Skip to main content
Home Story Itinerary: Three days in Wood Buffalo National Park

Itinerary: Three days in wood buffalo national park

You could spend a lifetime exploring Wood Buffalo National Park. It’s the size of Switzerland, after all, and comprises a wild diversity of landscapes: salt plains, buffalo prairies, boreal forests, beaver marshes, karst badlands, and the world’s largest freshwater delta. But if your time is limited, here’s how to make the most of it:

DAY ONE

Drive into the park on Highway 5, checking out roadside bison and, the cavernous Angus Sinkhole, the mysterious Nyarling River (which disappears underground), and sudsy Little Buffalo River Falls.

Detour down Parsons Lake Road 13 kilometres to the Salt Plains Overlook, where you’ll find interpretive signs and viewing telescopes. Hike down the hill to explore the saline springs and look for animals, including resident Whooping Cranes. Guided walking tours (get barefoot on the salt flats!) are available with Parks staff on Tuesdays.

Arrive in Fort Smith. Spend a while touring the Wood Buffalo Park Visitor Reception Centre at 149 MacDougal Road, featuring a 20-minute DVD presentation, exhibits, park maps and info, souvenirs, and the Great Northern Discovery Dome – the park’s planetarium.

Bunk down at a local campground, B&B, cabin or hotel.

DAY TWO

After breakfast in town, drive south into the park on the Pine Lake Road. Watch for more bison, plus wolves, bears, foxes, and perhaps even a lynx.

Enjoy a picnic lunch at the Salt River Day Use Area.

Take a hike! Short hikes starting from the day-use area include the Karstland Interpretive Trail or the Salt River Meadows Loop. Longer hikes include the North Loop and South Loop Trails. Or, you can drive south another three kilometres south to the trail accessing lunar Grosbeak Lake, to which Parks staff lead guided hikes on Thursdays.

Camp at Pine Lake, where you can swim in the aquamarine waters and bask on the sandy beaches of karst sinkhole lakes, and …

… paddle with Parks Canada staff during Saturday interpretive programs, and …

… skygaze and Aurora-watch in the world’s largest Dark Sky Preserve (from late August to April). If it’s late August, stick around for the Thebacha & Wood Buffalo Dark Sky Festival.

DAY THREE

Campsite breakfast at placid Pine Lake!

Continue driving south to Peace Point, a seasonally used Cree hunting-and-fishing encampment overlooking the sweeping Peace River.

Then backtrack back to Fort Smith, perhaps for a flightseeing trip over the park with Northwestern Air Lease. Or, spend even longer hiking and camping in the Pine Lake area.

DISCOVER A MOMENT THAT LASTS A LIFETIME. Aylmer Lake Lodge is located in Rocknest Bay, which is on the Barren......

Comfortable lodge a 20 minute by floatplane ride from Yellowknife. Guided fishing for Lake Trout (to 34 lb), Arctic Grayling (to......

Commercial air charter service providing air support for hikers on Canol Road, sightseeing in the beautiful Mackenzie Mountains, and fly-in fishing......

With over 30 years of living in Yellowknife, we offer a variety of tourism experiences for our guests. We are......

Simpson Air (and its predecessor) is the oldest continuously-operated flying service in the Mackenzie Valley, established in the early 1960s.......

At Nahanni River Adventures we outfit and guide canoe and raft trips on Canada’s renowned South Nahanni River and a select......

Book an adventure with us at Trail Blazer Tours for an unforgettable experience! Your adventure with us will create lasting......

2 Seasons Adventures is a family-owned company. Our professional guides boast a lifetime of experience enjoying the unique lifestyle of......

Northern and Remote Wilderness Adventures Ltd. (NARWAL) is a small, friendly, majority Aboriginal owned and operated family business. Our reputation......

Tukto Lodge has been exceeding anglers’ expectations for more than fifty years. As the only fishing and eco-tourism lodge in......

Yellow Dog Lodge is a comfortable lodge with 3 private cabins for our guests. The lodge is a short (15 minute) floatplane ride from Yellowknife. Located on Duncan and Graham Lakes, the lodge is your hub for adventure. Choose from an additional 5 lakes for guided day trip excursions. Each lake is unique and offers unspoiled first class fishing. We are the only lodge that operates guided trips on each of these remote lakes located in the NWT taiga wilderness. Packaged trips feature superb sport fishing and safe outdoor adventure. The lakes and streams offer the finest Lake Trout, Northern Pike, Walleye and Arctic Grayling in the region. As an added bonus, our guests will enjoy the midnight sun and may even catch the northern lights later in the fall or early spring....

Peterson’s Point Lake Lodge provides you access to known waters teeming with monster lake trout. Their current record is a......

Aurora Village – A Class of Its Own Aurora Village is a unique Aurora-viewing facility situated 25 minutes from downtown......

Kasba Lake Lodge is famous for providing guests access to incredible triple trophy fishing. Huge Lake Trout, ferocious Northern Pike......

Create your own story. We offer a variety of services to make your Sahtu adventure a reality! We offer everything from......

Book this entire cabin in the remote wilderness of the stunningly breath-taking, Mackenzie Mountains. This cabin is hands down the......

We cover your every helicopter need in and around South Nahanni National Park in the Mackenzie Mountains of Canada’s NWT.......

Our company is a tour management and booking services company. We are located at Yellowknife, NT Canada. Our clients come......

Join us for an unforgettable experience on the mighty Mackenzie River. Day trips are available for a full or half......

Remote private wilderness paradise on Little Doctor Lake, 100 km west of Fort Simpson. Accommodates 20 in cabins. Fishing, swimming,......

Canoe North, located in Hay River, Northwest Territories offers kayak and canoe rentals and sales. We can set you up for a......

Authentic Arctic Experiences Tundra North Tours is an Inuit company based in Inuvik, Northwest Territories that was established with the dream of being......

100% Indigenous owned!  We are the world’s first Aurora Hunting tour company, we know Aurora. Learn about Aurora, why Yellowknife is the......

Gana River Outfitters is a family owned and operated outfitting business offering remote wilderness hunts in the beautiful Mackenzie Mountains......

Arctic Tours Canada is a Yellowknife based tour operating company that offer Aurora Hunting and Viewing tours, Yellowknife sightseeing tours,......

Come experience world-class Aurora Borealis viewing in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. We are the only guides in the Northwest Territories......

Pehdzeh Ki First Nation is located in the community of Wrigley, Northwest Territories, Canada. We are a Designated Authority in......

Best Northern Road Trip! Now you can drive all the way to the Arctic ocean linking Canada from coast to......

Welcoming and friendly with a rustic charm and all modern conveniences, Grey Goose Lodge immediately catches your eye as you......

Aurora photography tours for groups of 25 or less, available in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Our tours offer specialized knowledge......

Fishing and Barrenlands wildlife photography, including migrating caribou, at the Obstruction Rapids in the central Barrenlands north of Yellowknife....

To truly experience the Northwest Territories, take your camping gear for a highway driving adventure! Long ribbons of road without......

Remote naturalist’s lodge snuggled in the Mackenzie Mountains, in the largest mountain wilderness in North America. Located along the Canol......

Specializing in polar bear and muskox hunts for up to four people from traditional camp near Tuktoyaktuk. Also providing scenic......

An Arctic Barrenlands trophy fishing adventure for the serious sportsman. Located on Lynx Lake (420 km east of Yellowknife) Lynx......

Call us about our exciting year-round packages and experience the best of the Dehcho region and Denendeh....

Aurora viewing tours, city tours, and hikes at Cameron Falls. We book all your activities and  accommodation....

Explore the wild splendor of the northern boreal plains, where whooping cranes call and bison roam free. Visitor reception centres......

Providing culturally based tours of Tuktoyaktuk with an opportunity to dip your toes in the Arctic Ocean! Ask us about......

We offer: Nature and wildlife viewing Snowmobile tours Fishing tours Boat tours Polar bear and muskox hunts. Contact us for......

Family owned and operated tour company specializing in Arctic expedition cruising....