Land of the Midnight Sun! - Yellowknife - TravBuddy

I'm writing about my home town as I hope many people get a chance to visit the north in their lifetime. Not many chose it as a vacation destination and although there aren't your typical 'tourist attractions', it is a magical place with much to offer to the person in love with nature!

Yellowknife is the capital city of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The winters are extremely cold, long and dark. Typical winter temperature in Yellowknife are -20 to -40, and colder with the wind chill. Make sure you bring the warmest coat and ski pants you can find as well as good boots. If you are into snowshoeing, skidooing, cross country skiing, dog sleding or ice fishing then this is the place to do it! But the icing on the cake is the northern lights! Yellowknife is a most excellent place to view them and it is an unforgettable experience, although a cold one! Yellowknife is a very popular destination for people from Japan to go aurora viewing and they can be recognised by their big red snowgoose parkas all over town! March is a good time to visit as there is Caribou Carnival out on the frozen lake which includes fireworks, snow sculture competitions, dog sled and skidoo races, big air skidoo competition, ugly truck and dog contest, etc. Also be sure to visit the Snow King's Ice Castle where you can see art displayed on the walls of snow, short film viewings, fireworks, puppet shows - all in the bay on great slave lake. Remember to check out the house boats!

I definatly recommend visiting Yellowknife in the summer though. The weather is typically beautiful and sunny. They don't call it the Land of the Midnight Sun for nothin! It is light out well into the early morning and there are times when the sun never fully sets. The land is very unique, mostly rock with small trees. Huge blue skies! There are no sky scrapers here. Nothing to obstruct views of the breath taking sunsets! There is abundant wildlife and plantlife in the area. A short walk takes you from the city to the wilderness! Fishing and camping are typical summer activities. There is a golf course (which is really one big sand trap!) Be sure to check out Old Town where all of the towns wonderful character is. If you are lucky enough, try to get a ride on a float plane. Don't miss the Wildcat Cafe, Bullocks Bistro for the best fish and chips, the Woodyard, Pilot's Monument and Giant Mine. June and July offer Raven Madd Daze when the streets are full of people and entertainment (a very busy night for the bars) and Folk on the Rocks, a must see outdoor music festival beside a lake which attracts acts from around the world!

Yellowknife is an easy place to meet cool friendly people who are more than eager to include newcomers in whatever they are doing. Check out the Black Night Pub for a good place to mingle with the locals, devour a great burger and down an ice-cold Keiths! Your stay will be memorable and dont forget your camera!!