Welcome to the Northwest Territories

Travelers venture into Canada’s Northwest Territories to see wilderness in its most elemental form. Endless arctic sky, aurora borealis and some of North America’s most spectacular natural wonders reveal themselves to RVers. In an area twice as large as Texas, the entire population could fit comfortably into Houston’s Astrodome.

The best way to learn about the vast lands of the Northwest Territory is to drive the ribbons of roadway that penetrate the wilderness. The star road is the Dempster Highway, an all-weather passage that traverses more than 400 miles and offers the rare chance to drive across the Arctic Circle. The Northwest Territory boasts two critical ferry crossings and two settlements between Dawson City, Yukon, and Inuvik near the Arctic Ocean. Along the way, the Nitainlaii Territorial Park Visitor Centre relates the long history of trade and settlement at Fort McPherson in the Mackenzie Delta, one of the most remote settlements in Canada.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Waterfalls Route on Highway 1 leads to pristine hydro-spectaculars at Twin Falls Park, Lady Evelyn Falls Park and Sambaa Deh Falls Park. The Nahanni National Park Reserve provides air access to the magnificent Virginia Falls that thunder down 315 feet of sheer rock around a spire of basaltic rock. On your driving tours, be certain to stop at a Northwest Territories Visitor Center for a well-earned “North of 60” certificate for explorers who have ventured beyond the 60-degree latitude, the boundary of the Arctic Circle.

The Northwest Territories are far from frozen from May to September. Temperatures routinely top 80 degrees, and weeks will pass without rain. For birders, about one-fifth of all of North America’s ducks, swans and geese nest here. The area’s biggest city, Yellowknife, boasts a vibrant cultural scene.

Canada set aside 17,300 square miles in the Northwest Territory and Alberta to protect the world’s largest herd of free-roaming bison. The result, Wood Buffalo National Park, is the world’s second-largest national park.

June and July bring long days for fishing. Two lakes where the fish are sure to bite are Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake, the territory’s two largest lakes. Great Slave Lake is the deepest lake in the continent.