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North Slave · Northwest Territories
Gold-rush capital on Great Slave Lake, beneath some of the world's best auroras.
A portrait of Yellowknife
On the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, Yellowknife is the NWT's capital — a former gold-mining town that doubles as one of the planet's premier aurora destinations thanks to its position directly beneath the auroral oval.
Field notes
After dark
Walk out to the end of Old Town's causeway on a clear winter night. The houseboats sit black against the frozen bay. Suddenly the sky drops a green curtain across the dome — Yellowknife doing what Yellowknife does.
On the map
A tour through the icons and the under-the-radar corners — laid out the way a local would walk you through.
Old Town
Original miner's town on Latham Island — houseboats, the Wildcat Café, and Bush Pilot's Monument.
Prince of Wales Museum
Excellent free territorial museum on Northern peoples, geology, and aviation.
Aurora Village
Teepee-based aurora-viewing camp 25 min east of the city.
Great Slave Lake
Tenth-largest lake in the world; deeper than Lake Superior in places.
Year-round
Spring
Long days return; ice roads close in April.
Summer
Folk on the Rocks festival in July; midnight sun on the lake.
Autumn
Tundra reddens and aurora season returns by mid-August.
Winter
Snowking's Castle on the bay, dog-sledding, and dependable auroras.
Insider tips
Stay three or more nights — auroras don't appear on demand.
The Wildcat Café in Old Town is a 1937 log cabin — go for breakfast.
Drive the Ingraham Trail to Cameron Falls and Reid Lake for day-trip swimming.
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