Yellowknife

Yellowknife is the capital city of the Northwest Territories, on the North Arm of Great Slave Lake, on Yellowknife Bay. Yellowknife is the main entry point for visitors to NWT. Many tourists come to experience the Northern climate and traditional lifestyle, and to see the Northern Lights.

See: 7
Do: 2
Eat: 6
Drink: 7
Buy: 5

27 places

Buy

Aurora Emporium Art Gallery

Sells Indigenous stone carvings, seal skin scarves, bison hide wallets and other souvenirs. Friendly and chatty owner.

Beck's Kennels

Dogsled tours. Kennel owned and operated by World Champion dog racer, Grant Beck. Winter activities: Aurora by dog sled, traditional dogsled tours and learn to drive your own dogteam experience. They also offer overnight dogsled adventures. November 1 - mid May. Summer and fall activities: Aurora tours and dogsled on wheels. August 1 - October 31.

See

Buffalo Airways Hangar Tour

You can go on a guided tour of the hangar of the family-run airline that was showcased in reality television show Ice Pilots NWT. Featuring a fleet of vintage aircraft from the World War II era (DC-3, C46, Electra and others), the hangar is the place where technicians keep these old warbirds flying. You might even come across one of its DC-3 which participated in the D-Day campaign by dropping paratroopers over Normandy.

Tue-Fri 10AM-4PMFree (advanced booking and photo ID are required)

Buy

Buffalo Airwear

Get aviation-themed souvenirs from Buffalo Airways, the airline that still uses DC-3 and other World War II era warbirds in revenue service for cargo delivery to northern remote communities and as waterbombers.

Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM

Eat

Bullock's Bistro

Relaxed, cramped, extra-casual bar and restaurant in circa 1930s cabin. The menu features fish, game, and salads. The fish is as fresh as this morning, and the seemingly hectic grill manages to produce fine results with it. Big portion size. Don't expect anything fancy in service or presentation, but you'll enjoy the lively and authentic atmosphere. Make sure your wallet is well-stocked before coming: a simple plate of fish and chips and a bottle of self-serve beer costs between $40 and $50.

Mon-Sat 11:30AM-8PM, closed Sun

Enodah Wilderness Travel - Trout Rock Lodge

Fly in wilderness lodge on Great Slave Lake in day trips or overnight. Main activities: fishing, bird watching. Aurora packages.

Eat

Gold Range Bistro

Local café with great ordinary food and lots of good people where the locals eat. Famous for their plate-sized eggroll.

Drink

Gold Range Hotel

Best-known drinking establishment in Yellowknife. Weekends feature country-and-western music in an atmosphere that can only be experienced, not described.

Drink

Harley's Hardrock Saloon

Strip club. Allowed to bring food in. Often has exotic dancers

Buy

NWT Diamond Centre

The centre also has a small selection of exhibits about the history of diamond mining in the Northwest Territories.

Tue-Sat 10AM-5:30PM

See

Nature's North Wildlife Gallery

Taxidermied animals in various poses. Exhibit includes grolars (polar bear and grizzly bear hybrid), muskox, wolverine and wood buffalo.

Mon Wed Sat 11AM-4PMSelf-guided tour $20, tour with tablet $25, youth (10-16) $15, child (6-9) $5, child (under 5) free

See

Northern Arts and Cultural Centre

A 297-seat performance hall in Yellowknife that opened on May 3, 1984. It is the only performing arts centre in the Northwest Territories.

See

Pilots Monument

Sitting on top of a hill in the Old Town, this monument gives tribute to bush pilots who opened up Northwest Territories, delivered food & medicine and transported people.

Open 24 hours

See

Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre

The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre houses the territorial museum and archives. It exhibits natural history, Indigenous history, industries in the Northwest Territories and local Yellowknife history.

Museum open Tue Wed Fri-Sun 10AM–5PM, Thu 10AM-8:30PM (closed Mon). It is also open on statutory holidays except Christmas and New Year's Day. Last Sat of every month open 10AM-8:30PMFree admission

See

Ragged Ass Road

This otherwise undistinguished short unpaved residential street is known for its name, which started as a joke among prospectors about their lack of success one season, far beyond Yellowknife. Before you get a signature souvenir sign or T-shirt from one of the many shops in town that sells them, you might want to walk down the actual street and take a picture of the official sign, now that the city has finally acknowledged its existence, so you can confirm to people you tell the story to back home that, yes, this street actually exists.

Drink

The NWT Brewing Company's Woodyard

Only micro-brewery in the territory and their pub serves food and many of their northern-named beers on tap. They have won awards for their Kicksled Cream Ale.

Tue Wed 4-10PM, Thu 4-11PM, Fri Sat noon-midnight

Eat

Wildcat Café

Features a different menu every year, depending on which local restaurant wins the contract to run it. Relaxed dining with shared tables in a Gold Rush atmosphere. It was built in 1937. It is a popular eatery and tourist attraction, operating in the summer only, in one of the city's oldest buildings.

Drink Not mapped