OUTDOOR TRAVEL -- The Canadian -- Rockies, ski resorts, fishing waters -- are calling louder than ever.

Gas is cheaper than it's been in years and the Canadian dollar is low, low, low.

Pack the bags, baby, this a great opportunity to head north across the border.

Plagued primarily by plummeting oil prices, the Canadian dollar — the loonie — reached its lowest value in six years in recent days, trading on the global market for barely 79 cents U.S.

• Click here to view a conversion calculator showing the exchange costs for U.S. and Canadian currencies.

A year ago, anxieties were already rising after the loonie dipped below 90 cents for the first time since mid-2009.

This is troublesome for business that rely on Canadian tourists coming to the US, but it's an invitation for US citizens to visit Canada.

Analysts forecast the loonie may keep dropping in value through spring and potentially summer perhaps as low as 75 cents U.S.