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North West Territories
EXPLORE CANADA'S ARCTIC
Come Share the Wonder!
Wildlife viewing opportunities are legendary in the
Northwest Territories.
The wild and exotic beauty of Nahanni National Park has to be witnessed in
person. Try canoeing, hiking, snowmobiling and dog sledding.
Fort Simpson can provide a good base for exploring this region.
Yellowknife, the capital of NWT, is the main city centre for the region and
also offers a perfect starting point for countless activities into this rugged
and wild land.
Two of the biggest attractions in the NWT are the long summer days of the
Midnight Sun, and the aurora borealis or Northern Lights that can be seen in
the night sky from late August until January.
The territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and
Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest,
Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south.
Great Bear Lake, Keller Lake and Great Slave Lakes, as well as the Mackenzie
River and the canyons of the Nahanni National Park Reserve can be found in the
Northwest Territories which has a land area of 1,140,835 square kilometres and
a population of 41,464. Its capital has been Yellowknife since 1967.
Yellowknife - Diamond Capital of North America.
Yellowknife
The Capital of NW Territories
At the edge of the Arctic, in the heart of the wilderness,
lies a city of youth, energy, adventure and prosperity. Yellowknife is a
culturally rich capital thriving with diversity, and home to about 20,000
people. Located on the shores of the beautiful Great Slave Lake, only 512 km
south of the Arctic Circle, we are known for our outdoor recreation, midnight
sun, aurora borealis and an unusual blend of northern culture... a City where
history is found throughout a modern, bustling metropolis.
Yellowknife was first settled in 1935, after gold had been found in the area;
Yellowknife soon became the centre of economic activity in the NWT, and became
the capital of the Northwest Territories in 1967. As gold production began to
wane, Yellowknife shifted from being a mining town to being a centre of
government services in the 1980s. However, with the discovery of diamonds
north of Yellowknife in 1991, this shift has begun to reverse.
Northern Lights near Yellowknife.
Attractions
Boat Trips: In the
peak holiday season excursions are run on Great Slave Lake (from the
Yellowknife Trading Post dock). These usually include a visit to the Indian
village at Detah.
Northern Arts and Cultural Centre: The
Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, a 313 seat theatre facility located in
Yellowknife, features northern, national and international performing artists.
Productions include a variety of music, dance, theatre and children's
programming.
Northern Lights: Yellowknife is the best
location in the world for viewing the aurora borealis. As the nights grow
longer, the green, red and mauve lights of aurora borealis, or northern
lights, are absolutely brilliant in their dance across the sky. Tours to view
the aurora from outside the city limits are available starting in the autumn
and continue throughout the winter months.
The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Center:
in Yellowknife is exceptionally interesting. As well as displaying its large
mineral collection and finds from the Center's archaeological research, the
museum explores in depth the culture of the Dene Indians and traces the
pervasive influence of the fur trade, in operation here since at least the
18th Century.
Wildcat Cafe and Old Town: Great eating,
quaint ambiance, water views and historic buildings combine with bush planes
on floats or skis to take you back to the early days of the city and of
northern flying. The Wildcat Cafe rocks through summer with local and visiting
musicians dropping in for dinner or for a jam session.
Yellowknife Website
Town of Inuvik, North West Territories.
Western Arctic
Fort McPherson, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk
Land of the Midnight Sun where you can soak up the
spectacular marvels of the Mackenzie Delta, the Beaufort Coast and the
Richardson Mountains in the land of the Midnight Sun.
At Inuvik, destination of the famed Dempster Highway, Aboriginal traditions
are part of everyday life. There are festivals of art and music to draw you
in. For an introduction, visit the Western Arctic Regional Visitor Centre to
learn about the people, wildlife and the landscapes. Inuvik has modern hotels,
campgrounds with scenic vistas and a choice of restaurants and retail outlets.
There are hiking trails and a fascinating church in the shape of an igloo.
Travel by air to other Western Arctic communities. Head to Paulatuk, gateway
to Tuktut Nogait National Park, home of caribou. Sachs Harbour on Banks Island
is an outstanding destination for nature lovers. Ulukhaktok is famous for its
art and golf on a rugged course overlooking the Beaufort Sea.
Don't miss a flight over the spectacular Mackenzie Delta. Delta boat tours
cruise the sinuous waterways of one of the world's great river deltas and
offer wildlife viewing and fishing.
Attractions
Our Lady of Victory Roman
Catholic Church: Inuvik's Catholic church, a modern, igloo-shaped
building, is very impressive and contains a tabernacle which is also
igloo-shaped, and a remarkable "Way of the Cross" by Inuit artist Mona Trasher.
(Inuvik)
Tuktut Nogait National Park: to the east
of Inuvik was established in 1996. A vast and hitherto largely unspoilt tract
of 16,340 sq. km (6307 sq. mi.), the Park boasts some truly overwhelming
arctic rock scenery with spectacular canyons and cliffs.
Tuktoyaktuk: or just Tuk as it is more
commonly known, is a small Inuvialuit community and a unique travel
destination. From dogsleds, to the Midnight Sun, Northern Lights and pingos,
Tuk has much to offer the adventure tourist. Approximately 150 kilometres
north of Inuvik, Tuk is accessible by plane or ice-road and is well worth the
extra travel time.
Downtown Yellowknife.
Northern Frontier-Yellowknife
Fort Reliance, Snowdrift, Rae, Yellowknife
Stretching from the north and east shores of Great Slave
Lake, east to the Barrenlands and northwest to Great Bear Lake, Northern
Frontier is adventure country. Featuring some of the oldest exposed rock in
the world, studded with countless lakes and rivers, some as yet unnamed, it's
a paddler's paradise in summer. Here are the headwaters of legendary
wilderness canoeing rivers, flowing north and east - the Coppermine, the
Thelon - and shorter rivers, both wild and tame, draining south into Great
Slave Lake.
Hop a bush plane and fly-in to a fishing lodge, or a world class Barrenlands
camp. The fish are biting, and the caribou are on the move. In a landscape of
sandy eskers and glacial moraine the caribou seem to suddenly appear and
vanish just as quickly. Tiny plants carpet the land in early summer and morph
to a ruby red tapestry under foot in August.
From the City of Yellowknife, capital and regional centre, the Ingraham Trail
highway connects a dozen lakes and rivers with boat launches and picnic areas,
canoe routes and territorial campgrounds.
Travel to the East Arm. The scenery is on a grand scale, virtually untouched
since the glaciers retreated. Marvel at the 600 metre cliffs that drop into
quiet bays. On a sunny summer day, the East Arm reveals its colours - from
greys and yellows to brilliant pinks, marine blues and turquoise.
Attractions
Tourist Adventure Packages: Tons of Adventure tours are available from companies in Yelowknife Region, you can check them out at NWT Tourism link below.
Fort Good Hope, North West Territories.
Mackenzie Heartland
Fort Good Hope, Fort Franklin, Norman Wells, Port Radium
The Mackenzie Heartland is landscape on a giant scale. In
this epic land, stories of the exploits of the great Dene hero Yamoria live on
in places sacred to his memory. The cultural heritage of the Mountain Dene and
the Bear Lake Dene is carefully preserved in small communities that welcome
visitors.
Travel back in time at tiny Colville Lake where log buildings convey the
spirit of the past. Fish above the Arctic Circle. Stop at Deline on Great Bear
Lake, with its modern hotel, and visit with storytellers and artists or fish
for monster trout. At Tulita, on Bear Rock at the mouth of the Bear River, try
to spot the hides of three giant beavers, said to have been killed by Yamoria,
in the time before history. At Fort Good hope, cruise the towering Ramparts on
the Mackenzie River and visit the spectacular church completed 160 years ago,
and fully restored.
Mackenzie Heartland is famous for outdoor challenges. There's the Canol
Heritage Trail, winding 372 km through the mountains to the Yukon. There are
powerful rivers. The Natla-Keele and the Mountain rivers offer tremendous
adventure as they plunge down the mountains to the Mackenzie River.
Attractions
Church of Our Lady of Good Hope: in Fort
Hope is a national historic site that was built in the mid 1880s. It is one of the oldest
surviving buildings of this type with much of the interior decoration designed and carried out by
Father Petitot. The
mission church was built in the Gothic Revival Style.
Norman Wells Historical Centre: is within
twenty minutes of McKinnon Territorial Park. The centre offers detailed
information about the history of the area and the current condition of the
CANOL Trail including shipping and transportation on the Mackenzie River.
Artifacts and photographs depict the Dene history.
Hay River, North West Territories.
Great Slave
Nahanni-Dehcho-Wood Buffalo
Fort Providence, Fort Resolution, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Hay River, Pine Point
Great Slave Lake stretches to the northern horizon like a
vast inland sea. It's one of the biggest, deepest freshwater lakes on the
planet and the second largest lake within Canada. We call it the Big Lake.
Here, on its south shore in Great Slave Gateway, there are sandy beaches
stretching for miles.
The largest community is Hay River, connected to southern Canada by rail, road
and air. Far from the ocean, this is an Arctic port where tugs and barges
prepare for the long trip down the Mackenzie River and along the Arctic coast.
Take a boat tour of the harbour and shipyards on the Hay River.
Drive east to the Slave River delta. Along this route there are natural sand
beaches, great fishing holes and campgrounds. The Slave River delta at Fort
Resolution is relatively untouched, much as it was when the first trading post
was established over 200 years ago. There's an abundance of birds and
wildlife. There's wildlife on the highway, too, so watch for bison and bears.
Wood Buffalo National Park is a northern world all its own, a driveable
wilderness at one end of the Mackenzie Highway. Wood Buffalo is one of the
largest parks on earth - at 44,807 square kilometers - an enormous Boreal
wilderness that was set aside to protect wood bison.
Nature, on a grand scale, is an apt description of Wood Buffalo country. There
are wood buffalo here, the largest land mammal in North America, often seen
along the park roads. Wood Buffalo National Park is also famous for karst,
created by groundwater dissolving gypsum bedrock. Karst landscapes include
caves, sinkholes, and underground waterways.
Nahanni National Park includes the Nahanni Range and
communities nestling in the foothills in the southwest corner of the Northwest
Territories. There's Fort Simpson, regional centre and Mackenzie River town
with a 200 year history.
The Deh Cho Travel Connection is call this adventure highway the Waterfalls
Route. The waterfalls created by the Hay, Kakisa, and Trout Rivers are
spectacles you won't soon forget. And the power and size of the Mackenzie
River is amazing. Where the highway connects to each river there are
attractive territorial parks and campgrounds.
Attractions
Fort Providence: lies
on the Mackenzie River where it flows into the south-western corner of Great
Slave Lake, on Highway 3 going towards Rae-Ezdo. The town is known for the
wide selection of Indian arts and crafts and handmade anoraks and parkas in
the shops. Boats can be rented at the filling stations in the town.
Fort Resolution: was built by the Hudson's
Bay Company on Moose Deer Island in 1819, and transferred to its present site
around 1822. It was an important center, with lighters bringing goods from
Fort McMurray up the Slave River.
Nahanni National Park: situated in the
Mackenzie Mountains, Nahanni National Park covers a large portion of the
lovely valley carved out by the South Nahanni River. The magnificent scenery
is of a wild beauty which the Canadian authorities have deliberately kept
unspoilt, allowing neither roads nor tourist accommodation within the
conservation area.