North America Green Travel Guide

North America: An Overview

As the third-largest continent, North America is a vast and diverse landscape. Therefore, there is loads of information that can be included in a North America green travel Guide. As a result, ours will provide only a brief overview. We update our guide accordingly.

Surprisingly, North America extends for more than 8,000km from the North Pole (Hello, Santa!) to the Equator. Undoubtedly, the region is endowed with rich natural resources. For example, North America is home to immense quantities of fresh water, vast forests, oceans with coral reefs teeming with life, deep canyons, tall mountains, serene deserts and many more. In fact, North America hosts most of the major types of biomes in the world!

As you can imagine, with such a big and diverse playground, North America is home to many natural wonders. As a result, it is an ideal destination for the sustainable and responsible traveller. By the same token, it is a great destination for anyone who wants to engage in nature-based activities. Continue reading our North America green travel guide for some green travel tips and inspiration when visiting this region.

When to visit North America

North America is such a vast region! Therefore, deciding on the best time to visit will consequently depend on the activities that you would like to do while there. For instance, winter is the perfect time to don your skis and hit the slopes.

Generally, you find the best skiing in Canada’s Whistler between November and April. Meanwhile, Colorado offers some of the best powder in the USA. On the contrary, spring and autumn are one of the best times to enjoy a wide range of outdoor settings. In general, these seasons offer the best conditions for some active outdoor recreation.

If, however, you’re keen to do some whale watching, Mexico’s whale watching season kicks off in early February. It continues until the end of April.
By and large, hiking in the middle of summer should be avoided, as the heat can be dangerously high. Also, you may want to check out the countries’ major holidays.

Generally, prices for flights and accommodations will skyrocket around that time. Personally, I prefer to visit during off-peak to avoid the crowds and connect more with the destination.

What to expect when visiting North America

A total of 23 countries make up North America. Because it’s such a vast region to explore, we’ve split up our green travel guides. We have dedicated green travel guides for the Caribbean and Central America regions.

For this North America green travel guide, we’re focusing on the three major countries of North America: Canada, the United States of America (USA) and Mexico.

A country filled with stunning scenery. From visiting majestic mountains, frozen glaciers, discovering beautiful cities and incredible wildlife, there is much to do here for the green traveller.

For example, the country is home to 48 national parks and 4 marine conservation areas. Indeed, some of the most fun activities to do in Canada include whale watching in British Columbia, being enchanted by the Northern Lights and delighting your eyes with the stunning teal colour of Lake Louise. You can also kayak along with whales in their natural habitat in Manitoba or get soaked on a boat ride through Niagara Falls.

As can be seen, if you are a green traveller, you won’t be disappointed when visiting Canada. It is a must-visit country in any North America green travel guide.

The USA is another amazing destination to feature in any North America green travel guide. Indeed, the country has 61 national parks and over 1,700 marine protected areas.

So far, my favourite state to visit in the USA has been California. Mainly because it boasts a stunning coastline in Big Sur and the spectacular Yosemite National Park (one of my favourite places in the world!).

Other places to visit that offer fantastic opportunities for ecotourism in the USA are Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Montana, Colorado and Washington State.

Altogether, these states offer the perfect combination to explore soaring mountains, pristine wilderness, untouched coral reefs, vast deserts and snow-covered mountain slopes.

Undeniably, Mexico is more than sprawling cities and tequilas in bars. For instance, the country is home to 67 national parks! In 2017, the President created the largest marine reserve of North America to protect the waters off the Revillagigedo Islands.

Moreover, did you know that a Mexican coined the term ‘ecotourism’ way back in 1983? His name is Hector Ceballos-Lascurain. Pretty cool, huh? Some of the low impact and nature-based activities you can do as a green traveller in Mexico include visiting the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, snorkelling in the Cenotes in Quintana Roo, visiting waterfalls in Ensenada, and diving off the coast of Islas Mujeres.

While here, you can catch a glimpse of the beautiful gentle giant, the whale shark. As can be seen, no North America green travel guide would be complete without a visit to Mexico.

10 green travel experiences in North America

For this North America green travel guide, I’ve included some of my personal favourite activities to do in North America.

Although I’ve done some of these, others I am yet to tick off.

1. Hiking the trails strewn across the region’s majestic mountains. You are spoilt for choice with national parks the likes of Banff National Park, The Rocky Mountains, Grand Teton National Park, and the Nevado de Toluca National Park in Mexico.

2. Kayaking and canoeing the continent’s beautiful lakes. Many of the above national parks have beautiful lakes. They offer the perfect setting for you to glide on their calm surfaces.

3. Rock climbing in Yosemite and Joshua Tree National Parks.

4. Visiting eco-friendly cafés and shops.

5. Diving in pristine coral reefs. Mexico, in particular, has some amazing reefs. I will never forget the time I spent in Isla Mujeres, snorkelling with a great variety of fish, both big and small. At the time, I didn’t have my diving certification yet. So, it’s a place I would love to come back to dive.

6. Snorkelling the cenotes in Mexico. This is an experience not to be missed! It’s still one of my favourite memories of the past decade.

7. Visiting community-based ecotourism enterprises. For example, you can look for tour operators who are local or visit community-based projects managed by the community. Otherwise, choose to take your business to organisations that at the very least, employ the local people.

8. Camping in the many national parks across the continent. Importantly, please remember the Leave No Trace Principles when camping.

9. Snowboarding and cross-country skiing.

10. Visiting Sequoia National Park. Another one of my favourite places in the USA. The Sequoia trees are absolutely magical!

North America green travel guide:
9 eco-friendly accommodation options

I didn’t want to finish this North America green travel guide without including some options for eco-friendly accommodations. I haven’t personally stayed at the below accommodations.

However, after doing some digging, I think they are some of the best ones because of their ethos towards sustainability.

Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive. I’m sure there’s a heap of other places that could be featured in this North America green travel guide.

So, I invite you to do your own research to find a place that suits your needs.

✦ Canada

✦ USA

✦ Mexico