Canada's top eco resorts

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Clayoquot Wilderness Resort

Tofino, B.C.; wildretreat.com Camping was never so clean. The resort within Clayoquot's world-renowned protected rainforest hosts corporate types and families all summer for fishing, hiking, horseback riding and water sports. Guests bunk in prospector tents furnished with heirloom pieces and expensive linens.

Nimmo Bay Heli Resort

Port McNeill, B.C.; nimmobay.com Groups of up to 18 can fit into the lakeside chalets of this eco-stalwart specializing in "heli-adventures" - essentially, plunking guests into the heart of the bush to fish, sunbathe or go river-rafting - while following sustainable tourism practices.

King Pacific Lodge, A Rosewood Resort

Princess Royal Island, B.C.; kingpacificlodge.com A fly-in floating lodge on one of the B.C. interior's most pristine and peaceful islands. Feted by Condé Nast Traveller in its current issue as Canada's top luxury resort spa for 2010, and one of the Top 100 in the world, King Pacific Lodge offsets its own carbon footprint and that of its guests' air travel.

Canadian Mountain Holidays

Various locations, B.C.; canadianmountainholidays.com This eco-operator of 12 heli-skiing lodges and two summer-only heli-hiking ones features an award-winning sustainability program. Powder-seeking diehards flit between 12 ski areas spanning 15,765 square kilometres of the Columbia Mountains - or, roughly one-third the territory of Switzerland.

Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts

Various locations, Alta; crmr.com CRMR members Buffalo Mountain Lodge, in Banff, and Emerald Lake Lodge, in Field, B.C., 20 minutes from Lake Louise, are Green Key-rated by the Hotel Association of Canada. And Emerald, for added measure, lacks TV and Internet access. That translates into an enviro-guilt-free, 'Berry-free getaway. Condé Nast Traveller readers last year voted Emerald Lake the No. 2 Canadian resort.

Uncommon Journeys

Whitehorse, Yukon; uncommonyukon.com This dogsledding outfitter is considered the best in Canada. Families could mush their dog teams some 400 kilometres from the front door of Uncommon's cozy, log cabin lodge near Whitehorse to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, they watch the aurora borealis, and 'glamp' in yurt camps consisting of wood-stove-heated domed cabins with full kitchens.

E'Terra

Tobermory, Ont.; Eterra.ca A LEED-Gold-certified "eco-picurean" estate located at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula on Georgian Bay,. It's so exclusive and reclusive that guests - who reputedly include Hollywood moguls and hedge-fund directors - don't receive exact directions to get there until they've put money down.

Chic-Chocs Mountain Lodge

Cap-Chat, Que.; www.sepaq.com/ct/amc/index.dot An 18-room retreat perched at 615 metres in the mountains of Réserve faunique de Matane, part of the Gaspé Peninsula. Quebec's answer to the King Pacific Lodge is known for sumptuous eats and curious backcountry pursuits. Think split-boarding - using stubby half-skis that come together as a snowboard when needed - or meta-skiing on diminutive skis fitted with climbing skins for heading up the mountain.

Trout Point Lodge

Yarmouth, N.S.; www.troutpoint.com Haute-rustic comfort and cuisine at a Relais & Châteaux-member retreat in the Acadian Forest. Guests fish the eponymous catch along the Tusket River, golf, whale watch, sea kayak or visit historic Yarmouth nearby. Green Key-certified by the Hotel Association of Canada, it was also a National Geographic Traveler magazine Geotourism Challenge finalist last year.

Special to The Globe and Mail