If it’s serenity you’re seeking, Canada has no shortage of spots where you can get your Zen on. In recent years, health and wellness spas have made it even easier. With offerings as simple as guided meditation and as brag worthy as a -110° C (-166° F) cold sauna, there’s something here for anyone looking to improve her, or his, mental, physical or spiritual wellbeing.

While many offer the typical spa treatments you’ve come to know and love (massage, aesthetics, water therapy), even these treatments often come with made-in-Canada twists that capitalize on local environs. Two recent happenings have made the spa seeker’s goals even easier to achieve: Leading Spas of Canada came out with a quality-assurance program that allows spas to earn the distinction; and the Canadian Tourism Commission launched an international guide to Canadian spas, highlighting some of the most unique options in the country.

While big cities like Toronto, ON, Montréal, QC, and Vancouver, BC, have the top-notch day and resort spa treatments, places further afield (Ontario’s cottage country) often offer the best chances at truly escaping the buzz of life.

For top-of-the-line, health-changing visits, start with a visit to KurSpa, Canada’s newest (and at 3,716-sq-m or 40,000-sq-ft, biggest) European-inspired spa, at Sparkling Hill Resort in Vernon, BC. Visits can team you with a physician, physiotherapist or registered massage therapist, who will work with you to design the most effective treatments for whatever’s ailing. Read more about Sparkling Hill.

At The Health Hills Ranch near 100 Mile House, BC, anti-aging and medi-spa offerings include programs to help you stop smoking and recover from an operation or accident. Or become a horse whisperer with an experience aimed at teaching you stress relief through working with horses. Read more about Health Hills.

At Elemental Embrace, an Ayurvedic spa in Brighton, ON, eco-friendly takes on a whole new meaning with leech therapy treatment. That’s right, live leeches help cleanse your bloodstream.

And at Tami’s in Montréal, QC, you can dip your tootsies in a bowl of fish for a pedicure like no other. Read more about fish-nibbling spas.

The use of water in health and wellness spas is also gaining in popularity. At the EURO-SPA in St-Ignace-de-Stanbridge, QC, “sanitas per aqua” (health through water) is a theme that takes you through a variety of baths and saunas.

In Whistler, BC, you’ll find Scandinave Spa, where outdoor hot baths, cold plunges and Nordic and thermal waterfalls offer health benefits, plus killer views.  Scandinave Spa also operates in Montréal and Mont-Tremblant, QC, plus Blue Mountain, ON.  Read more about Le Scandinave.

If you’re really trying to get away, Canada’s vast outdoors combine with luxurious spa offerings for the perfect pampering package. Where mountains, lakes and oceans meet in British Columbia, retreats are plentiful. Favourites include remote, fly-in King Pacific Lodge (an award-winning luxe resort in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest that is accessible by floatplane and offers the possibility of finding a bear or two between treatments) and Wickaninnish Inn near Tofino, where storm watching is revered and Ancient Cedars Spa treatments provide a spiritual connection to the land.

Further north, the Yukon lets you to enjoy the great outdoors with your treatments. And the Prairies have options as well. At Calgary, AB’s Santé Spa—Canada’s first medical spa—medical consultations and aesthetics combine for transformative visits.

Your hardest part? Deciding where in the country you want to start your rejuvenation. Get more info.

Read more on Canada spas and wellness

video:
Ancient Cedars Spa at Wickaninnish Inn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGXH6NKsnVM

Ste. Anne’s Spa: Canada's Best Spa in Grafton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2yntV9iujg

Rest & Relaxation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfHHn60E5_M

Temple Garden Mineral Spa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQzIELxHwsg