Canada’s golf season is short and the country is very wide, so most trips settle on one region. This page covers six courses in three of them. In Alberta, Stanley Thompson’s two railway courses, Banff Springs (1928) and Jasper Park Lodge (1925), lie inside national parks, with Stewart Creek above Canmore and the 36 holes of Kananaskis Country close by. On Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs are walking-only links above the Gulf of St Lawrence, ranked first and second in Canada. In Ontario, Muskoka Bay climbs over granite ridges about 90 minutes north of Toronto. Every one of them takes visitors without a membership. Fees are in Canadian dollars and normally quoted before sales tax, and in the Rockies a power cart usually comes with the round. Plan to play between May and October.
Doug Carrick’s routing over rock ridges and wetland, 90 minutes north of Toronto.
Destination imagery
Where to base yourself.
Canmore & Banff
Canmore is the practical Rockies base. Stewart Creek is ten minutes from town, Banff Springs about 25 minutes west and Kananaskis Country around 40 minutes away by Highway 40, so three courses and four 18s need no change of hotel. Canmore sits outside the national park and is usually cheaper than Banff. Choose the Fairmont Banff Springs instead if you want Thompson’s 1928 course below your window.
Jasper
Jasper Park Lodge is its own leg, roughly four hours north of Banff on the Icefields Parkway or four hours west of Edmonton on Highway 16. The lodge’s 442 rooms and cabins line Lac Beauvert, and Thompson’s par 71, placed 45th in the world by Golf Digest in 2024, starts a short walk away. VIA Rail’s Canadian also stops in town.
Inverness, Cape Breton
Cabot’s lodge rooms, villas, cottages and residences sit beside the two links in Inverness, a former mining town on the island’s west coast. The Nest, an 11-hole par-3 course, crowns the Cliffs property, and a free shuttle runs between the two areas. On the far side of the island, Highlands Links at Ingonish, another Thompson design, is the round most visitors add.
Muskoka
Gravenhurst, at the southern edge of Ontario’s cottage country, suits a short trip out of Toronto. Muskoka Bay Resort’s suites, cliff-edge lofts and villas look over Doug Carrick’s course, guests pay less per round than the public, and the Stay & Play package includes a round per adult for each night. Deerhurst’s two courses at Huntsville are about 45 minutes north.
When to go.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Snow closes every course here in winter, so the playing year runs from early May to the middle of October. Kananaskis plans to open on 5 May 2027 and Jasper on 13 May, while Cabot’s 2026 season ran from 8 May to 25 October. July and August carry the highest fees and the busiest roads: Cabot’s peak rate ran from 26 June to 13 September and Stewart Creek’s from 10 July to 31 August. September brings settled days and easing prices. Muskoka Bay returns to shoulder rates from 28 September as the leaves turn, and Jasper’s fee falls on 1 October. Expect cool mountain mornings, and give the rutting elk on the Banff fairways a wide berth in September.
Getting around.
Treat each region as a separate trip: they lie over a thousand kilometres apart and are best linked by air. For the Rockies, Calgary (YYC) is about 75 minutes from Stewart Creek and around 90 minutes from Banff Springs, while Edmonton (YEG) is the closer airport for Jasper. Halifax is about three and a half hours by road from Inverness; flying into Sydney (YQY) cuts the drive to around two. Muskoka Bay is reached from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) by Highways 400 and 11. Canada drives on the right, and a hire car is the simplest way to join rounds up in all three regions. Banff and Jasper need a Parks Canada pass, and Kananaskis a Kananaskis Conservation Pass to park.
Plan it well.
Visitor golf in Canada is open and mostly online, through Chronogolf or each club’s own tee sheet, and we found no published handicap limit at any of these courses. Timing is what differs. Kananaskis releases each month on a fixed date in late March, so book that morning; Cabot lets day guests book only 14 days ahead, which makes a room there the surer route in summer. Fees usually exclude tax: 5% GST in Alberta, 14% HST in Nova Scotia, plus Jasper’s 3% destination fee. Alberta and Nova Scotia residents get lower rates. Power carts are part of the fee at Banff, Jasper, Stewart Creek and Muskoka Bay but cost extra at Kananaskis, and Cabot is walking only.
Questions golfers ask.
Where is the best golf in Canada?
For links golf, Cape Breton: Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links are ranked first and second in the country. For mountain golf, Alberta, where Banff Springs, Stewart Creek and Kananaskis Country lie within about 40 minutes of Canmore and Jasper Park Lodge sits 45th on Golf Digest’s 2024 world list.
How much does a round of golf cost in Canada?
Published rates on this page run from C$170 at Stewart Creek on an early-season weekday to C$565 for a day guest at Cabot in peak season. Kananaskis charged non-residents C$175 to C$220, Jasper starts at C$300 in summer and Muskoka Bay’s public rate is C$209 to C$300. Banff Springs prices each date individually.
Can you play Canada’s resort courses without staying there?
Yes, at all six. Fairmont says no stay is needed at Banff Springs or Jasper Park Lodge, and Muskoka Bay sells public tee times on Chronogolf. Cabot is the one where staying matters: day guests pay more and can book only 14 days ahead, while resort guests reserve golf with their room.
Are caddies available on Canadian golf courses?
At Cabot, yes, because both links are walking only. A Class A caddie who carries and advises cost C$90 a bag, a carry-only caddie C$60 and a group caddie C$120, paid in cash with a tip on top. None of the Rockies courses or Muskoka Bay runs a caddie programme.
When is the golf season in Canada?
Roughly May to October. Most courses open in the first half of May once the snow clears and close in October, with Jasper’s 2027 season ending on 11 October and Cabot’s 2026 season on 25 October. Peak fees fall between late June and early September.
