Fifteen new campsites at the North Arm Territorial Park will open for the season on May 15 – and there are still sites available to book for the May long weekend.
The campground is about a kilometre up the road from the North Arm Territorial Park day use area, a popular spot for people driving to and from Yellowknife to stop and stretch.
The day use area and campground are located near kilometre 232 along Highway 3, just south of Behchokǫ̀, but are not connected and have separate entrances from the highway.
Kris Johnson, North Slave regional superintendent for the NWT’s Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, said the new campground will offer an accessible playground, kitchen shelter and outhouses. All 15 campsites have power and are available to book for $33.33 a night through NWT Parks’ website.
The kitchen shelter, which has a fire pit and deck for hosting events, is a work in progress but should be finished by the summer.
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“We tried to actually locate the campground around where the sandier parts of the shore access would be, so there are about three spots in very close proximity to the sites that you could put down your towel,” Johnson said, adding she couldn’t promise that the lake will be warm enough for swimming.
“It’s very shallow there and depending on which way the wind’s blowing, it’s almost like there’s a tide there – the tide goes out with the wind and comes back in, so it’s kind-of a neat area for exploring that way.”
The park infrastructure was built by the Tłı̨chǫ Investment Corporation, Johnson said, while its tourism arm Tłı̨chǫ Adventures will manage the park.
She said Tłı̨chǫ Adventures may offer things like walking tours and arts and crafts activities for campers, and may sell items from the Tłı̨chǫ Online Store in the reception building.
“It’s bringing some great economic benefits into the region already, even before it’s been opened, and it’s going to have a very strong economic foundation going forward,” said Johnson, who hopes people using the campground may make day trips to Behchokǫ̀ or Whatì for supplies.
