Albert Faille’s Cabin is a window into the past and a must-see attraction in the Dehcho. It was from this modest one-room lodging that prospector Albert Faille would plan his quests into the Nahanni Mountains, seeking a legendary gold mine he never found.

Each spring from the 1950s, up until his death in 1974 at the age of 87, Faille would journey up the Liard and Nahanni rivers, portaging around the great Virginia Falls and continuing into the alpine backcountry. His unending hunt for gold was documented in the 1962 National Film Board short ‘The Nahanni.’ The film and media coverage made Faille an icon of the Nahanni and its spirit of adventure, but he was also known locally as a friendly, knowledgeable guide to the region. 

Preserved immediately after his death, Faille’s cabin is the oldest surviving building in Fort Simpson. It was constructed in 1919 from locally milled wood and used as a mining kitchen before Faille took up residence in the ’40s. Today, standing in a picturesque location overlooking the Mackenzie River, it attracts tourists and paddlers who visit on their way to the South Nahanni River.