Old Town's Wildcat Cafe, the Great Slave Lake ice road, a floatplane over the East Arm, and the Ingraham Trail — the NWT's most accessible capital in three days.
Yellowknife is the Northwest Territories' capital — a gold-rush and mining town of 20,000 on the shore of Great Slave Lake, the deepest lake in North America, and the best base for a first taste of the northern territories. It's the most accessible North — a 2-hour flight from Edmonton, and a place where the frontier is still real. Here's the itinerary.
Day 1 — Old Town and the bay Start in Old Town — the original gold-rush settlement on a rocky point, with the Wildcat Cafe (the 1937 log cabin restaurant and Yellowknife's living room), the Bush Pilots' monument, and the houseboats anchored in the bay. Walk the rocks; the view across Great Slave Lake is the northern frontier. In the evening, eat Arctic char and bison at the Woodyard.
Day 2 — The lake and the ice road In winter, drive the ice road on Great Slave Lake — the diamond-mine supply route and the famous 'ice road truckers' road. In summer, a boat or kayak on the bay, or the floatplane tour of the East Arm (the wild, fjord-like part of the lake). The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre tells the Dene and Inuit story and the territory's.
Day 3 — The Ingraham Trail Drive the Ingraham Trail (Highway 4) east of town — 70 km of lakes, boreal forest, and the cabin country, to the Cameron River Falls and the Prelude Territorial Park. The road ends at the Tibbitt Lake winter road start. In winter, this is dogsledding and snowmobile country; in summer, canoe and hiking. The northern light lasts till midnight in June.
When to go Summer (June–August) for the midnight sun and the open water; September for the fall colour and the first aurora; January–March for the aurora, the ice road, and the Snowking Festival (the snow castle on the bay). Winter is cold (-30°C common) but bright and active.
Where to stay A downtown hotel for walkability; an Old Town B&B for the frontier feel; in winter, the aurora-viewing lodges outside town. Summer and aurora season book ahead.
Good to know Yellowknife is a 2-hour flight from Edmonton. A car is useful for the Ingraham Trail; the rest is walkable. And the summer light is disorienting — bring an eye mask.
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