Hiking in the Gateway

Hike the Oxbow Trail, part of the TransCanada Trail in downtown Hay River, or the Kiwanis Trail that follows the West Channel of the river. The trails are well marked and include signage identifying flora and fauna.

Pine Point townsite between Hay River and Fort Resolution offers the uncanny attraction of streets with no houses. To support the development of Pine Point Mine, a railway was built connecting northern Alberta with Hay River and Pine Point in the 1960s. Hay River still uses the rail route, but the track east to the mine, and the townsite, once home to some 1750 residents, was removed when the lead-zinc mine closed in 1987.

Side roads leading to the south shore of Great Slave Lake from the Highway also offer good hiking along the shoreline.

Kiwanis Nature Trail

A community trail that follows the Hay River downstream to Vale Island bridge and past the ball field and air strip, eventually taking you to the shore of Great Slave Lake. Accessible from many points in town; one of the best is located behind the Diamond Jenness Secondary School on Riverview Drive. Trail Length: 5.7 km

Oxbow Trail

An interpretive nature trail that explores boreal diversity at the edge of town, in the rich Oxbow drainage network. The trailhead is on Vale Island, near Hay River's Old Town. Trail Length: 4 km