Best Places to Camp in Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon

The Globe and Mail recently ran an article on the best camping sites in Canada, the article itself only had room to list six, but the readers wrote in and added many more.

Here are the camp sites for Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon:

Anders Robichaud from Iqaluit, Canada writes: The cofluence of
the Soper and Livingston rivers in Katanalik Territoral Park.

Privacy abounds in the steep walled valley hiding the most
verdant landscape Nunavut has to offer. Further up river, rapids
challenge your boat mastery, further down river, the water grows
relaxed and lazy leading to the only copse of what can be considered
trees to be found on Baffin Island.

At Soper and Livingston hiking is easy and rewarding; a nearby
waterfall charms, caribou poke curiously amongst the rocks and small
flowers bloom every colour of the rainbow.

It is a little-known and seldom-visited gem. A truly wonderful
place to shed ones concerns and simply marvel at the diverse miracle
of life on our planet.

Patricia McKenna from Whitehorse, Canada writes: One of the
most beautiful places to pitch a tent straddles the Yukon Territory
and Alaska. The Chilkoot Trail is both pristine and protected. After
leaving the Alaskan rain forest and crossing the summit one hikes onto
the snow fields and eventually down along flower-filled tundra. A
panoramic vista of snow-topped mountains and clear, cold glacier-blue
water awaits your tent. Your 360 view may be shared with a few other
intrepid souls who hike in the footsteps of the Klondike gold rush
seekers of 1898 or, maybe shared with just a marmot or two.

John McLean from Aurora, Canada writes: The south-western
plateau of Glacier Pass in Northern Ellesmere National Park provides a
number of undeveloped and frequently uneven tenting sites. The climb
to the site requires a day of steady hiking of 15 kms. from the base
camp on Lake Hazen. Included in this hike is a vertical rise of over
3000 feet in elevation and the numbing experience of crossing the Snow
Goose River and its tributaries.

The views from the campsite over the pass toward Roundel
Glacier to the north or Blister Ice Cap to the west are spectacular.
You are situated just shy of the 82nd parallel on land frequented by
less than a handful of hikers in any year. Views of a small herd of
Musk Oxen and foraging Arctic Hare, whose numbers are measured in the
dozens, are common. It is possible as well to see the occasional
Arctic Fox and Arctic Wolf. A further half day hike to the eastern end
of Glacier Pass provides more exhilarating views of the Abbe River,
Varsity Mountain and the Abbe Glacier.

The north face of Everest it isn’t, but it is Canadian,
affordable and achievable and I highly recommend the experience.

don morrison from yellowknife, Canada writes: Re- favourite
camping spot…
I consider myself an expert when it comes to camping in Canada
but then camping experts probably rank second only to hockey experts
in this country.
I’ve been a camper for more than 50 years. I’ve camped on the
east coast, west coast, arctic coast and just about everywhere in
between, including the bald prairie. I’ve been a car camper, a canoe
camper, a hiking camper and even a fly-in camper. I’ve camped with
family, with friends, with just my dogs, even once with my cats and of
course by myself.
Initially I scoffed at the idea of a favourite spot but on
reflection, there is one place that stands out for me as the best.
About half way up the east coast of Baffin Island you take a left turn
down Clyde Inlet and at the very bottom of the inlet where the Clyde
River charges into the sea, that is my favourite camping spot.
Why… there are so many reasons … the scenery is a
combination of mountain, glacier, rushing water, or sparkling ice …
amazing wildlife, fox, wolf, caribou, geese, falcons and more, great
fishing for arctic char, if you are lucky there will be families
camped by willing to share tea, bannock and smilea, there is also the
challenge of the weather, it can change from spring blizzard to dead
calm serenity and then back to blizzard in a day… but collectively
its the feeling of wow… this world is so special that makes this my
favourite spot to pitch a tent.

Dave Boone from Calgary, Canada writes: Jane and my memories of
great camping locations focus quickly on a remote Arctic site, nestled
beside the Ad Astra ice cap at the northern end of Ellesmere Island in
a National Park called Quttinirpaaq, that is the size of Switzerland.
Still, it only sees a handful of visitors each year in the glory weeks
of summer when flowers tougher than us bloom with a vengence born of
the knowledge that it is now or never. Our bright yellow tent is
pinned against a fresh wind, onto a bright rust-orange rock ledge high
above a lake by our packs and a few large cobbles positioned in the
corners. It is July and there is still ice on the lake that looks
surreally white against a cloudless blue sky. There is no vegetation
taller than our ankles as far as we can see in any direction and the
view seems endless and without scale. Our tent looks out over the lake
from a 100m cliff at Airforce Glacier, a sea of white ice sprinked
with debris and split into two by a massive flat-topped ‘mesa’ of dark
grey rock that has thus far resisted being ground into grit. We have
front row seats for geography in action, watching slabs of blue ice
crack off the leading edge of the glacier and plunge into the lake
waters below with the sound of a million glasses shattering. We are
basking in the midnight sun with our trekking companions, drying out
overworked socks on the tent peg lines, and hoping that the polar bear
that passed through our last stunning campsite two nights before, will
find the smell of those socks even more repulsive than we do! We move
upwind with good reason because the air blowing off the glacier is so
incredibly fresh that it tingles in our nostrils. We are completely in
the moment. Dave Boone & Jane Poole

Joanna Tiemessen from Yellowknife, Canada writes: The best
place to pitch a tent is on an island in the middle of Hidden Lake (or
any lake for that matter!) in the Northwest Territories. After a
beautiful paddle and a few portages (just to ensure you have to do a
little work for this glory) you are in majestic and solitaire
surroundings. Pick an island, any island, and stake your ground for
the weekend or however long you can stand to be away from
civilization. The water is a breathtaking aqua colour due to the
shallow sand bottom of the lake and it is warm enough to spend the
entire day swimming in. Fish jump out of the water and beg to be
caught for dinner. The sun shines 24 hours a day in the summer months
and the sky never seems to touch the horizon. And even when the days
begin to shorten in August, the sunsets into the lake are amazing. And
best of all, the local bears usually don’t make the effort to swim
over to your island for a visit. So, this is the best place for my
family and I to set up a tent – and we are so blessed that it is close
enough to our backyard, we can do it as often as possible.

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