Yellowknife Holidays

Best time to visit Yellowknife

The best time to visit Yellowknife depends on what you want to do during your trip.

Summer (June to August) is a great time to visit if you want to enjoy the outdoors. The weather is mild and sunny, and there are many opportunities for hiking, camping, fishing, and canoeing. There are also a number of cultural festivals and events held during the summer months, such as the Midnight Sun Festival and the Folk on the Rocks Music Festival.

Winter (December to March) is the best time to see the northern lights. Yellowknife is one of the best places in the world to see the aurora borealis, and there is a good chance of seeing them on any clear night during the winter months. Winter is also a great time to experience other winter activities, such as dog sledding, snowmobiling, and ice fishing.

If you are interested in seeing both the northern lights and enjoying the outdoors, then the best time to visit Yellowknife is September to November or April to May. During these months, the weather is still relatively mild, and there is a good chance of seeing the northern lights. However, keep in mind that the days are shorter during these months, so you will have less time for outdoor activities.

Discover Yellowknife

One of the closest cities to the North Pole, the lakeside city of Yellowknife is the capital of the Northwest Territories and home to nearly half of the entire population. Once a gold rush town, the city was later revived by diamond mining and is now often called the ‘Diamond Capital’ of North America. A holiday heaven for adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts, Yellowknife sits on the shores of the vast Great Slave Lake which during the summer months is simply crying out to be explored by boat or canoe.

Yellowknife enjoys a celebration and holds many festivals throughout the year, from summer music festivals and lakeside cook-offs to the extravaganza that is The Snowking - which lasts for the whole month of March and comes complete with an impressive full size snow castle built on Yellowknife Bay.

Downtown Yellowknife has several shopping centres with a range of shops including some great galleries with work by local artists and gift stores, and a good selection of pubs and restaurants. The city’s old town is located on the shores of Great Slave Lake and is a popular place to explore, with its colourful houseboats, waterfront restaurants, local artisans and the iconic Wildcat Café - one of the town’s first restaurants. In the centre of the old town is ‘The Rock’ and on its summit, the Pilot’s Monument, which is dedicated to the bush pilots of Canada who were essential in the settlement of Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. You can climb the wooden steps to the monument for some fantastic panoramic views.

A modern town in the midst of beautiful wilderness, Yellowknife is a great place to visit and explore on your holiday, whatever time of year you stop by.

Things to do on Yellowknife holidays

Built on the shores of Great Slave Lake and with several other lakes in town, Yellowknife’s activities often revolve around water. You can easily spend several days sailing, motoring or paddling around its many coves and bays, fishing its bountiful waters, or cruising its picturesque East Arm. There are many smaller lakes within the city offering some lovely hiking trails of varying difficulty. The wide open landscapes are also rich in wildlife including many species of birds, wolves, moose and bear. A large herd of free roaming wood bison - one of the largest land animals in the country, bigger even than the polar bear – roam in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary just outside town.

During the cold winters the lakes freeze, providing a great playground for snowmobiling, snow-shoeing and ice-fishing as well as ice-skating on the cleared lakes in town. Other winter activities include dogsled tours and expeditions, and of course, watching the stunning Aurora Borealis dance across the dark night skies. There are some pretty lakeside trails that lead from here around Frame Lake and the smaller Niven Lake. The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre is an interesting museum with some excellent exhibits and artefacts on the history of Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories, while the nearby Northern Frontier Visitors Centre will provide useful advice and information to help you plan your visit.

As for downtown Yellowknife with its museums, bars and restaurants, and spectacular winter light displays, the city offers plenty of entertainment on dry land too. Yellowknife is still linked to many of its surrounding towns by plane, meaning remote places such as the historic fur trading post of Fort Simpson and the beautiful scenery of Nahanni National Park - including the thunderous Virginia Falls - are within easy reach.