Tuktut Nogait National Park is a national park in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Tuktut Nogait National Park covers an area of 18,100 km² (7,000 sq mi), which is larger than Kuwait. It is 170 km (110 mi) north of the Arctic Circle in the northeast corner of mainland Northwest Territories.
Tuktut Nogait means "young caribou" in Inuvialuktun:
The main rivers that run through the park are the Hornaday River, Brock River and Roscoe River.
Contact the park office +1 867-580-3233 or email: Inuvik.info@pc.gc.ca
The park was established in 1998.
Humans have occupied Tuktut Nogait since AD 1000 and surveys have identified over 400 archaeological sites in the park, including remnants of campsites, food caches, graves, and kayak rests. The oldest known archaeological sites are most likely Thule or Copper Inuit ranging from AD 1200 to 1500.
Father Émile Petitot was the first European to reach the area in 1867-68. In 1930, the Hudson's Bay Company established an outpost at Letty Harbour but the post was closed in 1937 due to insufficient trade. In 1935, a Roman Catholic Mission was founded at Paulatuk and operated a small trading post there until 1954. The Inuit who came to Paulatuk and the Darnley Bay area were primarily Mackenzie and Alaskan Inuit from the west. In 1955, most people abandoned the Paulatuk mission and moved to Cape Parry where a Distant Early Warning line site was being built, which meant seasonal construction and permanent wage labour work.
As is outlined in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement and the Tuktut Nogait Agreement, Inuvialuit beneficiaries have the right to pursue subsistence harvesting within the park. This takes place in the north-western part of the park and mostly entails fishing Arctic char, hunting caribou, and some trapping. By national parks legislation, commercial or sport hunting is not permitted.
The park is home to the calving grounds of the Bluenose-West caribou herd, and to muskoxen, grizzly bears, Arctic chars, red foxes, wolverines, Arctic ground squirrels, collared lemmings, and wolves.
Tuktut Nogait is a major breeding and nesting ground for a wide variety of migratory birds. Raptors such as peregrine falcons, rough-legged hawks, gyr falcons and golden eagles nest along the steep walls of river canyons.
The Dolphin-Union Caribou herd which normally occupies Victoria Island and winters in the Bathurst area of Nunavut, sometimes migrates as far as Tuktut Nogait National Park following the shoreline in search of windswept areas where the snow cover is cleared making it easier for them to graze.
Tuktut Nogait is rarely visited in the winter. The most suitable time for ski touring or snowshoeing in the park is from late March until early May, when the days are longer and the temperatures are generally warmer than in the early winter. Weather can still be extremely variable with temperatures ranging from above zero with mild, warm and melting conditions to falling well below -30° C with blowing snow and extreme wind.
The sun doesn’t set from mid-June to late-July. The wind always seems to blow and the average temperature is about 5 °C in midsummer. By early-September, the hiking season will come to an end because of bad weather.
Northern Park Backcountry Excursion/Camping Permit valid at Tuktut Nogait, Auyuittuq, Ivvavik, Nahanni, Aulavik, Quttinirpaaq, Sirmilik and Vuntut National Parks (per person, 2018):
- Daily $24.50
- Annual $147.20
Fishing permit:
- Daily $9.80
- Annual $34.30
- 20,000 Bluenose-West caribou travel north to their calving grounds in the park each June.
- La Roncière Falls, a 23-metre-high chute along the Hornaday
20,000 Bluenose-West caribou travel north to their calving grounds in the park each June.
La Roncière Falls, a 23-metre-high chute along the Hornaday
- Paddle the Hornaday River as it flows through Tuktut Nogait National Park to the Arctic Ocean. This 8-12 day excursion transects the tundra and splits red canyon walls 170 m tall.
- Backpack the Brock River and Hornaday Canyons: bright green rolling tundra drops dramatically to 170-metre deep amber and red canyons in the Arctic. A multi-day hike.
- Fishing: Arctic char and lake trout are the primary species caught. Parks Canada fishing permits are available from the Inuvik Parks Canada office. Government of the Northwest Territories Fishing Licences are not valid in the park.
Paddle the Hornaday River as it flows through Tuktut Nogait National Park to the Arctic Ocean. This 8-12 day excursion transects the tundra and splits red canyon walls 170 m tall.
Backpack the Brock River and Hornaday Canyons: bright green rolling tundra drops dramatically to 170-metre deep amber and red canyons in the Arctic. A multi-day hike.
Fishing: Arctic char and lake trout are the primary species caught. Parks Canada fishing permits are available from the Inuvik Parks Canada office. Government of the Northwest Territories Fishing Licences are not valid in the park.
There are no facilities in the park.
- Grizzlies and black bears are resident in the park: set up a bear-exclusion fence around your camp.