Ukkusiksalik National Park - Tourism

Tourism

Usually, the park can only be visited during a very few summer weeks, from the beginning of July until the beginning of August. Before that, Wager Bay has too much ice to be visited by boat, and in the autumn the Inuit say: "During summertime, you may watch polar bears. Afterwards, they will watch you!"

The place can almost only be reached by a hired plane – usually one would depart from Baker Lake, about 350 km (220 mi) away, where scheduled flights arrive from Rankin Inlet. Information can be obtained at Rankin Inlet's "Baker Lake Lodge". One might also approach by motorboat from Repulse Bay, where Parks Canada runs a station, but due to possible problems with ice this might take longer and therefore will only be considered by explorers or movie teams who have to bring a lot of equipment.

Until 2002, Sila Lodge was the base camp for all activities; an air strip for bush planes like the Twin Otter is situated near the lodge.

From Sila Lodge, guided tours were offered, for instance boating tours to the Wager Bay islands, or to Ford Lake across the reversing falls, to the former Hudson's Bay Company outpost, or walks to the surrounding area, where one would find impressive relics of earlier settlements, such as tent rings, qarmaq and Inuksuit, along with relics of the Hudson's Bay Company and Roman Catholic missions.