, when visitors arrived by rail to soak in the mineral-rich waters. The lake's density — comparable to the Dead Sea — means you float effortlessly without effort or skill. The incongruity of a salt lake in the middle of the Saskatchewan prairies is part of its appeal. Prairie sunsets over the alkaline water turn the mineral-white shore pink and gold. The surrounding communities maintain a Ukrainian-Canadian food culture — perogies, kubasa, and borscht are staples at the local restaurants.
Couple
Floating together in mineral water under enormous prairie skies, then eating perogies in a tiny Saskatchewan town — Manitou Springs is a romantic escape so unlikely it feels like a secret.
Family
Children can't believe they float without effort, and the novelty doesn't wear off. The beach, the mineral pool, and the prairie surroundings make for a family day that's genuinely different from anything else in Canada.
- The mineral concentration is so high that you float effortlessly — three times saltier than the ocean, comparable to the Dead Sea.
- The lake sits in the middle of the Saskatchewan prairies, surrounded by flat farmland — the incongruity is part of the appeal.
- Manitou Beach has been a wellness destination since the early 1900s — the spa's mineral waters drew visitors by rail.
- Prairie sunsets over the alkaline lake turn the mineral-white shore pink and gold.
Perogies and kubasa from the Ukrainian-Canadian kitchens that dot the surrounding prairie towns.
Saskatoon berry pie from Watrous bakeries, purple and sweet.
Lambert's Bay
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Walk a causeway to an island of Cape gannets — the noise overwhelms everything else.
Antiparos
Greece
A cave so vast that the Marquis de Nointel held Christmas Mass inside it in 1673.
Taketomi Island
Japan
Water buffalo pulling carts through coral-walled lanes on a turquoise atoll.
Oualidia
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A saltwater lagoon where oyster beds gleam at low tide and flamingos wade.
Algonquin Park
Canada
Loon calls ricocheting across mirror-still lakes at dawn in the forest that invented Canadian canoeing.
Lunenburg
Canada
A UNESCO port where every clapboard house is a different colour and salt stiffens the air.
Cathedral Grove
Canada
Douglas firs eight hundred years old and wide enough to hide inside on Vancouver Island's spine.
Shubenacadie River
Canada
The Bay of Fundy's tidal bore reverses this river twice daily — ride the standing waves.