Aulavik National Park visit timing guide for the Northwest Territories

Canada's Arctic polar desert protecting the world's northernmost navigable river and Earth's highest muskox population

Aulavik National Park

Aulavik National Park represents one of Canada's most isolated and ecologically distinct protected areas, located on Banks Island in the far northern Northwest Territories. The park encompasses approximately 12,274 square kilometres of Arctic Lowlands at the northern terminus of this large island in the Beaufort Sea. Established in 1992, the park protects a polar desert environment that experiences extremely low precipitation, high winds, and temperatures that define the extreme edge of terrestrial life in North America. The landscape is characterized by tundra vegetation, coastal wetlands along the northern shore facing the McClure Strait, and an upland plateau in the southern regions that rises to 450 metres above sea level. The park is completely treeless, a consequence of both latitude and the arid polar desert conditions that prevent tree growth. Access to the park is exclusively by air, with visitors chartering aircraft to one of four designated landing sites, reflecting the remote and challenging nature of this Arctic wilderness. The park holds deep cultural significance, with the Inuvialuktun name "Aulavik" translating to "place where people travel," acknowledging the long history of human occupation and movement through these lands.