Yellowknife Things to Do

The Ingraham Trail is only about 70 km long however within that distance it is jammed packed with a whole host of recreational activities on the various lakes and rivers.

It is a great half day trip if your driving or you could make it weeks at the various sites.

The trail starts 1.5 km outside of Yellowknife.

In the 1950’s, when mineral discoveries in the Northwest Territories sparked a “roads to resources” construction boom, the Canadian federal government began to build a highway from Yellowknife to Fort Reliance, at the extreme eastern end of Great Slave Lake. The road was designed to be part of a loop that would eventually circle the entire lake, but the project was abandoned when mining potential did not meet expectations. The “Ingraham Trail” – named for colourful Yellowknife entrepreneur, Vic Ingraham – now ends at Tibbit Lake, just 69 kilometres from Yellowknife.

The Visitor Centre run by the local Chamber of Commerce is a great facility with lots of exhibits, helpful staff, internet terminals, tourism kiosks, videos, gift short and plenty of interpretation.

It is a recommended place to go and start planning your activities in Yellowknife and the NWT for sure.

Follow my link below and you'll see some of the exhibits within the center in my travelogue. Enjoy!!

There is one section of Yellowknife that you should visit called Old Town. There is all kinds of neat monuments, shopping, historical monuments and great dinning down in this area.

Go down and get yourself situated. It is a nice area to explore.

The pilot's monument is located in Old Town up on a hill. There are steps bringing you up there and when you get there you have the best view of the city.

Interpretation at the monument said, Yellowknifers are very inventive when it comes to building houses that suit the rocky landscape. Flat real estate was not readily available in Yellowknife's Old Town. Shacks, outhouses, tents, cafes and hotels were all jammed together in teh early days, in every available nook and cranny surrounding this area known as "The Rock".

The Rock's summit, which held Old Town's water tanks is now the site of teh Pilot's Monument. It was dedicated in 1967 to the bush pilots and air engineers of Canada, who provided a crucial link between Yellowknife and the rest of the country, "The Rock" i an ideal location to view both the old and new sections of Yellowknife.

Yellowknife is loacated right on the Great Slave Lake.

Boating, outfitting and fishing are huge on this lake. The fished that I tasted was amazing but if you are into these activities there is ample opportunity.

There is a local yacht club as well. As you can see in this picture there are plenty of boats owned in this community.

If you continue on past Old Town you will come to Akaitcho Treaty 8 Territory home of the Weleheh Dene.

Weleden is the name of the river and of the people who occupy and use the lands around it as the sun shines, the rivers flow and the grass grows.

If you want to explore around this small community to get a feel for Dene life.

There is another community titled Dettah just a few kilomters outside of Yellowknife.

This was an interesting little spot to say the least. The Einar Broten Historical Area with a warning like Enter At Your Own Risk, what are you to do.

Of course I took the risk and inside it almost looks like a junk / scrap yard, but when you pay closer attention you see there is simply a lot of really old buildings and artifacts from Yellowknife's earlier years.

There are three caretakers listed on the sign that look out for the place.

Enroute to the Ingraham Trail you will see teh Giant Mine operating in the north since 1947.

On Sept. 18, 1992 an explosion killed nine men underground at this mine, four months into a bitter strike. The blast left eight women without husbands and 20 children without fathers and it remembered to this day with very strong feelings.

Roger Warren confessed to the RCMP that he was responsible for the murders in October 1993. A jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in January 1995. He's now serving a life term at Stony Mountain Penitentiary in Manitoba.

The site now appears closed but here is some information I found online:

Giant Mine is a gold mining operation located within the limits of the City of Yellowknife. Since the first gold brick was poured in 1948, the mine has played a significant role as a major employer and economic engine for Canada's North. Now, more than 50 years later, it is time to remediate the site in a responsible and effective manner.
In 1999, the owner of Giant Mine, Royal Oak Mines, went into receivership. The court assigned the site to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND). The department sold the mine to Miramar Giant Mine Ltd. The sale was conducted to ensure the maximum number of jobs would continue at the mine and that a knowledgeable, experienced operator would oversee the care and maintenance of the site. The sale did not include the pre-existing environmental conditions at Giant Mine, including the 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide stored underground at the site.

To ensure that Giant Mine was managed safely, DIAND created the Giant Mine Remediation Project (GMRP). This project has two main tasks; working on a long-term remediation plan for securing the arsenic trioxide dust stored underground at the site, as well as ensuring that the entire site is managed safely to protect northerners and the environment.

Hidden lake was the last one I would find along the Ingraham Trail because I turned around at Cameron Falls.

However if you keep driving past this mark you will also discover Reid Lake and Tibbitt Lake.

The Cameron Falls is a must see for visitors. It is a scenic 20 minute hike through aspen, spruce and jack pine and over outcrops of sedimentary rock towards the falls. Stairs span some sections. Walking 250 metre northeast will bring you to a bridge avove the falls that offers access to the rest of the Hidden Lake Park however the trails end there.

I have to admit I was a little nervous alone with all the wildlife however I am sure you'll be fine.

I have to share much more on Cameron Falls so follow along to my travelogue on the link below. I have two travelogues on this trail and falls so just follow the one below and then continue on to the next one.

I hope you enjoy my tips on Cameron Falls and be sure to leave your comments and rate my tips. I enjoy them all!!!!

This park is located right in Yellowknife near the airport, it has a dumping facility, washrooms, plenty of play areas, swimming, etcetera.

It was a great looking park.

I have to say the NWT would be a great place to have a motor home and a boat!!

Yellowknife is home to an amazing heritage centre. It opened its doors in 1979 and now apparently has over 10,000 items pertaining to the history of the NWT.

The admission was free however you can leave donations if you choose.

There are endless galleries, this is a must see in Yellowknife. To share more with you on this facility please visit my travelogue below.

This impressive building is 46,000 square feet and anchored by a wall of indigenour stone. The exterior walls and roof are clad in panels of zinc.

When the building was built as few trees as possible where removed and today there is plenty of wildlife in the immediate vacinity of the building.

Blonde maple wood adorns the walls inside the building and slate tiles line the floor of the Great Hall. Skylights surround the Chamber and Caucus room, providing an abundance of natural light to the entire building.

If you enjoy politics you will visit this building for sure, during my visit in the fall there was a free tour at 10:30 am in the morning.

The NWT has a consensus government without any party systems and you will be amazed at the amount of symbolism that was put into buildlings this facility.

Venture along to my travelogue for some more interpretation of the inside of this great building.

Don't let me initial picture fool you! Visit my travelogue on this trail system for sure.

This trail system makes for a great hike in the mornings or evenings.

Visit my travelogue for sure to get all the great landscape and scenery photos.

A lot of this trail is on a flat surface and paved however the majority is paths and trails over rock areas and uneven, so you need some good shoes and be careful if it looks like the rocks may be wet.

Honors the pilots that opened up the far north and still provide essential transportation and delivery services to remote comunities. Situated near the float plane docks. This pillar stands six storeys high, and can be climbed for a terrific view of Yellowknife