Northern Escape: Your Guide to Exploring Nunavut’s Territorial Parks
Stand beneath towering mountains in Agguttinni Territorial Park, home to five fjords and some of the world’s highest rock walls. Tackle dramatic cliffs that rock climbers dream about. Enjoy a thrilling paddle from the taiga to the tundra along the Kangirjuap-Thelon Heritage River, listening to the thunder of muskoxen across the slopes of bedrock. Hire a knowledgeable local outfitter and set up camp beside the floe edge, where sea ice meets the open ocean in one of the world’s most breathtaking natural frontiers.
This is Nunavut Parks.
You don’t need to travel overseas to find epic adventures of this caliber and quiet places waiting with solitude, secrets and spirituality—just go to one of Nunavut’s Territorial Parks.
It’s time to embrace a northern escape to some of Canada’s most authentic special places where vast horizons, abundant wildlife and rich cultural heritage await. We’re here to help you plan an unforgettable holiday exploring the splendid and spectacular Nunavut Parks.
Nunavut Parks are locals’ favourite places to go fishing and camping, berry picking, boating or to have a spot of tea with friends. And they’re open and welcoming to visitors who are keen to explore these singular places of rivers, mountains, taiga and trails that have been travelled for thousands of years.
The 16 parks are spread across three regions covering the vast expanse of Nunavut. These regions, Kitikmeot, Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk, are home to an incredibly diverse array of wildlife, endemic plants, bird species and a landscape ranging from towering mountains to arctic taiga and tundra, freshwater Heritage Rivers and lakes, sea ice floes and the open Arctic Ocean.
In such a varied and immense territory, the active and cultural adventure options are as endless as the midnight sun’s brilliant summer nights.
Brightly coloured lichen and wildflowers cover the high cliffs in summer, while the frigid Arctic waters see travelling pods of orcas, belugas and narwhals. Cultural remnants of Thule sod houses from a thousand years ago allude to a rich history of hunting and fishing, activities still popular today with locals and visitors.
Visit a land alive with stories and traditions in Iqalugaarjuup Nunanga Territorial Park, near Rankin Inlet. Walk the ancient trails once shaped by the Dorset and Thule peoples and forage for lingonberries, blueberries and cloudberries. Train binoculars to view the twice-annual caribou migration (if your timing is right), as well as abundant wildlife like Arctic foxes, lemmings, hares, and incredible bird life like Sandhill cranes, snow geese and peregrine falcons.
In the protected area of Kekerten (Qikiqtan) Territorial Park, visitors will get a sense of the Inuit and Scottish whaling history of Cumberland Sound. Remnants of buildings, boats and tools associated with commercial whaling, which ended in the early 20th century, can be seen from a boardwalk trail connecting points of interest and winding through fields of Arctic bluegrass, floating buttercup and foxtail grass.
Shorebirds like ringed plovers and seabirds like black guillemots hunt for insects in the waters of the sound, where belugas and bowhead whales have made a triumphant return.
The white water and falls of the Coppermine River in Kugluk Territorial Park gave rise to this park’s name and have shaped its identity for millennia. A narrow gorge in the river twists into a cascading waterfall called Bloody Falls, well-known for an 18th century conflict that ended in tragedy for a group of Copper Inuit.
Accessible by a ATV trail from Kugluktuk, Kugluk is one of the few Nunavut Parks where you’ll find small dwarf birch and spruce trees growing in the rolling hills and rocky shelves. Watch for larger mammals like moose, wolves and grizzly bears drawn to the river’s freshwater and small prey.
Nunavut’s Territorial Parks restore, inspire and connect us deeply to the land—a sentiment well-worth a visit to remember, in a place you’ll never forget.
This article was sponsored by Nunavut Parks and Special Places
Nunavut Parks are essential to the quality of life for Nunavummiut. They are unique places in their cultural and natural heritage that inspire and sustain the spirit. Learn more at www.nunavutparks.com.
