General Tourism Information

Spectacular Northwest Territories - Excellent website from Northwest Territories Tourism and your complete tourist guide.  Download or order tourist guides online!

Northern Frontier - Source for travel information on Yellowknife, Capital of the Northwest Territories, and the Tli Cho communities north of Great Slave Lake

Getting Here
     By Air with several major airlines from Calgary and Edmonton (see right panel)
     By Road it is 1500 kms from Edmonton and such a beautiful experience,
          - Download a PDF of a NWT Explorer's Road Map here
          - See section below for additional comments.

Getting Around
While some will opt to observe from our site at the Explorer Hotel, the weather may necessitate relocating to an alternate site far from Yellowknife.  And some may simply chose a site outside of Yellowknife as their primary observing site.  In these cases, you will need to arrange for your own transportation (see Vehicle Rentals right panel).

Where to Stay:  Yellowknife Hotels,  Bed & Breakfasts,  Motels
     Check out our Transit of Venus discount rate in the section below.

Where to Eat in Yellowknife

Territorial Parks     Camping at Fred Henne Territorial Park at Yellowknife

City of Yellowknife
          City of Yellowknife Website
          Yellowknife Wikipedia Entry
          Exploring Yellowknife - from the Spectacular Northwest Territories website
 

Airlines Serving Yellowknife (YZF)

Vehicle Rentals in Yellowknife
 

Budget

National

Rent-A-Relic
Phone: 867-873-3400

The Explorer Hotel has offered our group a discount rate of $174/night (the standard rate is $235/night), and the west end of the upper parking lot with be blocked off for the transit and will serve as one of our Observing Sites with a clear view of the Transit right down to Contact IV.

Fifteen hundred kilometres is a long drive, but it is a beautiful drive with many interesting sites along the way (see the map below). Highway #35 is the route north through Alberta, continuing on as NWT Highway #1 after crossing the 60th Parallel.  Be sure to visit Alexandra Falls just before Enterprise, where the highway continues west towards Fort Simpson.  Take the side road to Kakisa for a brief view of Lady Evelyn Falls, and then continue west to the turnoff for Highway #3 to the Deh Cho (Mackenzie River) crossing on the Merv Hardy ferry (hours of operation 0600 to 2345).  This is the last season for the ferry to operate before the new bridge is completed. Continue on Highway #3 past the Fort Providence turnoff -- but a side trip to Providence makes a good rest stop -- to Yellowknife.  There are roadside territorial parks at Chan Lake and North Arm Park just before Behchoko.  Stop by the Frank Channel for pictures. The final 100 kilometres is undulating, but paved, highway (90 km/hr is the speed limit) with Canadian Shield outcrops jutting out.

It is possible to make the trip in one long day, especially with two or more drivers.  However, our suggestion is to drive north and stop for the night in High Level, Alberta, which has lots of motels and places to eat, and continue on up to Yellowknife on the second day.  You will be in good company as many Yellowknifers do the same.  Be sure to gas up in High Level.  In the NWT there are highway filling stations at Enterprise and Big River service station near Fort Providence.

Click here for NWT Road Reports and check before you drive!

You are in Bison country, so slow down and exercise caution when passing Bison and other wildlife.  Bison are usually found in herds, but often bulls are found alone, long the sides of the highways and crossing the highway with little or no warning.  Bison are very common along Highway #3 between the Deh Cho (Mackenzie River) and Behchoko. Check the Dept of Transportation website for further information:  Drive Alive!

With respect to your Transit of Venus observing trip, there are two additional benefits to traveling by road.  First, you may be able to transport a better choice of observing equipment compared to flying-in with equipment.  This may be the difference between using an AstroPhysics Starfire compared to a Sky 90.  Second, on the way up to Yellowknife, especially for those people making the trip over two days, you should be able to check the observing sites we have surveyed for use as primary or alternate sites in case of bad weather.  The Observing Sites webpage currently has site details, but in early May after a final spring site survey we will provide an update with the latest information.