A GLOBE-TOP ADVENTURE
OF A LIFETIME
All Nunavut parks are open to the public with
most off ering scheduled fl ights to adjoining
communities where certifi ed outfi tters can
take visitors into the park. The experienced
can travel on their own (
www.nunavut
tourism.com), while others can join Southern
Canada-based adventure travel groups like
Black Feather (www.blackfeather.com).
One of these parks is Sirmilik on Baffi n
Island's northern tip near Pond Inlet which
is comprised of four diverse areas including
glacier-draped Bylot Island, home to
towering hoodoo rock formations and a
Migratory Bird Sanctuary. The Oliver Sound
area is famed among kayakers for belugas,
narwhals, seals and birdlife spottings (
www.
parkscanada.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nu/sirmilik ).
Ukkusiksalik is a lush, sub-Arctic tundra
landscape surrounding the vast inland sea
of Wager Bay. It is known for its wealth of
archaeological remains, Arctic wolves and
caribou. In spring, local outfi tters from
Naujaat and Chesterfi eld Inlet snowmobile
intrepid visitors into the park; in summer,
boat trips are a safe and comfortable way to
watch for belugas and seals (
www.parks
canada.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nu/ukkusiksalik).
One of Canada's newest national parks,
Qausuittuq, lies on a cluster of islands
north of the Northwest Passage off Bathurst
Island. It has rolling tundra and features
the small, endangered Peary caribou (
www.
parkscanada.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nu/qausuittuq ).
A visit to the underwater wrecks of HMS
Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic
Site protecting the two legendary ships that
sank in 1845 during Sir John Franklin's
quest for the Northwest Passage is only
possible via the occasional Northwest
Passage cruise ship. However, a visit to
nearby Gjoa Haven's Natillik Heritage Centre
reveals how Inuit knowledge helped locate
the fi rst wreck site in 2014 (
www.parkscanada.
gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nu/epaveswrecks).
WILD, REMOTE AND DIVERSE
Despite their extremely remote locations,
Parks Canada is off ering aff ordable
"Northern Iconic Experiences" to two of
Nunavut's dramatic national parks, most of
which can be enjoyed by the general public.
Auyuittuq is one of Nunavut's most
accessible parks, reached from the hamlet
of Pangnirtung, only 30 km away. Every
Saturday in April a snowmobile expedition
with local Inuit and Parks Canada guides
takes visitors into the grandeur of ords
and glaciers with guests travelling on
traditional Inuit qamutiks towed by snow
machines on a day trip to the Arctic Circle.
In summer, a day trip travels the scenic
route by boat and includes a short hike to
the foot of Ulu Peak (
www.parkscanada.gc.
ca/en/pn-np/nu/auyuittuq ).
Much further up the globe, a bush plane
takes off from Resolute Bay during mid-
summer on a scheduled Parks Canada
charter to Quttinirpaaq, Canada's northern-
most national park, for a two-week
backcountry experience among towering
peaks, ice caps and raging rivers at the top
of Ellesmere Island (
www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/
nu/quttinirpaaq). Stay at spectacular Tanquary
Fiord for a base camp and photography
experience with day-hikes, or gear-up for
the epic 14-day Ad Astra hike (
www.black
feather.com/hike/ellesmere-ad-astra-hike).
Can't travel that far north? Check out
Quttinirpaaq's stunning landscapes on
Google Street View instead (www.google.ca/
maps/place/Quttinirpaaq+National+Park )!
With jagged peaks, glaciers, sheer ords and vast
tundra dotted with caribou, muskox, polar bears and
Arctic foxes, Nunavut's fi ve national parks are among
the country's biggest, newest and most spectacular.
Though at the top of the world, Parks Canada is helping
visitors to more easily and aff ordably access some of
these remote gems, sometimes in the company of
knowledgeable local Inuit proud to share their culture
and unique homeland (www.parkscanada.gc.ca).
Nunavut
National Parks:
Remote, Spectacular and
Increasingly Accessible
BY MARGO PFEIFF
DAY HIKING IN AUYUITTUQ NATIONAL PARK • PARKS CANADA/JOVAN SIMIC
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