Northwest Territories
Aurora, Arctic rivers and the midnight sun
Chase the northern lights in Yellowknife, paddle the South Nahanni River, fish Great Slave Lake, road-trip the Dempster Highway to the Arctic coast, and explore Wood Buffalo National Park.
Things to Do
Chase the northern lights in Yellowknife, paddle the South Nahanni River, fish Great Slave Lake, road-trip the Dempster Highway to the Arctic coast, and explore Wood Buffalo National Park.
Where to Stay
Yellowknife has the widest range of lodging — downtown hotels and aurora-viewing lodges just outside town. For true wilderness, fly-in lodges and river camps serve Nahanni and the barrenlands.
Best Time to Visit
February–April for aurora; June–August for the midnight sun and paddling
How Many Days
5–7 days
Book your Northwest Territories trip
Stays, tours and a car — all in one place.
Aurora chasers, wilderness paddlers & road-trippers
Best things to do in Northwest Territories
Aurora Viewing in Yellowknife
Sit under the aurora oval on a subarctic winter night — one of the planet's best light shows.
Nahanni National Park Reserve
Virginia Falls, hot springs and a UNESCO-listed river wilderness reachable only by float plane.
Great Slave Lake
North America's deepest lake — world-class lake trout in summer and ice fishing in winter.
Dempster Highway
740 km of gravel road from Dawson to the Beaufort Sea at Tuktoyaktuk.
Wood Buffalo National Park
Canada's largest national park — free-roaming bison, whooping cranes and vast salt plains.
Inuvik & the Midnight Sun
Arctic town with 56 days of summer sunlight and the famous Igloo-shaped church.
Where to stay
The Explorer Hotel
Mid-rangeYellowknife's long-standing base camp for business and aurora travellers alike.
Blachford Lake Lodge
LodgeRemote fly-in lake lodge reachable only by bush plane — pure aurora country.
Northern Frontier Lodge
LodgeWilderness lodge on the edge of Great Slave Lake, minutes from town.
Yellowknife Inn
BudgetNo-frills downtown rooms within walking distance of the Old Town waterfront.
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