Page 98 - 2026-2027 Travel Guide to Canada

NT
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Special Events
JANUARY
• INUVIK SUNRISE FESTIVAL, INUVIK
MARCH
• POLAR POND HOCKEY TOURNAMENT,
HAY RIVER
• SNOWKING WINTER FESTIVAL,
YELLOWKNIFE
• THEBACHA SKI LOPPET, FORT SMITH
APRIL
• MUSKRAT JAMBOREE, INUVIK
MAY-JUNE
• NORTHWORDS NWT WRITERS FESTIVAL,
YELLOWKNIFE
JUNE
• NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY,
TERRITORY-WIDE
JULY
• FOLK ON THE ROCKS MUSIC FESTIVAL,
YELLOWKNIFE
• GREAT NORTHERN ARTS FESTIVAL, INUVIK
• HAY DAYS FESTIVAL, HAY RIVER
JULY–AUGUST
• MIDWAY LAKE MUSIC FESTIVAL,
FORT MCPHERSON
AUGUST
• SLAVE RIVER PADDLEFEST, FORT SMITH
• THEBACHA & WOOD BUFFALO DARK
SKY FESTIVAL
www.spectacularnwt.com/directory/
events/
The territory’s wildlife has a schedule all
its own, but look for nesting pelicans on
rocky outcrops in the rapids of the Slave
River near Fort Smith. Keep an eye out for
free-roaming bison in Wood Buffalo National
Park and the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary near
Fort Providence. Dall’s sheep and mountain
goats travel on the craggy slopes of the
Mackenzie Mountains. Prehistoric-looking
muskox roam around Banks Island. Black
bears, moose, caribou and grizzly bears also
call the N.W.T. home. See peregrine falcons,
eagles and gyrfalcons—the official N.W.T.
bird. You never know when they may appear
on your journey.
MUSKOX WESTERN ARCTIC • JAY FRANDSEN/NWTT
HERITAGE AND CULTURE
Experience local music and culture such as
jigging, drumming, drum dancing and Dene
hand games at community events. Make
your own crafts during artist-led workshops
at Inuvik’s renowned Great Northern Arts
Festival (www.spectacularnwt.com/events/
great-northern-arts-festival). Learn about
local history at the Norman Wells Historical
Centre (www.spectacularnwt.com/
attraction/norman-wells-historical-
society), the Northern Life Museum and
Cultural Centre (www.spectacularnwt.com/
attractions/northern-life-museum-and-
cultural-centre) and the Prince of Wales
Northern Heritage Centre. Purchase Dene,
Inuvialuit and Métis crafts at visitor centres,
museums and shops. Feel the cashmere
softness of a sweater that a local artist
knitted from qiviut—wool that was
harvested from shaggy muskox near Sachs
Harbour. Admire carvings made of
soapstone, bone or antler and created by
northern artists.
MUST SEE, MUST DO
During the summer, eat locally sourced
reindeer dishes and fish and chips cooked
inside a converted school bus at Alestine’s
and served on a terrace overlooking the
Mackenzie River in Inuvik north of the
Arctic Circle.
Experience the beauty of Great Slave Lake
with a guided harbour tour, a visit to the
iconic houseboat community, and an
exceptional northern gourmet shore lunch
or dinner featuring fresh, locally caught fish.
(www.yellowknifeoutdooradventures.com
/great-slave-lake-boat-tours-and-bbq-
fish-fry/)
Participate in the Thebacha & Wood Buffalo
Dark Sky Festival, northern Canada’s only
celebration of space and science. This family
event is held in late August in Fort Smith and
Wood Buffalo National Park, the world’s largest
Dark Sky Preserve (www.spectacularnwt.com/
events/thebacha-wood-buffalo-dark-sky-
festival).
Get a bird’s-eye view of the landscape during
a flightseeing tour (www.spectacular
nwt.com/what-to-do/tours/flight-tours).
SCENIC DRIVES
Travel through two mountain ranges and
the Continental Divide, and take your photo
at the Arctic Circle when you drive the
iconic 740-km (460-mi.) Dempster Highway
from Dawson City, Yukon to Inuvik
(www.dempsterhighway.com). Then
continue on and drive all the way to the tiny
community of Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean.
Make like an ice road trucker. Drive the 6.5
km (4.0 mi.) winter road that links Dettah to
Yellowknife. There are also winter roads that
link Fort Simpson to communities in the
Mackenzie Valley and a route from Fort
Smith to Fort Chipewyan, AB.
FAMILY FUN
Climb into a sled and listen to the sound of
excited huskies barking with anticipation.
Then silence descends when you hit the trail
and feel the power of a team of dogs pulling
you through the forest during a dogsledding
excursion (www.spectacularnwt.com/
what-to-do/winter-adventure/dogsled-
ding). In summer, the Great Northern Arts
Festival offers workshops for both kids and
adults.