EXPERIENCE PARKS CANADA IN Northern Canada YUKON NUNAVUT NORTHWEST TERRITORIES Nahanni National Park ReserveNahanni National Park Because sleeping in bunk beds INTRODUCING Parks Canada oTENTik has always been awesome! a new way to experience camping! We’re bringing you closer to nature while providing a roof over your head and a floor beneath your feet – a unique blend of comfort with a taste of outdoor adventure. Share a moment and create new memories. Book your next Parks Canada vacation today! RESERVATIONS reservation.parkscanada.gc.ca 1-877-RESERVE (737-3783) INFORMATION parkscanada.gc.ca/accommodations 1-888-773-8888 Welcome Dare to go where few have gone before, to the far-flung reaches of national parks and national historic sites in northern Canada. Outstanding, exotic experiences await you in the gorgeous tundra, mountainous landscapes and unbroken forests of the North. This is your chance to be an explorer. The planet’s last great adventures are waiting for you! Come to Canada’s treasured northern parks and sites. They will take your breath away! Table of Contents Themes Directory ■ Off the beaten path 2 ■ Yukon 10 ■ Quest for uniqueness 4 ■ Northwest Territories 10 ■ Simply breathtaking 6 ■ Nunavut 11 Northern Canada National Map 12 Map 8 Call 1-888-773-8888 or visit parkscanada.gc.ca Vuntut National Park 1 OFF THE beaten path Satisfy the explorer in you with a journey to the extreme corners of Canada! Discover landscapes of the vast and rugged north few have seen.... YUKON YUKON Trek to the end of the world. A Raft on the Wild Side Yearn for Hidden Treasures Picture yourself atop the mountains and ski to Looking for a unique thrill in new and spectacular Feel the spirit of Vuntut National Park as you surroundings? How about a remarkable Arctic immerse yourself in a prehistoric landscape untouched peaks. Paddle adventure? Dare to raft the untamed waters that predates the last ice age. Stand in the of the Firth River! Travel through millions of acres warm golden light of the midnight sun and wild waters. Hike untamed of mountains, tundra and translucent waterways. witness the explosion of life on the summer tundra. These are serious Experience wildness like few others before you. tundra. Here, arctic wildflowers and rare plants You can count on it. This is THE wilderness thrive as they did when this land was part of arctic adventures… not for journey of a lifetime! the Beringia Region. the faint of heart! Ivvavik National Park p. 10 Vuntut National Park p. 10 2 Kluane National Park and Reserve NORTHWEST TERRITORIES NUNAVUT NORTHWEST TERRITORIES © D. Haggarty Mysteries of To the Top of the World In Search of the an Ancient Land Northwest Passage Wake to the soothing sounds of the South Discover a raw, freshly revealed land few Follow history’s path as you move through the Nahanni River. Watch a cow moose with her humans have seen. Ski to Barbeau Peak, the “Place People Travel”. Discover 3,500 years calf calmly drinking the waters. Hear a beaver highest point east of the Rockies. Push your of arctic peoples’ past and the effect of nearly smack its tail on the glistening surface. Marvel limits and stand on Ward Hunt Island, the 200 years of European misadventures and at the deep canyons, profoundly significant to junction between sea ice and the last point of explorations. As you hike the rolling tundra, the Dene people. Then tackle the mighty rapids North America. Then trek from there to the paddle the meandering Thomsen River or of George’s riffle previously conquered by many North Pole, 700km farther over pressure ridges watch the distant coast from a cruise ship, experienced paddlers. Have courage! The and the polar ice cap. imagine the hardships and dramas of the men prize awaiting you is one of South Nahanni’s that sought the fabled passage. stunning canyons. Nahanni National Park Reserve p. 10 Quttinirpaaq National Park p. 11 Aulavik National Park p. 11 Call 1-888-773-8888 or visit parkscanada.gc.ca 3 QUEST FOR uniqueness Discover the spectacular wonders of the northern world! Bask in the midnight light. See a pingo rising up from the flat tundra. Cross the Arctic Circle. NUNAVUT YUKON © C. Kimber © R. Larsen Surround yourself by shaggy Make it Official One of the Last Few Great muskox. These matchless Migrations northern experiences will be Just a day hike or snow machine trip in Be awakened to a crisp arctic summer morning Auyuittuq National Park via Pangnirtung takes by the exquisite clicking of distant caribou cherished for a lifetime! you to the Arctic Circle! Here it’s 24 hours hooves. Scan the horizon and see thousands of winter darkness and 24 hours of summer of caribou crossing mountains into river valleys. daylight. Follow Akshayuk Pass, a natural As your heart quickens at these majestic views, corridor between mountains and ice and a you’ll know you are one of the privileged few to centuries-old Inuit route. Take a photo at the witness these sights and hear these sounds. inuksuk marker or invent your own ritual to It’s a memory of a lifetime! celebrate your remarkable journey. Auyuittuq National Park p. 11 Vuntut and Ivvavik National Parks p. 10 4 Ukkusiksalik National Park YUKON YUKON © YG/B. Atkinson © YG Never Ending Day Light Consider Yourself The Yukon Gateway Warned You can read about it, see pictures of it, Stroll the wooden boardwalks of Dawson City. Be inspired by the spirit of people whose drive imagine it, but nothing will truly prepare you Gaze into windows of long-abandoned buildings. and courage helped them survive in the rugged for the midnight light! Paddle. Hike. Camp. At Hear Klondike stories of hardship, glory and northern wilderness. Visit the Chilkoot Trail to three o’clock in the morning you’ll be smiling heroism. You’ll soon fall under the powerful follow in the footsteps of First Nation traders as the sun still shines in the arctic night. Don’t spell of history. A costumed interpreter will and Klondike Gold Rush stampeders. You can forget to set the time in the camera and take guide you through this fabled town. Enjoy the also enjoy a day trip or overnight camping with a picture! Otherwise, who will believe you? lively poetry of Robert Service at his hillside friends and family at historic Bennett Lake. Or, Klondike cabin or choose other programs and hike a little farther for a camping experience at exhibits portraying the wild history and charm Lindeman City. of Dawson City. National Parks in Canada’s North Dawson Historical Complex National Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site p. 10 p. 10-11 Historic Site p. 10 Call 1-888-773-8888 or visit parkscanada.gc.ca 5 SIMPLY breathtaking Come to the end of the earth and visit Canada’s northern National Parks and National Historic Sites. The views are simply breathtaking! Unexpected NORTHWEST TERRITORIES YUKON © R. Buchanan Mueller © YG/F. geological formations, cliffs of Stun Your Senses Satisfy Your Northern ochre, red, purple and brown, Cravings multicoloured tundra and Trek through a glorious world of rolling hills and If you yearn for the wild beauty of an unspoiled multicoloured tundra where countless sites bear Canadian landscape, Kluane National Park endless wild beauty. Nature’s testimony to the land’s ancient human history. and Reserve is for you. Explore mountains, This is a hikers dream. Endless daylight will urge lakes, rivers and forests that have been home palette is spectacular! These you forward through the immense landscape. to Southern Tutchone people for thousands of are the largest national parks in You’ll find all your senses stunned by magnificent years and discover the heart of their traditional canyons and gorges. This is the world of Tuktut culture and way of life. From scenic hiking on all of Canada and they are Nogait, home of the young caribou. gentle trails to backcountry adventures in the mountain wilderness, a variety of activities waiting for you to discover. await you. Tuktut Nogait National Park p. 11 Kluane National Park and Reserve p. 10 6 Nahanni National Park Reserve © D. Haggarty NORTHWEST TERRITORIES NUNAVUT © C. McDonald © L. Naraway Living Large in the North Place of Glaciers. Witness the Aurora Land of Diversity Feel a cool mist rising from the water. Stand on Prepare to see more than 70 bird species, Look up and see a dazzling panorama. Swirling the shore and watch wood bison, ducks, swans 21 species of marine and terrestrial mammals bands of pale green, red and purple dancing and geese feed. Nearby, the endangered and 360 different types of plants. This impressive across the darkening late summer sky will hold whooping cranes nest. In this impressive range of flora and fauna combined with the you spellbound. Watch from the bow of an expanse of the Peace-Athabasca Delta, the magnificent landscapes of glaciers and expedition cruise ship or through the door of largest freshwater inland delta in northeastern mountains will astound you! From bird watching your tent. Whichever you prefer, find yourself Alberta. You’ll experience the renewing force to whale watching, Sirmilik is guaranteed to a front row seat to nature’s dramatic sky of this remote northern wilderness with its satisfy those who dare to brave its magnificent, spectacle. intricate landscapes and fascinating culture. rugged wilderness. Wood Buffalo National Park p. 11 Sirmilik National Park p. 11 National Parks in Canada’s North p. 10-11 Call 1-888-773-8888 or visit parkscanada.gc.ca 7 Northern Canada National Parks and National Historic Sites of Canada 8 National Park National Historic Site Other Capital Directory The following section provides more information on unique places and experiences in Northern Canada.