When to go & weather

Weather

The NWT is a supersized wilderness reaching poleward from the 60th parallel. The south is evergreen flatlands, the east is the boulderscape of the Canadian Shield, and toothy mountains rear up from the west. Canada’s jumbo river, the Mackenzie, bisects the territory, draining two gargantuan lakes, Great Slave and Great Bear. In the North the territory hurdles the treeline and gathers in a few bleak High Arctic islands.

Weatherwise, summers range from miserable to stupendous. In Yellowknife and Inuvik, highs average 20°C, but on any given day you could find yourself sweltering or shivering. One sure thing is daylight: from May through July there’s no end of it. June’s the driest summer month, but lake ice can linger until the month’s end. Most visitors come in July and August.

Winters are long, dark and punishing. In January, lows in Yellowknife collapse to -40°C and daylight is feeble. If you’re keen on visiting in the snowy season, try March or April, when the sun climbs and the mercury follows suit.