Page 47 - Vacation Country Travel Guide

MACKENZIE HWY 1
WEST TO ENTERPRISE & KAKISA

Kakisa
Location: Off the Mackenzie Highway on an
8-mile side road 82 miles from Hay River.
Population: 40
North Slave Region
The North Slave region is located north of Great
Slave Lake with access via two highways (Mackenzie
Highway from Alberta and the Liard Trail from
British Columbia) or direct flights from Calgary and
Edmonton. Communities include Yellowknife, Fort
Providence, Rae, Edzo, Wha Ti, Gameti, Wekweti and
Lutsek’e. Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest
Territories, is located on a large bay on Great Slave
Lake’s north shore. Yellowknife offers all the
advantages of a southern city, with the wilderness just Yellowknife
photo by:
a few minutes away. Bob Wilson/City of Yellowknife
JCT. MACKENZIE HWY 1 & HWY 3 Yellowknife is situated minutes away from pristine modern with a co-op store, a small centre that provides
TO YELLOWKNIFE wilderness. Nearly endless recreational opportunities overnight accommodations and community hall.
include hiking, summer and winter fishing, hunting, Moose is a traditional food source in Jean Marie
Fort Providence boating, canoeing, kayaking, golfing, dog mushing, River, but the women are also famous for their moose
Located 21 miles north of junction hwy 1 & 3. cross country and kite skiing, snowmobiling, walking hair tufting and moosehide clothing including jackets,
tours of Old Town, Frame Lake, Niven Lake and mittens and gauntlets, embroidered with intricate
Known to the aboriginal inhabitants as “Zhahti Prospectors Trail, mountain biking, ice road driving designs.
Kue” or mission house place, after the fine old church and wildlife viewing/photography.
which still stands, Fort Providence is the historic fur Deh Cho Region SPECIAL EVENTS
trade crossroads where the Mackenzie River begins Mudball Carnival: March
its journey to the Arctic. There is a ferry that takes The Deh Cho region is located in the southwest part Annual Fishing Derby: August
vehicles over the river from 6 AM until midnight. The of the Northwest Territories with access via the Liard
nearby campground has 33 sites and there is a service Trail north from British Columbia or air connections
center/motel complex and an inn located in town. to Fort Simpson from Fort Nelson, B.C., Whitehorse, AT CHECKPOINT
Fort Providence is home to many Slavey Dene Yukon or Yellowknife. Communities include Fort JCT. MACKENZIE HWY 1 & LIARD TRAIL
and Metis artisans who produce paintings and prints, Simpson, Fort Liard, Wrigley, Nahanni Butte, Jean 7 TO BC BORDER
carvings, traditional moose hair tufting and fish skin Marie River and Trout Lake.
crafts and beadwork. In August, Mackenzie Days
provides exciting events for the whole family with war MACKENZIE HWY 1 Checkpoint
canoe races, dances, singing and juggling. NORTH TO CHECKPOINT Location: at the intersection of NWT Highways
#1 and #7; 152 miles from BC border. Visitor
Yellowknife Information Centre hours: Daily 8 AM to
Location: On the northern shore of Great Slave Trout Lake midnight; Phone: (867) 695-2953; PO Box 438,
Lake on Highway 3; 205 miles north of the Location: South off the Mackenzie Highway, Fort Simpson, NT X0E 0N0
junctions of Highways 1 and 3; 914 miles from 176 miles west of Fort Providence
Edmonton, AB. Population: 20,000. Visitor Fort Simpson
Information: Yellowknife Visitors Centre, 4807- Trout Lake (Saamba Ke) is an angler’s paradise. Location: On Mackenzie Highway; 225 miles
52nd Street; PO Box 1776, Yellowknife, NT The 80 residents inhabit the southern end of the lake southwest of Yellowknife. Population: 1200.
X1A 2P4; Toll free: (800) 920-8687; Email: and rely heavily on traditional hunting, fishing and Visitor Information: Village of Fort Simpson
visitorservices@yellowknife.ca; Website: www. camping. The Dene language remains active and Office, PO Box 438, Fort Simpson, NT X0E
extraordinaryyk.com residents are encouraged to retain their aboriginal 0N0; Phone: (867) 695-3182 (summer); Open
culture. Even school children are taught trapping and year round: May 1 to Oct. 31, Daily 10AM to 7 or
The largest city in the Northwest Territories, hunting. Residents say there is always good fishing in 8PM; Winter hours Monday to Friday 1 to 5PM;
Yellowknife is ‘Where a Golden History Meets the bountiful lake, although the area is only accessible assistance provided for tours in community,
A Brilliant Future.’ A gold find at the west end of by plane for most of the year. accommodations, park use. Email: adminasst@
Yellowknife Bay in the mid-1930s spurred a gold vofs.ca; Website: www.fortsimpson.com.
rush. People began settling in Yellowknife and a SPECIAL EVENTS
number of companies started to mine for gold. In Winter Carnival: April Fort Simpson is located on a narrow island where
1967 Yellowknife was named the capital of the Fishing Derby: July or August the Liard and Mackenzie Rivers meet. It’s Slavey
Northwest Territories, and in 1970 incorporated as a name Liidlii Kue means “the place where the rivers
city. In 1991 diamonds were discovered in the NWT, Jean Marie River come together.” The North West Company ran a
sparking the largest staking rush in Canadian history. Location: Southeast of Fort Simpson, 38 miles successful trading post on the island from 1801-1811
In 1999, Yellowknife became trademarked as the from Checkpoint, 16 km off the Mackenzie named Fort of the Forks. It closed when rabbits
Diamond Capital of North America™. Highway. became scarce and three men died of starvation.
At the NWT Diamond Centre, visitors can follow a In 1822 the Hudson’s Bay Company opened a fur
diamond on its journey from beneath the arctic tundra Jean Marie (Tthek’ehdelj, or “water flowing all trading post on the island which was considered the
to a beautiful and brilliant stone, and watch diamond day”) is a tiny town of 50 people that began as an major post for the region.
cutters and polishers at work. Jewelry retail shops outpost in 1935 when a number of Dene families Today, Fort Simpson is the regional headquarters
in Yellowknife carry Canadian diamonds, loose or moved here to regain their culture and traditions. for government offices and offers many services
incorporated into local art and jewelry. Now the community is a mixture of the historical and including deluxe hotels, comfortable bed and

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