The oldest continuously occupied community in the Northwest Territories, Fort Resolution is located at the confluence of the Slave River and Great Slave Lake. This tiny hamlet of just over 500 people dates back to 1791 when the North West Company opened a trading post here.

Trapping remains a key local industry in Fort Resolution, along with commercial fishing and timber harvesting. Known traditionally as Denı́nu Kų́ę́, or “moose island place,” Fort Resolution also serves as the headquarters of the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation.

The beach here along Great Slave Lake is a gorgeous spot for summer swimming, bird watching, and fishing. There’s plenty of lush, scenic lakeshore where you can take a stroll, cast a line, or launch a boat into the waves. Or travel along the boardwalk and out onto Mission Island, a historic site that today is used for healing workshops and cultural events. The town also has a hockey arena, community hall, nursing station, general store, and diner.

When visiting Fort Resolution, be sure to make the trip out to the abandoned site of Pine Point, just 45 minutes west of town. Once one of the biggest mining towns in the North, Pine Point is now an eerie network of paved roads and sidewalks being overtaken by the wilderness. When the value of lead plummeted in the 1980s, the mine here closed and the township was evacuated. Many of the buildings were sold and moved to Fort Resolution (including the hockey arena), Hay River and even Northern Alberta.

Fort Resolution sits at the end of the Fort Resolution Highway, only a short 84-kilometre drive from Hay River. There is a Fort Resolution airport, but it only services charter and medevac flights.