Northwest Territories

       

YELLOWKNIFE
   HISTORY
   ORIENTATION
   INFORMATION
   DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
   SIGHTS
   ACTIVITIES
   TOURS
   FESTIVALS & EVENTS
   SLEEPING
   EATING
   DRINKING
   SHOPPING
   GETTING THERE & AWAY
   GETTING AROUND
   AROUND YELLOWKNIFE
NORTH SLAVE
   HIGHWAY 3
   FORT PROVIDENCE
SOUTH SLAVE
   MACKENZIE HIGHWAY
   HAY RIVER
   FORT SMITH
   WOOD BUFFALO NATIONAL PARK
DEH CHO
   MACKENZIE HIGHWAY
   FORT SIMPSON
   NAHANNI NATIONAL PARK RESERVE
   LIARD TRAIL
SAHTU
   NORMAN WELLS
WESTERN ARCTIC
   INUVIK
   TUKTOYAKTUK
   PAULATUK
   BANKS ISLAND

The Northwest Territories (NWT) is a big old humbling hinterland – a barely peopled sprawl of water and woods, bisected by the Arctic Circle, flanked to the west by sawtoothed summits and trailing off poleward in a scattering of bleak isles. This is Canada’s least-known frontier, overlooked in favor of icy, iconic Nunavut and the grand, romantic Yukon. But the NWT’s secrets are worth sussing out. It’s rugged, accessible and largely aboriginal – a potent combo found nowhere else in Canada.

With a population density that would give Manhattan just three residents, there’s plenty of room here to get lost for a while. Canoeing, kayaking, fishing and hiking are all fantastic, and there are some exemplary tours. Hardcore adventurers can go it alone in the backcountry, following epic paddling routes such as the Nahanni and Mackenzie trekking the 372km Canol Heritage Trail. In winter, the weather turns Siberian – but the bugs bugger off, the northern lights ignite and well-bundled skiers and dogsledders glide through the surreal wilds.

The place is riddled with critters. Bison abound around Great Slave Lake and Wood Buffalo National Park, and there are ample moose, bear and caribou, plus exotic birds such as white pelicans and whooping cranes. Even the towns are a bit untamed. The Euro-Canadian population displays a colorful streak of pioneer iconoclasm, and ancestral traditions are alive and kicking for the indigenous residents. Visiting here is like going back in time: issues that elsewhere were resolved eons ago – such as land ownership – are questions still vital in the North.

HIGHLIGHTS

History

Archeologists say the first NWT residents, ancestors of today’s Dene, tramped here from Asia about 14,000 years ago. The Inuvialuit, who migrated from Alaska, showed up more recently.

With the prospect of wealth from the fur trade, Europeans penetrated northern Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries, and on their heels came missionaries. Even well into the 1900s the region was largely the fiefdom of competing churches and the Hudson’s Bay Company.

After oil turned up near Tulita in the 1920s, a territorial government was formed. In the ’30s, gold near Yellowknife and radium near Great Bear Lake brought an influx of non-Aboriginals. Federal health, welfare and education programs began in earnest in the 1950s and ’60s. In the 1970s the Dene and Inuvialuit emerged as a political force, demanding a say in – and benefits from – resource extraction on their land.

In 1999 the territory was cut in half, with the eastern and central Arctic becoming Nunavut. The remaining population is evenly divided between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. The latter group, and to a smaller extent the former, have benefited from the recent oil, gas and diamond development, which have thrown the territorial economy into hyperdrive.

Local Culture

The NWT is a tale of one city and, across a cultural chasm, a whack of little towns. Yellowknife, the territorial capital, is a fairly metropolitan, multiethnic place, populated by transplants from southern Canada, plus a liberal dose of overseas immigrants. For many of these people, the NWT is a temporary stopover – a place to earn money, pad a résumé, or perhaps dabble in the exoticism of the Far North. Education levels and wages are fairly high. Vocationally and avocationally, people go about their lives as they might anywhere in southern Canada – albeit with more fishing and snowmobiling.

Outside of Yellowknife, everything turns on its head. In the small, outlying towns and villages, most people are Aboriginal: Dene in the south, and Inuvialuit in the Mackenzie Delta and Arctic islands. In contrast to the Johnny-come-latelies in the capital, these are people with eons-old roots in the North. Their social conditions can seem dire – what with overcrowding, over-drinking and the like – but they retain pride in their culture and their hunter-gatherer lifeways, and in many ways are more deeply committed to the territories’ future.

Language

The NWT has a whopping 11 official languages: English, French, and nine aboriginal tongues, from Cree in the south to Inuvialuktun in the Arctic. Though the aboriginal languages have been eroded by cultural change and past government policies, they remain in daily use. There remain elders who speak no English. The phrase you’ll most likely hear is mahsi cho – Dene for ‘thank you very much.’ Don’t hesitate to use it.

Land & Climate

The NWT is a supersized wilderness reaching poleward from the 60th parallel. The south is evergreen flatlands, the east is the boulderscape of the Canadian Shield, and toothy mountains rear up from the west. Canada’s jumbo river, the Mackenzie, bisects the territory, draining two gargantuan lakes, Great Slave and Great Bear. In the North the territory hurdles the treeline and gathers in a few bleak High Arctic islands.

Weatherwise, summers range from miserable to stupendous. In Yellowknife and Inuvik, highs average 20°C, but on any given day you could find yourself sweltering or shivering. One sure thing is daylight: from May through July there’s no end of it. June’s the driest summer month, but lake ice can linger until the month’s end. Most visitors come in July and August.

Winters are long, dark and punishing. In January, lows in Yellowknife collapse to -40°C and daylight is feeble. If you’re keen on visiting in the snowy season, try March or April, when the sun climbs and the mercury follows suit.

Parks & Wildlife

Like remnants of Eden, four national parks grace the NWT. Nahanni National Park Reserve, near the Yukon border, is legendary for canoeing and contains the jaw-dropping Virginia Falls. Wood Buffalo National Park, more of a wildlife preserve, straddles the border with Alberta and is the only road-accessible park. Aulavik National Park, on northern Banks Island, and Tuktut Nogait National Park, near the Arctic coast, are among the newest, purest, least-visited Canadian parks.

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES FACTS

The NWT also has numerous roadside territorial parks and campgrounds. Overnighting in them is your best option for budget lodging. Camping usually costs $15 per night for tent sites and $20 for sites with RV hook-ups.

Parks, and everyplace else in the NWT, abound with beasts, from garter snakes to grizzlies, blackflies to beluga whales. Bears, moose and bison are the most commonly seen megafauna; campers and drivers should exercise caution, as the wildlife may not.

Information

Northwest Territories Tourism (800-661-0788, 867-873-5007; www.explorenwt.com) is the portal for official visitor info. They’ve got a dashing and detailed website, can field off-the-wall inquiries, and will distribute all manner of tourism literature, including the annual NWT Explorers’ Guide. If you plan to drive extensively in the NWT, grab a copy of the staggeringly comprehensive Milepost Guide, the bible of Northern motoring, available at most bookstores.

Getting There & Away

AIR

For air travelers, Edmonton is the main gateway to the NWT. First Air (800-267-1247; www.firstair.ca), Canadian North (800-661-1505; www.canadiannorth.com) and Air Canada (888-247-2262; www.aircanada.com) fly daily from there to Yellowknife, starting at around $600 return. Canadian North also flies from Edmonton to Hay River (about $670 return). Northwestern Air Lease (877-872-2216; www.nwal.ca) serves Fort Smith direct from Edmonton (around $1010 return).

From Whitehorse, Yukon, First Air flies to Yellowknife (about $1100 return, via Fort Simpson), while Air North (in Canada 867-668-2228, 800-661-0407, in USA 800-764-0407; www.flyairnorth.com) goes to Inuvik ($570 return).

From Iqaluit, Nunavut, both First Air and Canadian North depart for Yellowknife (about $1800 return).

Bus

The sole bus link to the southern NWT is provided by Greyhound Canada, which runs year-round from Edmonton to Hay River for $165 one-way. From there, a regional carrier connects to other communities (see below).

CAR & MOTORCYCLE

There are two overland routes to the southern NWT. From Edmonton, a long (and, frankly, monotonous) day’s drive up Hwy 35 brings you to the NWT border, 84km shy of Enterprise. Alternatively, from Fort Nelson, British Columbia (on the Alaska Hwy), the Liard Trail runs 137 potholed (but paved) kilometers to the border. Fort Liard is another 38km north.

If you’re heading up to the Mackenzie Delta, you can set out from Dawson City, Yukon, on the shockingly scenic Dempster Hwy, which reaches the NWT boundary after 465km.

Getting Around

AIR

Half of the NWT’s 32 communities are fly-in only, accessed from hub airports in Yellowknife, Norman Wells and Inuvik. Service in the North Slave region is provided by Air Tindi (867-669-8260, 888-545-6794; www.airtindi.com), in the Mackenzie Valley by North-Wright Air (867-587-2333; www.north-wrightairways.com), and in the Mackenzie Delta by Aklak Air (867-777-3777, 866-707-4977; www.aklakair.ca).

BUS

Frontier Coachlines (867-874-2566; frontiercoach@nt.sympatico.ca) meets Greyhound Canada in Hay River, and offers connecting buses to Yellowknife (five times a week), Fort Smith (three times a week) and Fort Simpson (twice a week).

CAR & MOTORCYCLE

To best appreciate the NWT, you need wheels. Automobiles can be rented in major communities. For Yellowknife car-rental agencies, Click here; for other towns, contact the local tourism office for information.

The territory has two highway networks: a southern system, linking most communities in the North Slave, South Slave and Deh Cho regions; and the Dempster Hwy, which winds through the Mackenzie Delta. Getting to the Delta from southern NWT requires a two-day detour through BC and the Yukon.

In summer, free ferries cross several rivers; in winter, vehicles drive across on 4ft-thick ice. Travel is interrupted for several weeks during ‘break-up’ (April and May) and, often, ‘freeze-up’ (December or January). For ferry information, call 800-661-0750. The major crossing, at the Mackenzie River on Hwy 3, may soon be obviated by construction of a $150-million bridge.

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES ITINERARIES

One Week

After flying to Yellowknife (below), spend the morning getting the scoop on the NWT at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. Then amble down to Old Town, grab lunch at the famous Wildcat Café and summit Bush Pilot’s Monument. The lake looks inviting, eh? Rent a canoe and leisurely circumnavigate Latham Island, gawking at the shacks, mansions, floatplanes and houseboats. Righteously fatigued, repair to Bullock’s Bistro to sip beer, sup on whitefish and watch the sun not set.

Next morning, rent a car, pack hiking boots and a fishing rod, and explore lake-lined Ingraham Trail. Break out the picnic basket at Cameron Falls.

Now motor west toward the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary and get close-up snapshots of these woolly behemoths. Car-camp your way along the Waterfalls Route, then backtrack to Fort Simpson. Join a flightseeing tour into Nahanni National Park Reserve and lunch at the legendary Virginia Falls.

Two Weeks

Skip the road trip. Fly from Yellowknife to Fort Simpson, meet your outfitter and spend 10 days paddling the paradisiacal South Nahanni River.

Before traveling, call 800-661-0750 for highway reports. Click here for general information about driving safely in Canada.

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YELLOWKNIFE

Arising from the wilds, Yellowknife is a subarctic cosmopolis. In the local Tlicho language, this is Somba K’e (place of money). It’s the territorial capital, a mining hub and back-of-beyond boomtown, and the NWT’s biggest community by far, with nearly 19,000 residents.

People-wise, it’s a Northern slumgullion – a spicy if sometimes discordant stew of Dene and Métis from across the territory; Inuit and Inuvialuit from further north; grizzled non-Aboriginal pioneers; get-rich-quick newcomers from southern Canada; plus Armenians, Somalis and other more recent immigrants.

The black, cryogenic winters can break your spirit, but in the hyperactive summers Yellowknife becomes the territory’s must-visit community. Not surprisingly, the greatest diversity of shops and restaurants are here. Conveniently, this is also one of the most scenic towns in the NWT, with unbeatable access to wilderness playgrounds. On hot, sunny days, innumerable lakes and rivers beckon, making this urban outpost a bit like paradise.

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HISTORY

When the first Europeans reached Great Slave Lake in 1771, the north shore was home to the Tetsot’ine who were dubbed the Yellowknives due to their penchant for copper blades. Wars and foreign diseases eradicated them, but on the map the moniker remained.

More than a century later, Klondike-bound prospectors on Yellowknife Bay unearthed a different yellow metal: hard-rock gold. By the mid-1930s, bush planes had made the area accessible to commercial mining. Yellowknife became a boomtown.

In 1967, when Ottawa decided to devolve management of the NWT, Yellowknife, as the most populous town, was picked as capital. The community began to shift from hardscrabble outpost to buttoned-down bureaucratic hub. That shift accelerated horrifically in 1992 when a bitter labor dispute at Giant Mine led to the underground-bombing death of nine strikebreakers. Roger Warren, an unemployed miner, went to jail for life.

Since then, gold mining has ceased in Yellowknife. Four fly-in kimberlite mines north of town are now fueling a new boom, making diamonds the city’s best friend.

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ORIENTATION

Appropriately, Yellowknife is like a knife stabbing northward, its tip – peninsular Old Town – impaling Great Slave Lake and its hilt – downtown – reaching back from the rocky shore. Linking the two is Franklin Ave (50th Ave), the main drag. At its south end, Franklin joins Old Airport Rd, which winds several kilometers through the commercial district.

Downtown has shops, businesses, services and hotels, but its drab architecture and its denizens, a mix of businesspeople and bums, aren’t likely to appeal. More interesting is hilly Old Town, wedged between Back and Yellowknife Bays, where funky cabins and subarctic-style mansions share the views with B&Bs, houseboats and floatplanes. At the tip of Old Town, N’Dilo (dee-lo, meaning ‘end of the road’) is Yellowknife’s aboriginal village.

From the airport to downtown is about 5km via Hwy 3 and 48th St. From the bus station, downtown is 3.5km up Kam Lake Rd and Franklin Ave.

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INFORMATION

Bookstores

Emergencies

Note that 911 is not the emergency number in the NWT.

Libraries

Medical

Money

Post

Tourist Information

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DANGERS & ANNOYANCES

Drunkenness and dereliction are rampant downtown, particularly on the ‘Gaza Strip’: 50th St between Franklin and 52nd Aves. City leaders seem to have no cure; visitors will be more disgusted than endangered.

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SIGHTS

A top-notch introduction to the NWT is at Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (867-873-7551; www.pwnhc.ca; admission free; 10:30am-5pm Mon-Fri, noon-5pm Sat & Sun Sep-May, 10:30am-5:30pm Jun-Aug), off 48th St overlooking Frame Lake. Here, displays address natural history, European exploration, Northern aviation and, especially, Dene and Inuit ways. Particularly cool is the 30ft-long moosehide boat.

In 1993 the NWT government coughed up $25 million to build the impressive, igloo-shaped Legislative Assembly (867-669-2230, 800-661-0784; www.assembly.gov.nt.ca; admission free; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, tours given at 10:30am Mon-Fri, also 1:30pm & 3:30pm Mon-Fri & 1:30pm Sun Jun-Aug), which is also off 48th St and near Frame Lake. You can learn about the territory’s aboriginal-style government by joining a free hour-long tour. There’s also excellent Northern art throughout.

At the visitors center, arm yourself with Old Town Heritage Walking Tour of Yellowknife, a superlative illustrated booklet showing the town’s many interesting old buildings, and then head down Franklin Ave to Old Town. The Rock is the large outcrop right before the bridge to Latham Island. Climb the stairs to Bush Pilot’s Monument, from which you can watch the floatplane traffic and envy the folks on polychromatic houseboats in the bay. Summer sunsets – if you can stay up that late – are stunning.

Close by is the city’s legendary lane, Ragged Ass Rd, where mansions now outnumber the sagging gold rush-era cabins that made it famous.

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ACTIVITIES

On hot, bug-infested days, the water is the best place to be. Narwal Adventure Training & Tours (867-873-6443; www.ssimicro.com/~narwal; rentals per evening/day/weekend/week $30/45/80/250), on Anderson-Thompson Blvd on Back Bay, rents canoes and kayaks, and offers tours and lessons. Call ahead. Overlander Sports (867-873-2474; www.overlandersports.com; 4909 50th St; canoe rentals per day/weekend/week $45/75/200, cross-country skis, poles & boots per day/weekend $18/53; 9:30am-6pm Mon-Sat) rents canoes and kayaks in summer and cross-country skis in winter.

In popular Fred Henne Territorial Park (867-920-2472; mid-May–mid-Sep), opposite the airport off Hwy 3, there’s chilly swimming at Long Lake Beach and hiking on the 4km Prospector’s Trail. Get the map from the park office, because it’s common to lose the trail.

Closer to town, and a way better hike, is the 7km Frame Lake Trail, half of which is paved and passes the legislative assembly, museum and pool, and half of which undulates over piney outcrops. Spurs connect to the precipitous Jackfish Lake Trail and the groomed Niven Lake Trail, which is more of a suburban stroll.

Smelly backpackers can shower at Ruth Inch Memorial Pool (867-920-5683; 6001 Franklin Ave; 6am-11pm Mon-Thu, 6am-10:30pm Fri, noon-9:30pm Sat, noon-11pm Sun). There’s also a whirlpool and steam room.

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TOURS

Yellowknife has many tours to choose from; check out the Explorers’ Guide, available from the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre for options.

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FESTIVALS & EVENTS

For a capital city, Yellowknife has few quality festivals. The stellar exception is Folk on the Rocks (867-920-7806; www.folkontherocks.com; day /weekend pass $45/65; 3 days mid-Jul), a groovefest on Long Lake featuring everything from hip-hop to Dene drumming. It draws musicians from northern and southern Canada.

The Summer Solstice Festival (www.solsticefestival.ca; late Jun), is actually a series of unrelated events, including cultural performances on National Aboriginal Day (June 21), and, most years, Raven Mad Daze, a downtown street fair.

The city’s official winter bash, Caribou Carnival (www.cariboucarnival.com; Mar), feels a bit like tired self-parody. Held on frozen Frame Lake, it involves cabin-feverish locals competing in contests such as moose calling. Far more vibrant is the Snowking Winter Festival (www.snowking.ca; Mar), run by a grizzled houseboater who hosts concerts, theatrical performances and hockey games at a giant ice-palace he builds on Yellowknife Bay.

Also in March is the Diavik 150 (www.diavik150.com), the NWT’s top sled-dog race, which takes place over three days on Great Slave Lake.

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SLEEPING

When it comes to accommodations, Yellowknife is functional at best. It has few rave-worthy lodgings of any kind, and no hostels, making camping the only budget option. In general, B&Bs are the best deals and Old Town has buckets of them.

Fred Henne Territorial Park (867-920-2472; off Hwy 3; walk-in/nonpowered/powered sites $10/15/20; mid-May–mid-Sep) is the closest campground to town. Opposite the airport, it has full facilities, including showers and toilets. You can walk to downtown in under 40 minutes using the Jackfish and Frame Lake trails. Those with their own transport can also camp along the Ingraham Trail.

Embleton House B&B (867-873-2892, 866-873-2006; www.inntravels.com/canada/nwt/embletonhouse.html; 5203 52nd St; r incl breakfast $70-80; ) Convenient to downtown, this subterranean B&B has decorative-themed rooms (the author bunked in the ‘angel room’) and grub for preparing your own breakfast.

Blue Raven B&B (867-873-6328; tmacfoto@internorth.com; 37 Otto Dr; s/d incl breakfast $70/85) Perched on a hill in Old Town, Blue Raven has a great reputation, amplified by a sundeck that overlooks Yellowknife Bay.

Red Coach Inn (867-873-8511, 877-873-8511; www.redcoachinn.ca; 4115 Franklin Ave; r $129; wi-fi) Somewhat contorted by permafrost, this basic motel is halfway between downtown and Old Town. Most of its rooms have kitchenettes.

Explorer Hotel (867-873-3531, 800-661-0892; www.explorerhotel.ca; 4825 49th Ave; r $198-210; wi-fi) Looming over downtown, this high-rise has comfortable modern rooms, great views, a restaurant and a lounge. A shuttle is available from the airport.

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EATING

Yellowknife has a wider range of restaurants than elsewhere in the territory. A few are quite good, and some offer Northern cuisine, like caribou, musk ox and Arctic char. Vegetarians will eat better here than elsewhere in the NWT.

Budget

Le Stock Pot (867-873-5540; 5012 53rd St; sandwiches $7-10, 8am-6pm Mon-Wed, 8am-8pm Thu & Fri, 10am-6pm Sat) Yellowknife’s delectable deli offers fresh sandwiches, wraps, salads, baked goods and cheeses. All this plus a sunny patio equals the best lunch spot in town.

Diner (867-920-7770; 5008 50th St; meals under $12; 6am-9pm Mon-Sat, 7am-9pm Sun) Around rickety tables, old-timers and deadbeats shoot the bull. Breakfasts and lunchtime burgers are greasy, but the flavor here is all in the patrons.

Sushi North (867-669-0001; 4910 Franklin Ave; mains $8-14; 11am-7pm Mon-Sat) Hopping during the lunch-hour, this excellent place does sushi with a polar spin: the raw fish is Arctic char.

The sole downtown supermarket is Extra Foods (867-669-9100; 48th St entrance, YK Centre; 9am-9pm Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Sun).

Midrange

Wildcat Café (867-873-8850; cnr Wiley Rd & Doornbos Ln; Jun-Sep) A tourist trap that locals love too, this famed Old Town café operates out of a 1937 log cabin. A different vendor runs it each summer, so the menu, prices and opening hours vary.

Le Frolic Bistro Bar (867-669-9852; 5019 49th St; mains $12-35; 11am-11pm Mon-Sat) This cheery establishment and the L’Héritage Restaurant upstairs are the token French eateries in Les Territories du Nord-Ouest. The delicious meals range from Montreal smoked-meat sandwiches ($13) to pan-fried Great Slave pickerel ($23).

LOCAL VOICE

Kate Palfrey, sled-dog racer, Yellowknife

Originally from California, Kate Palfrey moved to Yellowknife to be a professional dog musher. She and her partner, Warren, operate one of the NWT’s leading dog-yards, North Star Kennels. They’ve competed in races throughout North America, and have twice run the Iditarod.

How did you get into dog mushing? When I was five I saw a magazine photo of a musher. I ripped that picture out and I carried it everywhere. I still have it. Mushing is just one of those things I knew I’d do.

For a musher, what’s the advantage of being based in the NWT? The advantage is where we can run. We can leave our yard and go for hundreds of miles. And also, it’s being in an area where there’s a real history of dog-mushing: Everyone you meet here has a link to it – their father or their grandfather ran dogs. There’s a deep appreciation for mushing. And, oh yeah – running under the northern lights is about as magical a thing as you can do.

When people visit you, what do you tell them not to miss? If they’re coming up from a very dramatic landscape, it might seem kind of simple here. But it’s like going to the desert – there’s so much, but if you don’t look closely you won’t see it. There’s the rock formations and all the different colors of lichen and the little trees. My father has one of the best descriptions ever: ‘This landscape reminds me of a bonsai garden.’ Take the time and appreciate the bonsai garden.

Top End

Bullock’s Bistro (867-873-3474; cnr Ingraham Dr & Wiley Rd; mains $17-28; noon-9pm Mon-Sat, 2-9pm Sun, often closed Oct) This fish shack is the city’s most-revered eatery, despite (or perhaps because of) the irascible service. Only fresh local cod, trout and whitefish make the menu. The atmosphere is ultra-informal, the deck has bay views, and kitsch and countless photos bedeck the walls. Reservations are recommended.

Old Town Landing (867-920-4473; 3506 Wiley Rd; mains $20-45; 11am-4pm & 5-10pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm & 5-10pm Sat & Sun) In a candlelit dining room almost overhanging Back Bay, enjoy grilled Arctic char ($32), musk-ox in a red wine demi-glaze ($45) or other Northern delicacies.

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DRINKING

Maybe it’s the cold, the wintertime dark, or the fact that nearby villages and mines restrict liquor. Whatever the reason, when folks visit Yellowknife they flock to the bars. There are lots of ’em, from swank to foul, and most are near Franklin Ave or 50th St downtown.

Gold Range Hotel (867-873-4441; 5010 50th St; 10am-2am) In this huge, dim, infamous landmark, Northerners have been hooking up, breaking up, dancing up a storm, getting beat up, throwing up and just generally whooping it up since 1958. Predominantly a country-rock saloon, the ‘Strange Range’ has such notoriety that it’s a must-see for visitors; some, it seems, never leave.

Black Knight Pub (867-920-4041; 4910 49th St; 11am-2am) Among the more straight-laced drinkeries, the local favorite is the Black Knight, which has an English-Irish-Scottish theme to its brews and decor. The Top Knight dance club is upstairs.

Javaroma (867-669-0725; 5201 Franklin Ave; 7am-10pm Mon-Fri, 9am-10pm Sat, 10am-10pm Sun; wi-fi) For the city’s best joe, join the legions of coffee-lovers on the comfy couches here.

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SHOPPING

Yellowknife is the best place in Canada to buy Northern art, crafts and clothing. Shops and galleries are numerous. If you can’t find what you want (say, a size XL moosehide vest), request contact information for artisans, who often work on commission.

Northern Images (867-873-5944; www.northernimages.ca; 4801 Franklin Ave; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat) Jointly owned by Northern aboriginal art-and-crafts cooperatives, this excellent place carries the famed Inuit print collections from Cape Dorset, Pangnirtung and Ulukhaktok, along with Dene specialties such as birchbark baskets.

Gallery of the Midnight Sun (867-873-8064; www.gallerymidnightsun.com; 5005 Bryson Dr, 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, noon-5pm Sun) This gallery has an ample supply of aboriginal art, including ornately decorated Dene moccasins and jackets. It also stocks souvenirs made in southern Canada.

Dawn Oman Art Studio (867-920-4681; www.dawnoman.com; 4911 47th St; noon-6pm) Dawn Oman, a nationally lauded Métis painter, renders Northern themes in vivid primary colors. Her work appears on canvas, silk, mouse pads etc in her at-home gallery.

Birchwood Gallery (867-873-4050; www.birchwoodgallery.com; 4810 Franklin Ave; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat) In the YK Centre Mall, this high-end spot focuses on large-scale local paintings and often features guest artists working in the gallery.

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GETTING THERE & AWAY

Air

Yellowknife is the NWT’s air hub. Most flights from outside the territory land here, and most headed to smaller NWT communities depart from here. Brace yourself for high prices. First Air serves Hay River ($203 one way, 45 minutes, Sunday to Friday), Fort Simpson ($333 one way, one hour, Sunday to Friday) and Inuvik ($431 one way, 1¾ hours, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday), while Canadian North flies to Hay River ($203 one way, 35 minutes, Sunday to Friday), Inuvik ($431 one way, 2½ hours, daily) and Norman Wells ($347 one way, one hour, daily). Smaller airlines sometimes offer good special fares. Northwestern Air Lease goes to Fort Smith ($305 one way, one hour, Sunday to Friday), Buffalo Airways (867-873-6112; www.buffaloairways.com) flies to Hay River ($202 one way, 45 minutes, Sunday to Friday), North-Wright Airways will deliver you to Norman Wells via Deline and Tulita ($566 one way, four hours, Monday to Friday) and Air Tindi lands in Fort Simpson ($325 one way from Monday to Friday but just $180 one way Saturday and Sunday, 80 minutes) and the small Tlicho and Chipewyan communities around Great Slave Lake.

Bus

Inconveniently, Frontier Coachlines is at 113 Kam Lake Rd, in Yellowknife’s industrial boondocks. Buses depart Monday through Friday, stopping in Rae ($30, 80 minutes), Fort Providence ($74, four hours) and Enterprise ($90, seven hours) en route to Hay River ($98, eight hours). From there, connections can be made to Edmonton, Fort Smith or Fort Simpson.

Car

Renting a car in Yellowknife isn’t cheap. A small car typically costs about $75/450 per day/week, plus 30 cents per kilometer, with 250 free kilo- meters thrown in with weekly rentals only.

Rent-a-Relic (867-873-3400; 356 Old Airport Rd; variable, call ahead) is dirt cheap, but you pretty much need a car just to get there. Downtown, try Yellowknife Motors (867-766-5000; cnr 49th Ave & 48th St). Big-name agencies (Click here) such as National and Hertz are at the airport.

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GETTING AROUND

Much of Yellowknife is easily walkable. From downtown to Old Town is about 2km, or a 25-minute walk.

To/From the Airport

Yellowknife’s airport is opposite Long Lake, a couple of kilometers west of downtown. Taxis operate around the clock, charging about $15 for a ride downtown.

Car

With its prominent landmarks, Yellowknife is easy to navigate. Parking around Franklin Ave is metered; free spots are a few blocks away on side streets. Ask at the visitors center about the three-day parking pass for tourists.

Public Transportation

Yellowknife City Transit (867-873-4693; adult/child $2/1.50) runs three routes. Route 1 serves Old Airport Rd and downtown. Route 2 connects downtown and Old Town. The summer-only Rte 3 melds the above two routes together. Most buses run every half hour, roughly 6:30am to 7:30pm Monday to Friday, and for just a few hours on Saturday.

Taxi

Cabs are plentiful. Fares are $3 plus $1.60 per kilometer. The biggest company is City Cab (867-873-4444).

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AROUND YELLOWKNIFE

Ingraham Trail

The Ingraham Trail (Hwy 4), winding 69km northeast of Yellowknife, is where locals go to play. The route reveals scenic, lake-dotted, jack pine–lined Canadian Shield topography, and offers good fishing, hiking, camping, paddling, picnicking and, in winter, skiing and snowmobiling. Blue Lake and Rocky Shore, by naturalist Jamie Bastedo, is an excellent guide to the area (available at the Yellowknife Book Cellar;).

The trail begins inauspiciously, weaving past the rotting infrastructure of Giant Mine. A few kilometers later is the 11km access road to Dettah, a tiny, quiet Dene settlement.

Prelude Lake, 28km from Yellowknife, is a busy, family-oriented weekend spot. It has a vast campground (tent/RV site $10/20; mid-May–Sep 15), a boat launch and nature trails.

At Hidden Lake Territorial Park, 46km from Yellowknife, a 1.2km trail leads to popular Cameron Falls. You can cross the upstream footbridge and crawl to the brink of this marvelous cascade. Another 9km down the Ingraham Trail, just before the highway bridge, a 400m trail goes to Cameron River Ramparts, a small but pretty cousin of Cameron Falls.

At Reid Lake, 61km from Yellowknife, you can swim, canoe or fish for pike, whitefish and trout. The campground (tent/RV sites $10/20; mid-May–Sep 15) is busy on weekends; otherwise it’s quiet. It has a good beach and walking trail, and campsites on the ridge with views of Pickerel Lake.

In summer, the trail ends at Tibbitt Lake where, fittingly, there’s a stop sign. The lake has good fishing and is the start of some fine canoe routes – ask for details at the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre. In winter, this is the beginning of the 570km ice road to the diamond mines. There are no services on the ice road and non-industrial traffic is highly discouraged.

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NORTH SLAVE

This region, between Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes, is rocky, lake-strewn and rich in minerals. Save for the folks in Yellowknife, most people here are Tlicho, living traditional (and nontourist-oriented) lives.

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HIGHWAY 3

From Yellowknife, paved Hwy 3 runs 98km northwest to Behchokó (formerly Rae-Edzo), rounds the North Arm of Great Slave Lake, and dives 214km to Fort Providence.

The Yellowknife–Behchokó stretch winds through the bogs, taiga and pinkish outcrops of the Canadian Shield. There’s little to see in Behchokó (population 1834), 10km north of Hwy 3 on an access road. Though it’s among the NWT’s largest communities – and by far the biggest aboriginal settlement – it’s very insular, and tourists may feel out of place. It has a basic service station, a café and a convenience store.

WILDERNESS LODGES

Numerous remote lodges dot the Northwest Territories (NWT), and several are a short floatplane ride from Yellowknife. They’re not cheap, but they’re among the best ways to experience the backcountry. Particularly popular is the year-round Blachford Lake Lodge (867-873-3303; www.blachfordlakelodge.com), east of Yellowknife, which offers activities from fishing to dog-mushing. Consult the Explorers’ Guide Click here for other lodges.

Across the Hwy 3 bridge, the outcrops vanish and the land becomes flat boreal forest, which is ubiquitous in the southern NWT. The road also changes, becoming wide, straight and smooth. If you’re tempted to gun it, beware: the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary, with the world’s largest herd of free-ranging, pure wood bison, is just east of here. The animals that graze along the road outweigh your car and have tempers, so be observant. There are no trails or visitor facilities in the sanctuary.

On the south side of the sanctuary, a 5km access road leads to Fort Providence. Bypassing that, you’ll come to a service station, a sometimes-open visitor information booth and, a few kilometers beyond, the free car-ferry MV Merv Hardie (800-661-0750; 6am-midnight). In winter there’s an ice bridge. Work on a controversially expensive bridge enabling year-round crossing of the Mackenzie River may begin in 2008.

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FORT PROVIDENCE

This low-key Slavey community (population 750), near the head of the Mackenzie River, was settled in 1861 with the establishment of a Roman Catholic mission. Halfway along the access road to the community is the pretty (and often quite crowded) Fort Providence Territorial Park (tent sites $15; mid-May–Sep 15). It has pit toilets and riverfront sites.

Fort Providence is a bucolic place – just ask the buffalo that graze in the grassy lots. There are good picnic benches atop the 10m riverbanks, and past the beautiful wooden church is a boat launch. The fishing’s good, and pike, walleye and sometimes grayling can be caught from shore. If nothing is biting, outfitters can take you on the water.

At the entrance to town, the Snowshoe Inn (867-699-3511; www.ssimicro.com/snowshoe; s/d $130/160; wi-fi) has decent, modern, waterfront rooms. Across the road, the short-order Snowshoe Inn Restaurant (867-699-3511; dishes $6-18 7am-8pm Mon-Sat, 10am-8pm Sun; wi-fi) whips up sandwiches and smooth milkshakes ($6). Photos on the wall depict local history. Close by, a fine craft shop features the area’s specialty: moose-hair tufting.

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SOUTH SLAVE

The South Slave Region, encompassing the area south of Great Slave Lake, is mostly flat forestland, cut through by big rivers and numerous spectacular waterfalls. The communities here feel more ‘southern’ – and aboriginal culture is less evident – than elsewhere in the territory.

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MACKENZIE HIGHWAY

From the Hwy 3 junction, 23km south of the Mackenzie River, the Mackenzie Hwy (Hwy 1) branches west into the Deh Cho region and southeast into the South Slave. This latter branch is well traveled and well paved. It runs 186km to the Alberta border (and thence to Edmonton) and is dubbed the Waterfalls Route, due to some stunning roadside cascades.

First up along this route is Lady Evelyn Falls Territorial Park (tent sites $15; mid-May–Sep 15), 7km off the Mackenzie Hwy on the Kakisa access road. There’s a short path to the 17m falls, which pour over an ancient, crescent-shaped coral reef. Another trail leads to the Kakisa River beneath the falls, which is a good whitefish fishing spot. The campground has showers, towering pines and, on weekends, lots of fishermen. Another 6km down the access road is the tiny Slavey settlement of Kakisa (population 52).

From the Kakisa access road it’s 83km to the service-station hodge-podge of Enterprise (population 97). Twin Falls Inn (867-984-3711; s/d $80/85), at the junction of Hwys 1 and 2, offers gas, snacks and utilitarian rooms. Around the bend is Winnie’s (867-984-3211; meals $5-10; 7am-5pm Mon-Sat, 8am-5pm Sun), where greasy breakfasts lubricate the local gossip.

South on the Mackenzie Hwy the road parallels impressive Twin Falls Gorge Territorial Park (mid-May–Sep 15). The eponymous pair of falls are linked by a 2km forested trail, which makes for a lovely hike or cycling route. At the north end of the trail is the tiered, 15m Louise Falls on the Hay River. There are numerous campsites (walk-in/nonpowered/powered sites $10/15/20) nestled in a boreal glade, plus toilets and showers. At the trail’s south end, impressive Alexandra Falls (33m) involves a lot of liquid losing a lot of height; it has a lookout and a picnic shelter.

At the Alberta border, 72km south, is the 60th Parallel Territorial Park. At the Visitors Centre (8:30am-8:30pm mid-May–Sep 15), staff dispense pamphlets, coffee and hit-or-miss advice. There are also displays of aboriginal crafts such as beaded moccasins, and a campground (tent sites $15) with toilets and showers.

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HAY RIVER

A hard-working, hard-bitten town, Hay River has little to offer visitors. Arriving from Enterprise, the first thing you’ll see is the 16-story high-rise looming over the flatness. Then you’ll see the sprawl – kilometers of dilapidated motels, hulking tank farms, creaking railcars and scores of boats and trucks decomposing in weed-choked lots. This is the NWT’s second-largest community (population 3648) and the North’s freight distribution center; it’s the terminus of Canada’s northernmost railroad, the depot for Arctic-bound barges and the port of the Great Slave commercial fishery.

Orientation & Information

If you haven’t turned around yet, you’ll discover two distinct areas of town. The harbor is at the north end on Vale Island; the newer section, with restaurants and stores, is south and will be seen first on arrival by road.

The Visitor Information Centre (867-874-3180; cnr Mackenzie Hwy & McBryan Dr; 9am-9pm Sat-Wed, 9:30am-9pm Thu & Fri) has brochures and semi-helpful teenaged staffers. In the off-season, stop by the town hall, a block north on Commercial Dr. The library (10am-5pm & 7-9pm Mon-Thu, 1-5pm Fri-Sun) next door has free internet access.

DON’T MISS

Sights & Activities

If it’s a hot and sunny day, head to the Vale Island beach, which fronts oceanic Great Slave Lake. Otherwise, the visitors center can provide information on hiking, flightseeing, fishing, golf and canoe rentals. Frankly, though, just about anything here is available elsewhere in the NWT, and in a more appealing setting. For an indoor diversion, you might want to check out the Hay River Heritage Centre (867-874-3872; cnr Mackenzie Dr & 102nd Ave; call ahead) in the town’s old Hudson’s Bay trading post.

Sleeping

Hay River Territorial Park Campground (867-874-3772; sites $20; mid-May–mid-Sep) A Frisbee’s throw from the beach, this densely wooded campground has hot showers, a barbecue area and a children’s playground. It’s off 104th St on Vale Island.

Paradise Gardens & Campground (867-875-4430; 82 Paradise Rd; tent/nonpowered/powered $15/20/25) A half-hour south of town on one of the NWT’s few farms, this place has 15 campsites and offers harvest-it-yourself berry picking.

Harbour House B&B (867-874-2233; 2 Lakeshore Dr; s/d $65/85) On flood-cheating pilings above a beachfront lot, this sunny, eight-room B&B has a curious nautical/polar/religious vibe. Guests cook in the communal kitchen.

Ptarmigan Inn (867-874-6781, 800-661-0842; www.ptarmiganinn.com; 10J Gagnier St; s/d $120/130) In the heart of downtown, Hay River’s only true hotel has clean, well-appointed rooms, a pub and a good dining room.

Eating

Fisherman’s Wharf (cnr 101st St & 100th Ave; 10am-2pm Sat mid-Jun–mid-Sep) A weekly outdoor market with fresh fish and Northern-grown produce.

Sub on the Hub (867-874-6898; 73 Woodland Dr; fast food $5-8; 9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 10am-9pm Sat, noon-9pm Sun) Dispensing pizza and burgers from a take-out window in the recreation complex downtown, this place doesn’t so much cook as heat things up.

Back Eddy Cocktail Lounge & Restaurant (867-874-6680; 6 Courtoreille St; mains $15-20; 11am-2:30pm & 5pm-late Mon-Sat) This low-lit dining room is probably the best in town. Featured is fresh-caught Great Slave Lake fish, including pan-fried whitefish topped with scallops and shrimp ($18).

Getting There & Away

AIR

Flying to Yellowknife nearly daily (about $200 one way, 45 minutes) are Buffalo Airways, First Air and Canadian North. Canadian North also operates direct flights to Edmonton ($351 one way, 1½ hours, six times weekly).

BUS

Greyhound Canada has nearly daily service to Edmonton ($165 one way, 16 hours). Frontier Coachlines goes to Yellowknife ($98, eight hours), Fort Smith ($71, three hours) and Fort Simpson ($91, six hours). The depot is just north of the Vale Island bridge.

CAR & MOTORCYCLE

By road, it’s a paved 38km to Enterprise. Along the way is the Paradise Garden farming settlement and the turnoff to Hwy 5, leading 267 partially paved kilometers to Fort Smith.

Getting Around

Once Hwy 2 enters town it’s called the Mackenzie Hwy and becomes the main drag. On Vale Island it changes names again, to 100th Ave. Both Vale Island and downtown are walkable, but they’re a couple of kilometers apart, making wheels desirable. You can pick up a street map at the visitors center at the entrance to town. Reliable Cabs (867-974-4444) provides a taxi service.

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FORT SMITH

On a high bluff above the Slave River, Fort Smith is absurdly friendly, idyllic – and somewhat un-Northern. Maybe it’s the brick homes, ball fields and water tower, or the fact that the town abuts Alberta. For years this was the gateway to the North, situated at the end of a portage route around the Slave River rapids. The Hudson’s Bay Company set up shop here in 1874, and until Yellowknife became the territorial capital in 1967, this was the administrative center for most of Canada’s northern territories. Today the town remains a peaceful, appealing government hub and the headquarters of Wood Buffalo National Park. Two-thirds of the 2360 residents are Cree, Chipewyan or Métis.

Information

The Visitor Information Centre (867-872-3065; www.fortsmithtourism.ca; 108 King St; 8:30am-6pm) is in the recreation complex. It has lots of tourist literature, free internet terminals and a manager who’ll talk your ear off. McDougal Rd and Portage Ave have most of the eateries, hotels and shops, including North of 60 Books (867-872-2606; 66 Portage Ave; 1-5:30pm Tue-Sat). While you’re in town, you may also want to visit the Visitors Reception Centre for Wood Buffalo National Park (see opposite).

Sights & Activities

The Northern Life Museum (867-872-2859; nlmmanager@hughes.net; cnr King St & McDougal Rd; admission free; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Jun-Aug) is the North’s best small-town museum, with intriguing displays on local history and culture, plus the corpse of Canus, a whooping crane sire whose sexual efforts helped save his species from extinction.

Weedy Fort Smith Mission Historic Park (cnr Breynat St & Mercredi Ave; admission free) commemorates the days when this was Roman Catholicism’s beachhead into the North. Self-guided tour maps are available from the visitors center; at the museum, you can arrange for a guided tour.

In addition to Wood Buffalo National Park (see opposite), there are several worthwhile activities near town. The rapids in the area are famous for two things: the northernmost nesting colony of white pelicans, which can be seen fishing from midriver islands, and world-class paddling.

The Rapids of the Drowned, in front of the town, are accessible from a stairway off Wolf Ave. Upriver, the Mountain, Pelican and Cassette rapids can be viewed by hiking Fort Smith’s 30km stretch of the Trans Canada Trail, or by shorter walks beginning along the 24km road to Fort Fitzgerald. A trail guide can be acquired at the visitors center.

Sleeping & Eating

Queen Elizabeth Territorial Park (867-872-2607; sites $20; mid-May–Sep 15) At the end of Tipi Trail, 4km west of the town center, this idyllic and usually empty campground lies near the river bluff. Showers and firewood are available.

Thebacha B&B (867-872-2060; www.taigatour.com /bandb.htm; 53 Portage Ave; s/d $110/120; ) Thebacha offers clean, wood-paneled rooms in a pine tree–shaded home near the heart of town. The proprietors also run Taiga Tour Company and rent outdoor gear.

Pelican Rapids Inn (867-872-2789; fax 867-872-4727; 152 McDougal Rd; r $125-155) Across from the park visitors center, the town’s best hotel has standard rooms, cheery help and a restaurant (867-872-2729; mains $7 to $20) with tolerable repasts, ranging from steak to Chinese.

Ed’s Express (867-872-3332; 195 McDougal Rd; mains $5-9; 11am-11pm Mon-Sat). Blessedly, this spartan fast-food eatery does better with its burgers, pizza and donairs than with its décor.

Getting There & Around

Northwestern Air Lease offers flights to Yellowknife ($305 one way, one hour, Sunday to Friday) and Edmonton ($497 one way, two hours, five weekly). Frontier Coachlines runs buses to Hay River ($71, three hours, three weekly). In the winter, an ice road runs to Fort MacMurray, Alberta.

From Hay River, partially paved Hwy 5 cuts through the top of Wood Buffalo National Park; for more on this drive see right. In the winter, an ice road runs from Fort Smith to Fort McMurray, Alberta. Fort Smith proper is walkable, and McDougal Rd is the main drag. For a taxi service, try Portage Cabs (867-872-3333).

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WOOD BUFFALO NATIONAL PARK

Straddling the Alberta–NWT border, Canada’s biggest national park isn’t spectacular, but it is weird. In this Switzerland-sized boreal flatland are salt-springs that encrust the landscape, rivers that disappear underground, and balls of mating snakes.

The park was established in 1922 to protect wood buffalo – a large, dark, distinctly Northern subspecies of bison. About 5500 of them now inhabit the region, and you’ll likely see them grazing along roadsides or wallowing in the dust. (If you’re unlucky, you’ll see them dead: A naturally occurring anthrax outbreak in 2007 caused several beasts to expire near the park’s most popular campground, closing it temporarily.)

Also protected here are whooping cranes – the last wild migratory flock on Earth. These giant birds nearly disappeared, but are rebounding thanks to international safeguards. They, along with millions of ducks and geese, avail themselves of park wetlands, including the enormous Peace-Athabasca Delta. Moose, caribou, bear, lynx and wolves are also residents, along with countless mosquitoes and horseflies. Come prepared for battle.

Orientation & Information

There are two main roads. One of them, Hwy 5, is the 267km partially paved route linking Hay River to Fort Smith. For much of its length it cuts through the park’s northeast corner, where bison are a traffic hazard. South from Fort Smith there’s a dusty 121km road to Peace Point, in the heart of the park.

Park entry is free. The park headquarters are in Fort Smith where there’s an excellent Visitors Reception Centre (867-872-7960; www.pc.gc.ca/buffalo; 149 McDougal Rd; 9am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri, 1-5pm Sat & Sun mid-Jun–early Sep, 9am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri early Sep–mid-Jun). It offers a slide show, hiking maps and displays on the park’s quirky features.

SLAVE TO THE WAVES

Q: What do the White Nile, the Zambezi and the Slave have in common? A: On each, the world’s hardest-core kayakers get chewed up. But on the Slave, it’s not by crocs.

More than a century after putting Fort Smith on the map, the Slave River Rapids are doing it again. With the worldwide boom in white-water ‘playboating,’ professional paddlers have begun caravanning north, lured by rumors of monster waters, where the Slave slams into the Canadian Shield.

The rapids here have six times the volume of the Grand Canyon and go on for miles, frothing with Oahu-sized whitecaps and seething with Class VI holes. There are hundreds of routes and play spots, and boaters could spend weeks without surfing the same wave twice.

And lest it be thought that the Slave is the NWT’s sole spot for white-water madness, think again. In 2003, pro boater Ed Lucero set a world record, plunging his kayak off 33m Alexandra Falls. He is still alive.

Sights & Activities

Along Hwy 5, roadside points of interest include the karst topography at Angus Sinkhole, the disappearing Nyarling River and, just outside the park boundary, sudsy Little Buffalo River Falls. Further on, there’s a 13km dirt side road to the Salt Plains Lookout, where a half-kilometer walk leads to a vast white field formed by saltwater burbling from an ancient seabed.

Along the Peace Point road is the Salt River Day-Use Area, home to the continent’s northernmost snake hibernaculum (alas, they only have group sex in late April), and the trailhead for excellent day hikes to salt flats and sinkholes. Down the road 36km, at popular Pine Lake Campground (tent sites $15; late May–mid-Sep), you can swim and bask on white-sand beaches. This is the only roadside campground in the park.

For the adventurous, there are a half-dozen backcountry hiking trails, plus paddling on the historical fur-trade routes along the Athabasca, Peace and Slave rivers. Contact the park for details, permits and info on guided walks and outdoor programs.

Tours

Taiga Tour Company (867-872-2060; www.taigatour.com; 53 Portage Ave) is the park’s only licensed outfitter, offering wildlife-watching, dog-sledding and fishing.

Northwestern Air Lease (877-872-2216; charters@nwal.ca) and Reliance Airways (867-872-4004; www.relianceairways.ca) do flightseeing over the park, including half-hour fly-bys of the salt plains and sinkholes and two-hour overflights of the Peace River Delta.

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DEH CHO

Deh cho means ‘big river’ in the local Slavey tongue, and this region in the southwestern NWT is awash in waterways – most notably the Mackenzie, Liard and Nahanni. The area is also blessed with mountains, comparatively warm temperatures and rich aboriginal culture.

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MACKENZIE HIGHWAY

From the Hwy 3 junction, 30km south of Fort Providence, the gravel Mackenzie Hwy (Hwy 1) cuts west through 288km of flat boreal forest to Fort Simpson. This is a lobotomizingly dull drive, with few views or points of interest.

The blessed exception is Sambaa Deh Falls Territorial Park (tent sites $15; mid-May–Sep 15), which is halfway to Fort Simpson. It features a marvelous roadside waterfall, a fishing spot 10 minutes’ walk downstream through multihued muskeg (look out for the hidden waterfall) and the smaller Coral Falls. The pleasant, clean campground also has showers.

Another 90km further on, at the junction of the Mackenzie Hwy and Hwy 7, is the Checkpoint, a service station, restaurant and motel complex that may or may not be in business by the time you visit.

Here, the Mackenzie Hwy becomes paved. A free car-ferry, the MV Lafferty (800-661-0750; 8am-11:45pm mid-May–late Oct), crosses the Liard River just south of Fort Simpson. In winter there’s an ice bridge. Traffic halts during freeze-up and thaw.

From Fort Simpson, the Mackenzie Hwy continues a rugged 222km north into rolling mountains, reaching the Dene settlement of Wrigley (population 122). Hunting, fishing and trapping remain the basis of this mainly log-cabin village. A winter ice road continues to Tulita.

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FORT SIMPSON

In Slavey, Fort Simpson (population 1216) is Liidlii Kue – where two rivers meet. The voluminous Liard and Mackenzie converge here, and for thousands of years so have the people of the southwestern NWT. Permanent settlement began with a fur-trading post in 1803, and Fort Simpson was soon the Hudson’s Bay Company’s district headquarters. Today, with an easygoing blend of Slavey, Métis and European cultures, it’s the administrative and transport hub of the region and the gateway to nearby Nahanni National Park Reserve (opposite).

The Visitor Information Centre (867-695-3182; vofsvic@airware.ca; 9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 11-7pm Sat & Sun May-Sep), at the entrance to town, has helpful staff and brochures. Also in town are a grocery store, a gas station, a craft shop, ATMs, a library with free internet, and a bank.

HOT TOPIC: MACKENZIE GAS PROJECT

In the NWT, no topic is hotter than the hullabaloo over the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project – a plan to run a 1220km, $16 billion pipeline down the pristine Mackenzie River valley, linking vast natural-gas fields around Inuvik with the North American pipeline grid south of the 60th parallel.

The proposal first arose in the 1970s, prompting the legendary Berger Inquiry in which Justice Thomas Berger barnstormed the NWT, quizzing Aboriginal people about their opinions on the plan. At the time, consulting Northern natives was almost unheard of, and their passionate opposition – they maintained the pipe would be cultural and environmental genocide – came as a national revelation. The proposal was shelved.

These days, the battlelines are fuzzier. Among the project’s champions is the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, a consortium of NWT native organizations that feel the pipeline – and the money that would flow from it – is their people’s surest escape from poverty. On the flipside, other native groups remain opposed, especially the Deh Cho First Nations of the southern NWT, whose traditional territory would be bisected, and who denounce the project going forward without a settled, and potentially lucrative, land-claim with the federal government.

Sights & Activities

There’s a walk along the Mackenzie riverfront with views of the driftwood-laden water and of Papal Flats, where thousands gathered to welcome the Pope in 1987. Historic McPherson House and the cabin of eccentric trapper Albert Faille are also nearby. They can be viewed only from the outside unless you join a historical tour; ask at the visitors center for details.

Around Canada Day is the Open Sky Festival (www.openskyfestival.ca), a three-day music-and-arts festival that attracts a variety of performers and craftspeople from across the NWT.

Sleeping & Eating

Fort Simpson Territorial Campground (tent/RV sites $15/20; mid-May–Sep 15) In the woods between the visitors center and Papal Flats, the campground has showers, pit toilets and pleasant campsites.

Nahanni Inn (867-695-2201; nahanin@cancom.net; cnr 100 St & 101 Ave; s/d $140/160) The town’s main hotel is way more expensive than its stained, shoddily maintained rooms would seem to justify.

Bannockland Inn (867-695-3337; www.bbcanada.com/1831.html; s/d $155/165) This posh B&B, located 4.6km east of town off the Mackenzie Hwy, overlooks the sweeping intersection of the rivers. It’s a prime choice if you have a car or another way into town.

Nahanni Inn Restaurant (867-695-2201; meals $7-12; 7am-7pm Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm Sat, 9am-5pm Sun) Downstairs from the hotel, this is where locals gather to gab over greasy-spoon grub.

Getting There & Around

Operating from Yellowknife are Air Tindi ($325 one way from Monday to Friday, $180 one way Saturday and Sunday, 80 minutes) and First Air ($333 one way, one hour, Sunday to Friday). The latter also flies from Whitehorse ($687 one way, two hours, three a week). Frontier Coachlines operates buses from Hay River ($91 one way, six hours, twice a week). Once in Fort Simpson, the town is easily walkable.

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NAHANNI NATIONAL PARK RESERVE

To many, Nahanni means wilderness. Situated in the southwestern NWT near the Yukon border, this 4766-sq-km park embraces its namesake, the epic South Nahanni River. This untamed river tumbles more than 500km through the jagged Mackenzie Mountains.

Dene stories of giants in the area go back thousands of years. Since the early 1900s outsiders have added their own tales about wild tribes, lost gold and mysterious deaths, including the legendary decapitation of two treasure-seeking brothers. Place names such as the Headless Range and Deadmen Valley underscore this mythology.

Appropriately, the Nahanni is a Canadian Heritage river, and the park is a Unesco World Heritage site – the first place given that designation in Canada. In 2007, Canada’s federal government announced plans to protect more of the Nahanni watershed by doubling the park’s size. The eventual settlement of the region’s aboriginal land claim could result in an even bigger park expansion.

Orientation & Information

You can’t get here by road, yet about 1000 people visit yearly. Half are paddlers on epic white-water expeditions; the others are mostly with fly-in day tours to the falls and hot springs. Admission quotas are strict: 12 guided and 12 unguided visitors per night at the Virginia Falls campground, with a maximum two-night stay. For unguided visitors (particularly big groups), it’s wise to reserve months in advance.

You can obtain park information and permits in Fort Simpson at Parks Canada (867-695-3151; www.parkscanada.gc.ca/nahanni; cnr 100 St & 100 Ave; 8:30am-noon & 1-5pm Jun 15-Sep 15, 8:30am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri Sep 16-Jun 14). The day-use fee is $24.75; longer-term visitors pay a flat fee of $148.60.

Sights & Activities

Near its midpoint, the Nahanni River drops 30 stories over Canada’s premier cascade, Virginia Falls; elsewhere it’s framed by canyons, flanked by caves and warmed by Rabbitkettle Hot Springs. Moose, wolves, grizzly bear, Dall sheep and mountain goats patrol the landscape.

Paddling is what Nahanni is all about. If you plan to do this independently, you should be a capable whitewater paddler (in Class IV rapids). This is no pleasure float; people have died here. Consult with the park office for advice, warnings and recommendations on good maps and books. Contact the tour companies for assistance with renting canoes or rafts.

Tours

FLIGHTSEEING

The easiest way to see the park is to join a flightseeing tour. A typical six-hour excursion departs Fort Simpson aboard a floatplane, follows the Nahanni upriver through steep-walled canyons and then lands just above Virginia Falls. Two hours of hiking and picnicking ensue. On these tours, you pay for the plane: about $1900 for a four-passenger craft, and $2800 for six. To find fellow travelers to split the cost, phone the air companies in advance, or ask around town. Flightseeing companies based in Fort Simpson are all located on Antoine Drive near the in-town airstrip.

PADDLING

Raft or canoe trips can be arranged with a licensed outfitter. Prices range from $3600 to $5700 depending on distance. Trips should be prebooked, preferably months in advance. Canoes are best for people with basic experience; rafts, which are helmed by a guide, are more relaxing and suitable for all skill levels.

Most trips begin at either the Moose Ponds, Rabbitkettle Lake or Virginia Falls, because those are where floatplanes can land. From the Moose Ponds to Rabbitkettle is about 160km, much of it Class III whitewater. For the 118km from Rabbitkettle to the falls, the river meanders placidly through broad valleys. Once the falls are portaged, it’s another 252km to Blackstone Territorial Park, first through steep-sided, turbulent canyons, and then along the broad Liard River. The lower-river trip requires seven to 10 days. From Rabbitkettle it’s around 14 days, while from the Moose Ponds it’s 21.

Sleeping

Camping is allowed along the riverbanks. There are only four designated campgrounds; the one at Virginia Falls is staffed and has a dock for canoes and floatplanes, as well as composting toilets exposed to the grandeur of nature. The campground at Rabbitkettle Lake is also staffed.

Getting There & Away

If you are traveling independently, you’ll need to charter an airplane into the park by contacting a flightseeing company.

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LIARD TRAIL

At the Checkpoint, 63km south of Fort Simpson, the dirt Liard Trail (Hwy 7) branches off the Mackenzie Hwy (Hwy 1) and heads south through the Liard Valley, with the Mackenzie Mountains appearing to the west. Black bear and bison abound. The only gas station is at Fort Liard. South of there, at the British Columbia border, pavement starts. The trail links with the Alaska Hwy near Fort Nelson, making a loop through British Columbia, the NWT and Alberta possible. From Fort Simpson to Fort Nelson is 487km. Beware: in wet weather, this road turns to goo.

Halfway between Checkpoint and Fort Liard is Blackstone Territorial Park (tent sites $15; mid-May–Sep 15) with information, a campground, short hiking trails and terrific views of the mountains and the confluence of the Liard and Nahanni. Most trips down the South Nahanni end here.

Across the Liard from Blackstone is Nahanni Butte (population 115), a Slavey village accessible only by air charter or boat, or by ice road in winter. It has a general store, a motel, river-taxi services – and more mosquitoes than anywhere else on Earth.

Fort Liard

Fort Liard has lush forests, prim log homes and the balmiest weather in the NWT. This Dene village still values its traditions, such as weaving birch-bark baskets, which are ornately decorated with porcupine quills. These can be bought at one of the NWT’s finest craft shops, Acho Dene Native Crafts (867-770-4161; adnc@nt.sympatico.ca; cnr Main St & Poplar Rd; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat, to 5pm Sun), in the middle of town. It doubles as the visitors center.

Before you reach the village of nearly 600 souls, the free, rudimentary Hay Lake Community Campground has drinking water and an outhouse. The Liard Valley General Store & Motel (867-770-4441; fax 867-770-4442; cnr Main St & Black Water Rd; s/d $100/130) is on the far side of town. It’s often full, so make reservations.

A café and a service station are across the road from Acho Dene Native Crafts. The British Columbia border is 38km south.

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SAHTU

Lamentably, or perhaps blessedly, mountain-studded Sahtu is the only region of the NWT inaccessible by road. The Mackenzie, swollen by water draining from one-fifth of Canada, cuts its way through here; in places it’s more than 3km wide. On either side of it, baldheaded peaks arise, guarding some of the wildest country – and best hiking and paddling – left in the world.

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NORMAN WELLS

For the NWT, this historic oil town is a rare bird – a non-aboriginal settlement springing from the boreal frontier, halfway between Fort Simpson and Inuvik. The community itself is mainly of interest to hikers keen on the Canol Heritage Trail. Other than by the trail, the town is only reachable by plane or boat.

Clearly a labor of love, the Norman Wells Historical Centre (867-587-2415; Mackenzie Dr; admission free; 10am-5:30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat, noon-4pm Sun Jul & Aug) is a mini-museum showcasing regional history, geology, arts and crafts, and information on the rivers and the Canol Heritage Trail. There’s a pretty cool giftshop, too.

Sights & Activities

Hikers can explore fossil-laden areas such as Fossil Canyon; picnicking and canoeing are possible at Jackfish Lake. If that doesn’t keep you busy, you can make a trip to the town dump at dusk to look for black bears.

The town is used as a jumping-off point for several canoeable rivers, including the Mountain, Keele and Natla. The friendly folks at Mountain River Outfitters (867-587-2697; www.mountainriver.nt.ca) rent canoes, provide transportation back from the rivers and carry Canol Heritage Trail hikers by boat across the Mackenzie River to the start of the trail (see boxed text).

WORTH THE TRIP: CANOL HERITAGE TRAIL

Norman Wells’ main attraction is the Canol Heritage Trail, a national historic site that leads 372km southwest to the Yukon border. From there, a road goes to Ross River and the Yukon highway system. The trail was built at enormous monetary and human cost during WWII to transport oil to Whitehorse; Canol is shorthand for ‘Canadian Oil.’ However, the huge project was abandoned in 1945 because the war was almost over and there were cheaper sources of oil.

The route traverses peaks, canyons and barrens. Wildlife is abundant, and there are numerous deep river crossings along the trail. There are no facilities, although you can get a little shelter in some of the old Quonset huts. Hiking the whole length takes three to four weeks, and most people need to arrange food drops. The beginning of the trail is flat and swampy, so day hikes from Norman Wells are not recommended. Some visitors use helicopters, available from Norman Wells, to reach the most interesting parts of the trail; ask at the Village Office (867-587-3700; www.normanwells.com) or Mountain River Outfitters (867-587-2698; www.mountainriver.nt.ca). A couple of dozen stout souls hike the entire trail each year.

Sleeping & Eating

Annoyingly, the campground (sites free) is exiled a few kilometers upriver from town. Campers often just pitch their tents on the riverbanks in front of the town proper.

Mackenzie Valley Hotel (867-587-3035; www.mackenzievalleyhotel.com; Mackenzie Dr; r $150-200) has a shabby older section and a more expensive, immaculate new wing that overlooks the river. The coffeeshop does decent caribou burgers ($14) plus – believe it! – Chinese food.

Heritage Hotel (867-587-5000; www.heritagehoteInwt.com; Mackenzie Dr; r $215-280; wi-fi) is so new, imposing and posh that it seems out of place in the working-class Wells. Many of the 32 sparkling rooms have river views. There’s a mellow lounge, plus the Ventures dining room, which, with mains like Thai-marinated steak ($22), is the best eatery in town – no contest.

Getting There & Around

Canadian North stops on daily flights between Yellowknife and Inuvik. North-Wright Airways serves Yellowknife and Inuvik (indirectly), as well as the more isolated communities along the river.

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WESTERN ARCTIC

Comprising the Mackenzie Delta, the Richardson Mountains and several High Arctic islands, this is the NWT’s most diverse region. Several national parks are here, plus a scattering of aboriginal hamlets and the prefabricated polis of Inuvik, which can be driven to via the heart-wrenchingly beautiful Dempster Hwy.

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INUVIK

Inuvik (population 3484), a few dozen kilometers from the mouth of the Mackenzie River, is the NWT’s third-largest town and the Paris (ahem!) of the Western Arctic. The town was artificially erected in 1955 to serve as a government administrative post, and with its rainbow-colored rows of houses and warren of above-ground heated pipes, it still feels like a work in progress. From late May through late July, Inuvik has ceaseless daylight. During that time, lots of visitors arrive via the rugged, awesome 747km Dempster Hwy from the Yukon. When winter sets in, ice-roads open up, including a virtual superhighway north to Tuktoyaktuk.

Information

Sights & Activities

The town landmark is Our Lady of Victory Church (867-777-2236; Mackenzie Rd), also called the Igloo Church, with a resplendent white dome and a lovely interior (though the place is often locked). Jàk Park, 6km south of town, has a good lookout tower for viewing the subarctic terrain.

Northern Images (867-777-2786; 115 Mackenzie Rd; 9am-5:30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5:30pm Sat), in an octagonal log-cabin, is the gallery in town. There are scads of Northern art and crafts here, including $170 beaver-skin caps and $3600 Inuit carvings.

After checking out the above sights, the best thing you can do in Inuvik is get out of town. The easiest way is to drive the Dempster Hwy, a ribbon of gravel that reaches westward into some of the most stunning alpine scenery available. You can rent a Dempster-ready pickup from Arctic Chalet (867-777-3535; www.arcticchalet.com; 25 Carn St) for $120 per day plus 25 cents per kilometer with 100 kilometers free. It’s costly, but worth it.

Both Arctic Chalet and Western Arctic Adventures (867-777-2594; www.inuvik.net/canoenwt) rent canoes and kayaks for about $200 per week.

Tours

Most tours involve flights over the braided Mackenzie Delta and the weatherbeaten Arctic coast, where trees peter out and the landscape becomes riddled with pingos: ice-cored hills that erupt from the tundra. Photographers should try for a seat at the rear of the plane.

Festivals & Events

Sleeping

Jàk Park Campground (867-777-3613; tent/RV sites $15/20; Jun-Aug) This pretty government-run campground, about 6km south of town on the Dempster Hwy, provides hot showers and firewood. There’s a good view of the delta and the breeze keeps the mosquitoes down a bit.

Happy Valley Campground (867-777-3652; Franklin Road; walk-in/nonpowered/powered sites $10/15/20; Jun-Aug) Practically downtown, this campground offers the same services as Jàk Park. Stay here if you’re car-less and on a budget; otherwise, choose Jàk.

Polar B&B (867-777-2554; www.inuvik.net/polar; 75 Mackenzie Rd; r from $95) Upstairs from the bookstore, this B&B has four large rooms with shared bath, common area and kitchen. It’s centrally located – perhaps too much so.

Arctic Chalet (867-777-3535; www.arcticchalet.com; 25 Carn St; r $110-130; wi-fi) The Arctic Chalet, with its sunny cabins in a boreal glade, is the best place to stay in Inuvik. Each building has simple kitchen facilities. The energetic owners rent canoes, kayaks and cars, run dogsledding tours and are objective sources of local info. The Chalet is about 3km from town. There’s a rustic cabin sans facilities ($50) for travelers who want a true pioneering experience.

Mackenzie Hotel (867-777-2861; www.inuvikho hotels.com; 185 Mackenzie Rd; s/d $169/184; ) Recently overhauled, this is the town’s high-end hotel, with chandeliers in the lobby and nice art in the spanking-new rooms. The place is also home to Tonimoes restaurant and Shivers lounge.

Eating & Drinking

In recent years, Inuvik’s culinary situation has become dire. You’d be wise to self-cater. Occupying a full block of downtown, Northmart is the town’s big grocery.

Café Gallery (867-777-2888; 90 Mackenzie Rd; meals $5-12; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, noon-5pm Sat) Belying its name, this is a charmless joint where locals join for joe. There are also espressos, muffins, soups and sandwiches.

Tonimoes (867-777-2861; 185 Mackenzie Rd; lunch mains $10-13, dinner mains $12-36; 7am-2pm & 5-9pm) With standard breakfasts, burger-y lunches and a surf-and-turf dinner menu, this low-lit dining room is the town’s sole respectable eatery.

Shivers (867-777-2861; 185 Mackenzie Rd; 11am-12:30am Mon-Sat) Despite the inane name, this spacious, low-key pub, located opposite Tonimoes in the Mackenzie Hotel, is a fine place to tipple.

Getting There & Away

AIR

Mike Zubko Airport is 14km south of town. Town Cab (867-777-4777) charges $25 between there and downtown.

WHAT THE…?

Opposites attract, and nowhere more so than in the NWT’s cold, lonely Arctic, where a polar bear and a grizzly – normally enemies – got amorous. Their love-child was discovered when a sport-hunter bagged it in 2006. Dubbed “Pizzly,” the blond bruin was the first natural grizzly-polar bear hybrid known to science.

Air North operates flights to Dawson City, Old Crow and Whitehorse. Aklak Air (866-707-4977; www.aklakair.ca) has scheduled services to Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk and Sachs Harbour, and provides charters to the national parks. Canadian North services Norman Wells (daily) and Yellowknife (daily), where you can make connecting flights to Calgary and Edmonton. First Air operates flights to Yellowknife, where there are connections throughout the North.

CAR

Arctic Chalet Car Rental (867-777-3535; www.arcticchalet.com; 25 Carn St) rents a range of vehicles and has a counter at the airport. NorCan (867-777-2346; norcan@inuvik.yk.ca) also has an airport counter. If you are driving, it’s vital that you check Dempster Hwy road and ferry conditions (800-661-0750).

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TUKTOYAKTUK

About 140km northeast of Inuvik on the storm-battered coast is Tuktoyaktuk (population 870), perhaps the most-visited community in the Canadian Arctic. Commonly known as Tuk (hence the ‘Tuk U’ T-shirts you’ll be likely to see across the territory), this has long been the home of the whale-hunting Inuit and is now also a land base for Beaufort Sea oil and gas explorations.

Pods of beluga whales can sometimes be seen in July and early August. Visible year-round are pingos, of which the Tuk Peninsula has the world’s highest concentration. Some 1400 of these huge mounds of earth and ice dot the landscape and have been designated the Pingo Canadian Landmark. The hamlet office (867-977-2286) can provide more information on the area and services.

There is an old military base here, dating from the cold war, as well as old whaling buildings, and two charming little churches dating from the time when the Catholic and Anglican churches battled to proselytize the Aboriginal people. Land access is limited to a winter ice road, and most tourists arrive by air in the summer as part of half-day tours from Inuvik.

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PAULATUK

This small Inuvialuit community of 300 residents is on the Arctic coast near the mouth of the Hornaday River, about 400km east of Inuvik. The town’s name means ‘soot of coal’; one of the main attractions is the Smoking Hills, which contain smoldering sulfide-rich slate. For more information, contact the hamlet office (867-580-3531).

Tuktut Nogait National Park

Paulatuk is the closest settlement to this park, a wild place about 45km east that’s a major calving ground for Bluenose caribou. There are no services or facilities here; however a small visitors center for the park is open for inspection in town during the summer. For information, contact Parks Canada (867-777-8800; 187 Mackenzie Rd; 8:30am-5pm Jun-Aug, call ahead at other times) in Inuvik.

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BANKS ISLAND

Lying in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Paulatuk, Banks Island may have been first inhabited 3500 years ago. By polar standards wildlife is abundant, and this is one of the best places on Earth to see musk ox. The island also has two bird sanctuaries with flocks of snowgeese and seabirds in the summer. Sachs Harbour, an Inuvialuit community of about 120, is the only settlement. Contact the hamlet office (867-690-4351) for information. There is a scheduled air service to Sachs Harbour from Inuvik.

Aulavik National Park

On the north end of Banks Island, this seldom-visited park (just five tourists came in 2007) covers 12,275 sq km. It has the world’s largest concentration of musk ox as well as badlands, tundra and archaeological sites. The name means ‘place where people travel’ and that’s what you’ll have to do to get there. Contact Parks Canada (867-777-8800; 187 Mackenzie Rd; 8:30am-5pm Jun-Aug, call ahead at other times) in Inuvik for details on visiting.


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