A night to Remember

We could have gone for the top 10 most beautiful destinations in Canada, but how do you single out only 10 places in a country as breathtaking as ours?

Instead we sent Camilla Cornell on a cross-country search for the most unusual places to lay down your weary head.

1 - Park your caboose
Innkeeper James LeFresne was just 18 when he purchased the Tatamagouche, N.S., train station, largely to prevent its demolition.  He and his wife, Shelley, have since transformed the depot, along with seven cabooses (dating from 1911 to 1978), into the Train Station Inn.  Each caboose offers deluxe accommodation in keeping with its era and, in the dining car, guests can feast on fresh lobster and steak, as well as Shelley's open-faced raspberry pie that one customer ?drove 200 miles for.?  Prices range from $89 to 169$ per room or train car.  902-657-3222; 1-888-724-5233; trainstation.ca

2 - Sleep with fishes
After the Vancouver Aquarium closes up for the night, sleepover guests can wander the exhibits, touch marine creatures, including starfish and sea urchins, even create a pillowcase decorated with gyotaku, the Japanese art of fish printing.  Bed down for the night in an underwater marine gallery and awake to the sight of belugas gliding like snowy ghosts.  The cost is $100 per person, including GST, and you'll need to register at least two days before the sleepover date.   604-659-3521; anaqua.org/visit_us/sleepovers.html..

3 - Go directly to jail
You might even share your bed with a ghost when you overnight at the downtown HI-Ottawa Jail Hostel.  Located in the converted Carleton County Goal, this historic landmark features dorm or private rooms, some of which still sport bars on the walls.  Among other spirits, Patrick James Whelan, (perhaps wrongfully) convicted and hanged for the 1868 murder of journalist and politician Thomas D'Arcy McGee, has startled guests by perching at the end of their beds.  Jim Dean, manager of the Haunted Walk in Ottawa, says ?he looks kind of like Will Farrell, only with a fake beard.?  Hostelling International members pay $24.15 for a dorm and $57.75 for a private room (including tax).  Non-members pay $28.15 and $61.75.  613-235-2595; 1-866-299-1478; hihostels/Ottawa

4 - Pitch your teepee
At Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Fort Macleod, Alta, you can take in the extensive collection of native artifacts at the interpretive centre, hike to the sandstone cliffs where the buffalo plunged to their death and get a lesson in how to erect a teepee.  The pièce de résistance?  After listening to the tale of Napi and the Hidden Buffalo by the fire, burrow into a sleeping bag in your very own teepee on the grasslands.  The cost is $285 per teepee (flat rate for up to four people) for the Evening Star package (described above and including two meals), or $620 for a two-day package including five meals and a hike to the ancient drive lanes where the buffalo were herded to the cliffs.  The most basic package includes teepee camping and admission for $165 for a group of four.  403-553-2731; head-smashed-in.com

5 - Up a tree
Settle like the Swiss Family Robinson in one of two treehouses (one for two adults, one for a family) at Saltspring Island Forest Retreat in B.C.  Proprietors Mike Ablitt and Paula Davies built the homes themselves on their forested four-hector property complete with ducks and pygmy goats.  ?You have helped fulfill a childhood dream,? one grateful guest wrote.  ?I really like waking up and seeing the sun filter through the leaves outside.?  One night for two adults costs $90, plus $15 per extra person for a family treehouse.  A romantic gypsy caravan is also available.  250-537-4149; saltspringforestretreat.com

6 - Grape expectations
Here's the plan: dinner at Vineland Estates' four diamond restaurant, with plenty of award-winning wine to recommend it, not to mention a sweeping view of Lake Ontario.  Then, rather than having to worry about a designated driver, spend the night on the edge of the vineyards at the cozy estate cottage (a three-bedroom for $400 a night) or the winery's recently redecorated bed and breakfast, for $145 per night per room.  1-888-846-3526; vineland.com

7 - Light the way
The Quirpon Lighthouse Inn on Newfoundland's deserted Quirpon Island overlooks ?iceberg alley?, offering tremendous views of the frozen floating behemoths, as well as humpback whales and orcas migrating north to feed in Labrador's well-stocked waters.  You'll stay in the restored lighthouse keeper's residence with 11 private rooms perched on a cliff.  Prices range from $225 for a single to $350 for a suite, including all meals and boat transfers.  Linkumtours.com/site/index.htm