Things To Do

Walking Trails near Yellowknife

Yellowknife is blessed with a number of trails suitable for walking, biking, hiking and jogging. Travel at your own risk and carry water and bug dope and be prepared to see wildlife, including, occasionally, a black bear. A good reference on the flora and fauna of this area is Blue Lake and Rocky Shore by Jamie Bastedo, available locally.

The Prospector’s Trail (airport neighbourhood)

This is a scenic (4 km) trek across a colourful patchwork of ancient rock. With a pocket guide from the Northern Frontier Visitor’s Centre, a good pair of rubber soled shoes (and some bug dope) you can interpret the forces that formed the geological region surrounding the city. A government Geological Survey team located gold near here in the 1930s. Prospectors and miners soon arrived from the south by boat, raft and aircraft and set the scene for development of Yellowknife, a gold mining community for some 70 years.

The trail starts and finishes in the Fred Henne Campground.

Frame Lake Trail (downtown neighborhood)

The Frame Lake Trail ( 9 km) is an extended network of well maintained paved and graveled walkways and bike routes that circle scenic lakes, climb cliffs, and connect the Bristol monument, Lakeview cemetery and Jackfish Lake with Frame Lake and downtown. These nature trails through the boreal forest are a daily route to work and an exercise path for Yellowknifers in all seasons.

Starting near the Visitor Centre, circle Frame Lake clockwise, on a partly paved path passing the Department of National Defence, the RCMP headquarters, City Hall, Niven beach and park, the pool, the arena and the hospital, as well as several charming neighborhoods. Then choose to continue your journey toward the Bristol monument, the airport and the campground, or return over the rocky shore of Frame Lake to the Legislative Assembly and the Prince of Wales Heritage Centre.

Frame Lake Trail - Geological Guide pdf

(Developed by the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Canada)

Niven Lake Trail (Niven Lake neighborhood)

Across the highway from the Visitor Centre the (2 km) Niven Lake Trail circles a small and productive lagoon which features some of the best bird watching in Yellowknife, as well as glimpses of muskrats and the occasional beaver. There’s a variety of ground surfaces here, from muskeg, to forest to rock, and many scenic viewpoints with interpretive signage.

Old Town (historical)

Yellowknife’s Old Town (The Rock) is a must-see for all visitors. It’s a rocky point of land, part of the City’s Great Slave Lake waterfront. Once home to log lean-tos and tent frames, Old Town is now an upscale residential and commercial area, with a colourful past.

Walk its paved streets and sandy lanes with a guidebook available for free from the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre. Buildings from the 1930s rub shoulders with unique homes designed by local architects. Bush planes still tie up to the docks, summer and winter. In summer, eat at the Wildcat Café, the city’s oldest restaurant, dating back to 1937. Year round, try the fish and chips cooked to order in an equally old log building at the foot of the Rock.

Don’t miss the panoramic view from the Bush Pilots Monument. In summer, Great Slave Lake stretches to the horizon, in fall and winter, the aurora dances overhead. The monument commemorates the men and women who flew the tiny bush planes which opened the North. Hike up the stairs, the view of water, rock and the city is truly breathtaking. Then saunter down Ragged Ass Road.

Ragged Ass Road
Ragged Ass is a colloquial term for “dirt poor,” and it used to be the name of a small gold mine in this area. However, the story of Ragged Ass Road involves three local fellows, a late night and just the right amount of liquid refreshment. The boys decided to rename their street Ragged Ass Road. They painted a sign and put it up, in a part of Yellowknife called Old Town. The name stuck, and soon after, Ragged Ass Road was adopted as an official street name.

Singer Tom Cochrane named a music album after Yellowknife’s famous street a few years ago. And now one of our hottest local gift items is a full sized (or pint sized) official Ragged Ass Road sign. The metal street signs used to disappear so often from the street corner in Old Town, that Yellowknife City fathers declared the signs could be sold to keep the City budget in line.

And that’s the story behind Yellowknife’s most famous street.

City of Yellowknife Heritage Walking Tours:

Old Town PDF

New Town PDF

Ski Club (Niven Lake)

In summer, the cross country ski trails developed by the Yellowknife Ski Club lead to scenic walks on the ridges overlooking Yellowknife’s Back Bay. The trails start at the clubhouse on Highway #3, just a short drive out of Yellowknife. These trails can be slippery and steep in places. A $5 fee is charged for a day pass, to assist the ski club in maintaining the trails.

Range Lake Trail (Frame Lake South)

The 1.2 km Range Lake Trail extends the Frame Lake trail system to include suburban Frame Lake South, a popular residential area. From the Frame Lake trail, take the exit at the hospital (the big red brick building at the opposite end of Frame Lake from the Visitor Centre), and head through the hospital parking lot toward the supermarket across the intersection of Old Airport Road and Range Lake Road. The starting point for the Range Lake trail is behind the Circle K convenience store.