Heritage
Where Amundsen overwintered
Roald Amundsen's Maud, abandoned in Cambridge Bay in 1926, lay in the bay for nearly a century. Today CHARS holds artefacts and the community is reckoning with its complex Northwest Passage history.
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Kitikmeot · Nunavut
Cambridge Bay
A Kitikmeot hamlet on Victoria Island and a stop on the Northwest Passage.
- Best time
- July – August for ice-free water; March – May for sea-ice travel.
- Getting there
- Canadian North via Yellowknife (3 hr).
- Suggested stay
- 2 – 4 nights
- Known for
- Northwest Passage · Maud shipwreck · Canadian High Arctic Research Station
A portrait of Cambridge Bay
An essential stop.
On the south coast of Victoria Island on the Coronation Gulf, Cambridge Bay — Iqaluktuuttiaq — is the largest community in Nunavut's western Kitikmeot region and a key stop for icebreakers and adventure cruises crossing the Northwest Passage.
Field notes
Three ways to feel the place.
On the map
The six places
to anchor your trip.
A tour through the icons and the under-the-radar corners — laid out the way a local would walk you through.
- 1
Canadian High Arctic Research Station
Spectacular 2017 federal research campus open to visitors year-round.
- 2
Maud Hulk
Amundsen's ship Maud rests in the bay — raised and returned to Norway in 2018.
- 3
Old Stone Church
1954 mission church built of local Arctic stone, still in use.
- 4
Ovayok Territorial Park
Tundra hills 15 km north — hike to Mount Pelly with views over the gulf.
Canadian High Arctic Research Station
Maud Hulk
Old Stone Church
Ovayok Territorial Park
N
Year-round
Cambridge Bay through the seasons.
Spring
Long days return; sea-ice travel at its safest.
Summer
Arctic char season; cruise ships transit the Northwest Passage.
Autumn
Tundra blazes in mid-August; first snowfalls by month's end.
Winter
Sun returns in early January; auroras dominate the long polar twilight.
Insider tips
From people who live there.
- 01
Most visits require advance arrangement — book guides through the Hamlet office.
- 02
CHARS offers tours by reservation — book ahead through Polar Knowledge Canada.
- 03
Bring cash; card terminals are sometimes offline due to satellite weather.
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