Grab a paddleboard and get out on the calm waters of the NWT.
Paddleboarding – or stand up paddling – is an easily accessible way of traversing the waterways of the NWT, and it’s becoming a popular thing to do in the summers up North. Spend an afternoon paddling across the waters of the NWT to a private camping spot or experience the orange-hued skies on a summer evening – all along the quiet surface of one of the NWT’s amazing waterways.
Paddleboarding is growing as popular as other forms of paddling, like canoeing or kayaking, and often requires less preparation or equipment. Around the territory, outfitters offer paddleboard equipment rentals and many lodges and cabins will have paddleboarding gear for you to use. Either way, it’s easy to get out on a paddleboard in the NWT.
In Yellowknife, it’s easy to gear up, take a paddleboarding class and get out into the waters of Yellowknife Bay in Old Town, among its many colourful houseboats. Depending when you’re visiting, you might want to try out your luck in the Somba k’e Paddling Club’s annual race around Old Town’s Latham Island. A scenic and quiet paddleboard in Yellowknife’s most vibrant community is a great way to tour the area and experience life on the waterfront in the capital city.
With deck rigging on your board, you can also equip yourself for a longer trip by packing fishing or camping gear to reach estuaries where the North’s legendarily large fish are waiting to bite. Take an overnight journey into the territory’s timeless landscapes to truly immerse yourself in what makes the NWT so spectacular.
You’ll find paddleboards for rent at the waterfronts of many communities, including Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells, Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik as well as at parks like Wood Buffalo National Park. Tour operators specializing in river and lake tours are eager to take you out on the Mackenzie River, Great Bear Lake, Great Bear River, Brackett River, Kelly Lake, Keele River, even the Arctic Ocean itself – all options for the intrepid paddleboarding enthusiast.
With so many spectacular landscapes to see and inviting waterfronts to take off from, it’s no wonder that the Northwest Territories is becoming a favoured destination for paddleboarders who are keen to pack up and find new and exciting waterways to journey along.