4 Ivavvik Hikes in Ivvavik National Park

Ivvavik National park in the Yukon

For some of the prettiest, most pristine hiking of your life head to Ivvavik National Park in Canada’s Yukon Territory, home to wild empty spaces and non-glaciated mountains. From the Imniarvik Base Camp there are a huge number of Ivvavik hiking opportunities, all on unmarked trails but with big vistas so it’s easy to find your way. These are the four fabulous Ivvavik hikes our group did while staying in Ivvavik National Park’s catered base camp.

You can't beat the landscape in Ivvavik National Park
You can’t beat the landscape in Ivvavik National Park

Sheep Slot – one of the easier Ivvavik hikes

Sheep Slot is an easy 3.0 km round-trip hike with less than 20 m of elevation gain. It’s a great warm-up hike that starts at the confluence of Sheep Creek with the beautiful Firth River.

On the way out to Sheep Slot you follow game trails that parallel the river. Geologists will love the synclines and anticlines on display.

Sheep Slot is a fun place to explore with lots of rock hopping and photographic opportunities. We were hoping to catch sight of a group of rafters that were due to come through the day we were there, but unfortunately that never happened.

One of the rapids pictured below is reportedly the toughest to run on the Firth River though you wouldn’t know it from the shore.

On the return to the base camp we saw at least a dozen Dall sheep. We were able to get quite close and they didn’t seem the least perturbed by our presence. All told this hike took us a few hours with lots of time for wildlife viewing and photography.

One of our Ivvavik hikes started beside the beautiful Firth River
Our Sheep Slot hike started beside the beautiful Firth River in Ivvavik National Park
Lots of stellar Firth River views
Lots of stellar Firth River views
We visited Ivvavik National Park over the Canada Day weekend
We visited Ivvavik National Park over the Canada Day weekend
You'll be in awe of the landscape
You’ll be in awe of the Ivvavik National Park landscape
These rapids are some of the most dangerous if you're rafting the Firth - though they don't look like it on foot
These rapids are some of the most dangerous if you’re rafting the Firth – though they don’t look like it on foot
Don't get sucked in the hole
Don’t get sucked in the hole
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
The view!
Arctic cotton flowers
Arctic cotton flowers
 Lots of Dall sheep can be seen on this hike
Lots of Dall sheep can be seen on Ivvavik hikes
The sheep didn't seem too disturbed by us
The sheep didn’t seem too disturbed by us
The only hill of any size on the Sheep Slot hike
The only hill of any size on the Sheep Slot hike

Ivvavik hikes at midnight – Inspiration Point and Wolf Tor

We had done Sheep Slot in the morning with a plan to take the afternoon off and then do a hike to Inspiration Point beginning at 8 PM. High above the Arctic Circle in late June you have continuous daylight so it doesn’t really matter what time you hike.

Starting out from camp, we crossed Sheep River and then made our way, first through bush and then through hillocky ankle turning kind of country to reach a plateau. From there we could see our route up to Inspiration Point.

Along the way we had several magical moments. The first occurred when I was behind Nelson Perry, the Senior Parks Manager. He motioned to me to be quiet and get low. Not 15 feet away from us stood a lone caribou – with its attention focused on the rest of the group coming up the slope. He was a magnificent sight and a recurring one as we saw him again on the way to Wolf Tors.

At another point on the hike, Guy Theriault, the marketing specialist from Parks Canada in Ottawa, felt the rush of air from the flap of a giant wing and seconds later saw a golden eagle just clear his head while trying to take out an Arctic ground squirrel.

Then to top it all off we saw a lone grizzly making its way well below our position at Inspiration Point. When it either smelled, heard or caught sight of us it took off – loping across the landscape and out of view within minutes.

We were all pretty pumped and energized from these evening wildlife encounters and so decided to continue to Wolf Tors – another 4.6 kilometres away. It wasn’t hard walking to get to these rocky pinnacles except for a section of hummocky terrain but by the time we got to Wolf Tors it was about 11 PM and I for one was starting to fade. The views though and the lighting made the effort worthwhile.

On the return we stopped to get a photo of our long shadows at midnight – and then pushed on for another 90 minutes to arrive back at base camp at around 1:30 AM. As you can see from the photos there are lots of options for longer hikes on a variety of ridges.

All told it was approximately a 14.8 kilometre return hike.

We start hiking to Inspiration Point at 8 PM
We start hiking to Inspiration Point at 8 PM
Inspiration Point is farther than it looks
Inspiration Point is farther than it looks
The lone caribou we saw over the 4.5 days in camp
The lone caribou we saw over the 4.5 days in camp
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
It’s strange walking in bright sunshine at 10 PM
It's about 10 PM when we get to Inspiration Point
It’s about 10 PM when we get to Inspiration Point
The view from Inspiration Point
The view from Inspiration Point
Grizzly sighting from Inspiration Point
Grizzly sighting from Inspiration Point
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
On the way to Wolf Tors
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Hummocky ground made for challenging hiking
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
A handful of wildflowers we see along the way to Wolf Tors
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
The landscape looks like a watercolour painting
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
This is what it looks like at 11:30 PM
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Shadows at midnight

The hike to Gordon’s Food Cache and beyond

We didn’t move quickly the next morning, sleeping in until about 9 AM. After several cups of coffee and much conversation we decided we’d do the “easy hike” to Gordon’s Food Cache and beyond to a place on the Firth River that offered a rocky beach and fishing opportunities.

There wasn’t much elevation gain as we followed the Firth River from the airport runway (the easy part of the hike) past the remnants of a food cache through thick vegetation with more bugs than we’d seen elsewhere.

Much of the ground underfoot was wet and hummocky. I think we all figured the hike would be a walk in the park and it wasn’t. However, the hike had plenty to offer including an awesome close-up view of a massive golden eagle’s nest.

After a relaxing lunch on the river where a number of the group fished – and came up empty, we saw a large number of sheep playing around on a steep cliff face. From there we made a beeline back to camp and a refreshing dip in the creek. All told we probably hiked all of six kilometres.

Remnants from the past at Gordon’s Food Cache
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Our ‘easy’ hike included a lot of bushwhacking parallel to the Firth River
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Exceptional views down the Firth River
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
There was lots of time for fishing at our lunch spot – bites but nothing else (Buy a fishing license in Inuvik)
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Great views of the sheep from our lunch spot and on the hike out
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
The sheep hung out in these caves
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
We spy a massive golden eagle nest – and then the eagles high up riding the thermals
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Buggy, tough hiking on spongy mounds

Halfway to Heaven – my favourite of the Ivvavik hikes

The 11.4 kilometre round-trip Halfway to Heaven hike is exceptional. Over about three hours as you make your way to Dragon’s Tor (the turn around point) you gain 594 metres, most of it right out of camp when you are freshest.

It’s a day for enjoying big mountain vistas, looking for wildlife and counting your blessings for being in such a magnificent place.

This is the last hike we did in Ivvavik National Park and my favourite though Wolf Tors was a close second. For most of the hike we had lots of wind so up until the final approach to camp we had NO biting insects. None. In the Arctic. In fact on this trip I never pulled out my bug shirt and only used bug spray on the Gordon’s Food Cache hike.

4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
The steepest part of the hike is the hill behind the base camp
A sprinkling of wildflowers at lower elevations
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
It’s easy walking for the most part and you can see your route a long ways off
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Notice all the sheep tracks; you can also see where they have bedded down for the night
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
The all day hike is bug free except for the final 20 minutes
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Ivvavik hikes offer lunch spots with a view
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Dragon’s Tor is off in the distance
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
We all grab 30 minutes of shut eye
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
On route to Halfway to Heaven – on of the top Ivvavik National Park hikes
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
It’s Canada Day when we do this hike so we wave flags and sing O Canada
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
The rock outcroppings are called tors
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Ivvavik hikes show you the backside of Dragon’s Tor
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
You can see the hole in the rock from a long distance away
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Expansive views from our turn-around point
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
Landscapes empty of people are a treat
4 Arctic Hikes in Ivvavik National Park
And it’s back to base camp and a swim in the stream

Ivvavik hiking – go guided or self-guided?

When we flew into Ivvavik National Park we met a group who had done two back to back stays in the park – exploring on their own.

They were ecstatic about the hiking. That’s the beauty of this place. You can do self-guided hikes if that’s what you like but there is the option for the full catered, guide experience. To see when trips are being offered in 2023 and 2024 click here.

A huge thank you to Parks Canada and Travel Yukon for inviting me on this trip of a lifetime.

Further reading on Canada’s North

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4 incredible hikes in one of the Yukon's most remote parks - Ivvavik National Park

 

 

 

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