Nahanni National Park Reserve

Welcome to the sky above the Northwest Territories. To truly appreciate the Nahanni National Park Reserve, one must first understand its profound isolation. …

As our floatplane touches down on the rushing water above the falls, the roaring sound is already deafening, vibrating through the metal hull of the aircraft. Disembarking onto the shore, we follow the wooden boardwalks through…

Leaving the roar of the falls behind, we embark on a journey down the South Nahanni River, navigating through a series of geological masterpieces known simply as the Fourth, Third, Second, and First Canyons. What makes these…

As we transition through the Third Canyon, we approach the most iconic and dramatic navigational bottleneck on the entire river, a feature ominously named 'The Gate.' The river here abruptly encounters a massive, solid wall of…

We now fly to a completely different geological wonder, situated near the headwaters of the park: the Rabbitkettle Hot Springs. As we approach, you will notice massive, intricate, terraced structures rising from the forest floor,…

Turning our attention to the extreme northwest boundary of the park, the rounded limestone mountains abruptly give way to a terrifying, jagged skyline of dark rock and brilliant white ice. This is the Ragged Range, an area…

Our final destination within the park is the Ram Plateau, an area added during the massive park expansion in two thousand and nine to protect its utterly unique geology. The plateau is a high, elevated grassland, a rolling…

As our floatplane takes off from the river, banking sharply to afford one last sweeping view of the Nahanni wilderness, the true magnitude of this reserve becomes profoundly clear. Nahanni is not merely a collection of impressive…