The Canadian North Yellowknife & Whitehorse

The North is the best, face it. In Game of Thrones who is the house everyone loves? The North, of course. Look at our continent, which part is the best, the north! Where is Canadas hidden gem, the North. While I work on my actual writing. My recent trip to Europe I thought I could put a few Alberta / the North blogs. Tour guides or things I like. Yes it seems dumb to be doing two projects at once, but I will be honest. This is lunch break or morning coffee writing, it won’t be edited well but I do want to post things every couple weeks still while I work on my big blog. PS CBC you dick heads, read this, like it and let me tour Alberta. Try and get a few more people out here to love you.

I debated whether to put Hay River in this entry or to tie it in with High Level, La Crete and maybe more but I think I will put it here, with Yellowknife and Whitehorse. Anyways the drive from Edmonton to Hay River is mind numbing!! From Edmonton you can go a million ways, but its probably 1 of 2 ways. Up through Slave Lake and then the back way 88 to La Crete, High Level and to the territories or Slave through Peace River and up to the territories. I assume Peace is quicker but 88 is peaceful! I love that highway. I lose all cell reception and no one can bother me for a few hours. Plus La Crete is a beauty to see. That will be another entry though. Anyways once you hit the territories you’re on the highway of heroes, which I think is a pretty cool tribute to people who serve the public. Keep your eyes open, when you hit Enterprise go right!! I almost headed on to Yellowknife, thank fuck for GPS. Also it is a disappointment there is no space ship, at least that I saw in Enterprise.

Hay River isn’t much and at the same time it really is. The history and the shipping industry from Hay River is insane. Times have changed, but without Hay River in the past, much of Canadas far north wouldn’t exist. To this day there is still a shit ton of barges that service the north leaving from here. Buffalo Air started here, if you know where to go there is a MASSIVE ship repair station. The business end of Hay River is actually incredible. I was lucky enough to get a couple hour tour all over with a local. I thought it would be 5 minutes but by the end some of the history and the business blew my mind. The town, I dunno….. Why TF do you not have a Timmies!! Gold mine BOOM, if I had any desire to move here I would open one. When I wanted a coffee at 6 AM I had to go to a shell gas station. I am not even asking for a Starbucks! Also accommodations are not nice. The Ptarmigan isn’t BAD. Maybe I have gotten to boujie in my old age but it also isn’t nice. A deep fucking clean and a fresh coat of paint would do wonders. I know there are other places to stay and I think I will give one a try next time. Hay River more than anywhere in the north I think embodies the outdoor lifestyle. From what I saw there was fuck all to do except outdoor stuff. Camping, hunting, fishing, enjoying that beautiful lake. That is not a critiscm, the world would likely be a better place if more people were like that! I can’t speak too much more on the town, I have only been there once so far. My thoughts, bring a fishing rod. Bring some golf clubs. Camp, my god there is some nice beaches. Bring your own trailer, better than a hotel and bring a coffee maker. Even an old percolator. On the way up, stop and look at the falls! It will be the right hand side of the highway, Alexandra and Louise falls. I tried, there was a closure do to slides so I could barely see them but they looked amazing. Worth the hike!!

Fun side note in what would be called "downtown" Hay River there is an abandoned apartment tower. I believe it is finally being fixed up but it legit would be where a villain would have his base in a post apocalyptic world. It looks so out of place but It is neat....

So I cant carry on the highway to Yellowknife because I have never driven there. I am told it is worth doing, once. Also that if your tall you may bang your head on the roof of your truck it gets so bumpy. That the Deh Cho bridge is a wonder. For most that’s the Mackenzie bridge. If you drive in on Highway 3 or you fly into Yellowknife, go the Yellowknife or Mackenzie highway into town. Don’t go Old Airport Road. Its industrial and its boring and also why does every northern town have Old Airport Road???

Just some rough rando facts Yellowknife was founded 1934 mostly because of the gold discoveries. Current population sits around 24,000. From gold it moved to diamonds but slowly a lot of the mines are closing. Also even if it doesn’t feel like it Yellowknife is 400Km south of the arctic circle. Might feel like you are in the artic but technically no. Yellowknife sits on traditional Dene First Nations land. There is the annual SnowKing Winter festival that has massive snow castle made on Great Slave, which would be something to see but I don’t think you’ll catch me there in winter. It is kind of crazy Yellowknife Crime Severity Index sat at 317.4 in 2024 307% above the Canadian average. Now a lot of this I believe is due to the poverty and other factors. Something to keep in mind, not to scare tourists away!

Soon as you hit town you’re going to see the only 2 places to stay, at least in my opinion. First is the Nova, I will just say any town with a Nova, stay at the Nova. A Chateau Nova, not a Nova Inn. Anyways the Nova, is big, modern, and clean. The service in general is good. Now the food in the restaurant is meh. The lounge is okay. If someone just wants to stay in a nice hotel, this is the one. Right beside it, on the hill is the Explorer. Not as new, but still nice, clean with great service but you can tell the hotel is a few decades old. The food is MUCH better. I will say the view from the patio here is the best view in Yellowknife. I got terrible news here at one point, which association usually makes the place terrible. Yet I still look at this patio, sitting in the sun as one of the nicest places I have been. There are more known hotel chains scattered through town but these are the two I would say. DO NOT STAY AT QUALITY INN. The rooms are nasty, beds are not comfy, showers suck, no AC. Oh and I watched a dude take a shit on the sidewalk out front.

Okay so what do you do in Yellowknife? I can only speak to summer, I don’t think you could pay me to be here in the winter but summer. GO fishing!!! I can’t say that I have. I want to! You can easily find a rental that will take you out. If you’re serious there are dozens of fly in lodges from here. So if someone was to ask me what do you do, my answer is gonna be fish. On top of that you can drive within an hour of town and find plenty of lakes and waterfalls to check out. Like anywhere in the north if you are an outdoorsy person you’re in heaven! Go for midnight golf. Another thing I haven’t done but damn do I want to. Sure its just golf but teeing off when people are going to bed just sounds fun. Fair note I have heard it is kind of a terrible course. Also everyone will say, see the northern lights. Go check out Ragged ass road. It’s really not much but a sign anymore but still a great story. Old town is worth a walk, but if you really wanna see something check out the museum here. It is amazing, it is something I think the government actually puts some money and care into. It’s my highlight for sure.

So you want to eat and drink? Copperhouse is by far the best for a real meal. Bring your wallet. Monkey Tree has great appies and I think I said eat at the explorer. It has never let me down. There is the staples like a BP, Yellowknife really isn’t a culinary town. HOWEVER you should hit Bullocks Bistro at some point for some fresh lake fish. They do such an amazing job. Where I haven’t tried is the Wildcat. I have heard it can be very good seasonally, I have heard it has a rotating kitchen. Heard lots of things but never actually tried it. So do me a favour and go give it a try. The thing Yellowknife is, well it’s a drinking town. I have no actual stats but I swear its gotta have more place to drink per capita than anywhere else in Canada. As I said, have one on the patio at the Explorer. Then you can go to the Monkey Tree. It has the pub vibe you need. Pretty sure if I lived here, it would be my Moes tavern. There is the Black Knight. I have never actually been but every year I am there people talk about how great it is. Of course there is Harleys, I think you can even get a tattoo if you stop in there. This is your uber dive bar. Feel like dancing or playing pool, try the Raven. Or there is the legendary Range. Strange Range to the locals. These last ones are actually fairly rough and I haven’t been in them all. In fact I was advised don’t go but for some reason people do. I think it’s a right of passage for locals and depending on the tourist, they are places to party or avoid. I would like to try the Woodyard, I have heard the locals really like the local beer and the Kilt and Castle looks neat. Let’s be honest you can’t go wrong with an Irish pub. So I stick to my original statement, Yellowknife is drinking town. Up to you where you wanna try, oh and BTW that’s not nearly a full list. That’s just the ones I know of but if you drive around you’re going to see so many more!!

Yellowknife is a strange place. It is beautiful, it is outdoorsy. It is also fucking dirty and filled with poverty. It confuses me. This place should be a northern paradise but it is very much like a smaller, dirtier Edmonton. This is something I haven’t gotten into with a local but does the local government fail? Is there no way to combat the poverty that seems to plague this place? Besides the rugged outdoorsy stuff, this place is easier to get to than Whitehorse so why isn’t the government trying to draw in that fat tourist cash??? As a human I think they should work on the social plans and help the people. As a business person, why not work for the tourist dollars…. Everybody wins.

Whitehorse! Founded in? Kinda just started growing roughly 1900. Didn’t become a capital until 1953 when it took that title from Dawson City. Population roughly 30,000 plus. The name came from the White Horse Rapids, while it did boom because of the gold rush earlier, WWII and the Alaska Highway made it the dominate hub of the Yukon. Every year roughly in February they host the Rendezvous festival. It is supposed to get people out and mingling in the cold ass winter. I was told it is the only time you will find strippers in Whitehorse! The Whitehorse Crime index sat at 170.7 in 2024. Far below Yellowknife but still above the national average. Have heard a few locals tell me it “feels” worse but to me it sure feels like a safe tourist town. Fairly certain there is the same poverty as Yellowknife but either social services are better or the town hides it better!

See I had been to Yellowknife before Whitehorse and when I landed there I assumed it would be the same. That was my ignorance. If Yellowknife is small Edmonton then Whitehorse is small Banff. This place is made for tourism. Like right beside the airport is the transport museum. Sounds kinda lame but I have heard it is really good. Never had the chance to go in it yet. Maybe next time!

So you need a place to stay? The Hyatt is the newest, less than year? I went in to look around and ya it looks nice. Bring a wallet or two if you wanna stay here. There is also the Raven which is newer and from the outside also looks like a beauty. Never been in though. I would say if you want the two nicest hotels, that’s it. However I keep ending up at the Gold Rush Inn. Its 100 year’s old, yes. It has been renovated I would assume a few times over that period because it is “modern” in general. By that I would say you might think its 30 years old not 130. Rooms are comfy but the biggest thing for me while working there is the gold pan saloon. The food is terrible, except breakfast! Also everyone knows breakfast is good there so we typically meet there. If someone wants just a beer, it is like the perfect little pub for locals. That is the convenience factor for me. Although you are given earplugs in your room because the walls are paper thin. Maybe next year stay at the Hyatt right next door but meet at the gold pan. The other nice thing is it is right on main street. If you are a tourist you can park your car and not have to drive anywhere which is nice. There are tons of other hotels but I haven’t given them a second look. The Sky out by the airport looks nice but I have had more than 1 local say no, it’s got a lot of sketchy shit happening. Whether that is true or not I dunno but when I hear it from locals I tend to listen.

So what to do in Whitehorse…. Well there is so fucking much. First do the main street boardwalk. Yes it is just typical tourist Knick knack shit but pick something up. You can then walk the whole boardwalk down to the Shipyards Park or Peace Park or whatever it is called. That’s the tourist walk. Thursdays all summer they have an awesome little farmers market. I would buy something BUT fresh food is hard to keep in a hotel for a couple days then fly it home. Hit up Miles Canyon. Yes you need a car to get there in 10 minutes but the trails there are awesome, the river view is amazing but wear decent shoes. They don’t believe in guard rails for some reason. Driving the other way looking for a customers shop I ended up at some falls. I guess there is the Nordic hot springs and a wildlife preserve to walk, which I haven’t seen. There is the Kwanlin Dun centre, The SS Klondike and the wooden church museum. All very interesting if you are looking for culture and history. Besides just being fun to say Kwanlin, showcases the native life here. The Klondike is actually mindblowing, seeing how big the old ships were that travelled the mighty Yukon River. The church is right behind the hotel, Gold Rush if you stay there, small but packed. Also the MacBride Museum is amazing, here set aside a few hours to enjoy. But now you’re hungry after a day of exploring….

Whitehorse is the foodie capital of the north. Well maybe not, there is a lot of north to see but from what I have seen it wins. If you didn’t have breakfast at the Gold Rush or a crappy hotel continental, try burnt toast café. Because tourism is such a big deal they make sure to go way beyond just bacon and eggs. Now of course Whitehorse has your Boston Pizza, Rickys, used to have an Earls and the worst Starbucks on the planet but fuck that if you’re here try something!!! The fact is there is so many good, mid-range places it will blow your mind. You want some BBQ, it’s a short drive but try the Smoke and Sow. Just don’t plan on eating anymore that day, cause your full. Maybe you need some Mexican?? Try La Cara. You have Caribbean, Chinese, you name it they likely have it. For some good mid-range places Ill vouch for. The Dirty Northern and Big Bear are social house vibes. Good food, decent drinks. I have heard Railworks is right up there and Woodcutters as well, though I haven’t tried those 2. Gather is very unique more family friendly with great service and food. High end, you want the Belly of the Bison or G&P. Bison is more chill but maybe not as fancy. G&P almost tries too hard to look like a HIGH HIGH end steak joint, but it is good! Last is Carved in the Hyatt. I have never eaten there but I did look in. Didn’t blow my mind, the menu I mean but it is framed as the Highest end place is the city. There are a zillion other places, just google it but no matter what you should try local shit. Bison, fish, anything! Don’t go all the way up here for chicken fucking nuggets!

SO is the great white north worth it? Fuck yeah! The summers are amazing and the winter is dangerous. The people are one of kind, 99% of them have been amazing. Crazy, yes. Kind and happy, patient as well. The countryside is beautiful. The history and culture, so unique. I don’t mean one of other the either. Both communities are like this. If it seemed like I shit on Yellowknife, maybe I did but I do see it as beautiful. While our nation struggles with unity maybe everyone should travel and see other parts they have never seen before. Sure the truth is if you have seen one big city, you have an idea about all of them. If you have seen one small town, same idea but chances are you have never seen anything like the North!