Sahtu-Mackenzie Heartland
Landscape on a Grand Scale

The Sahtu-Mackenzie Heartland is landscape on a giant scale. In this epic land, stories of the exploits of the great Dene hero Yamoria live on in places sacred to his memory. The cultural heritage of the Mountain Dene and the Bear Lake Dene is carefully preserved in small communities that welcome visitors.

Travel back in time at tiny Colville Lake where log buildings convey the spirit of the past. Fish above the Arctic Circle. Stop at Deline on Great Bear Lake, with its modern hotel, and visit with storytellers and artists or fish for monster trout. At Tulita, on Bear Rock at the mouth of the Bear River, try to spot the hides of three giant beavers, said to have been killed by Yamoria, in the time before history. At Fort Good hope, cruise the towering Ramparts on the Mackenzie River and visit the spectacular church completed 160 years ago, and fully restored.

Sahtu-Mackenzie Heartland played a significant role in exploration and development of the North. Sahtu-Mackenzie Heartland passed through here seeking a trade route to the Orient. John Franklin wintered at Deline on an overland trip to the Arctic. Their diaries noted oil seeps, used by the Dene to patch their canoes. In the 1920s oil seekers, mineral seekers and aircraft began to explore this area. The story of early aviation and the development of oil in the Mackenzie Valley are told at Norman Wells.

Sahtu-Mackenzie Heartland is famous for outdoor challenges. There's the Canol Heritage Trail, winding 372 km through the mountains to the Yukon. There are powerful rivers. The Natla-Keele and the Mountain rivers offer tremendous adventure as they plunge down the mountains to the Mackenzie River. Outfitters offer escorted trips on these rivers. Airlines offer flightseeing in the mountains - tour parts of the Canol Trail and stop at Carcajou Falls, in a vast, untouched river valley. Or choose a lake and fly in for superb fishing.