Canadian Arctic Watch 2019 8 days

Arrive at any time and check in to hotel. Evening briefing and distribution of parkas and boots

Today, board your private chartered plane to fly the 1,000 miles (1,500 km) to Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge. During the four-and-a-half-hour flight, you’ll pass over the treeline as you cross the Arctic Circle. Following a refueling stop in the community of Cambridge Bay,circle above Cunningham Inlet, a beluga whale migration site.

After a hot breakfast, you’ll have the chance to explore Cunningham Inlet, home to ring and bearded seals as well as nearly 2,000 beluga whales, on one of Arctic Watch’s new fat bikes. You’ll ride out on the sea ice to visit Flatrock Falls and Kayak Falls. Formed as the result of shifting fault lines, these two spectacular geological formations have steep walls that vary in height from 200 to 1,000 feet (61 to 305 meters).

After a full breakfast, you’ll tackle the tough arctic terrain on ATV—one of the most popular activities at Arctic Watch—travelling along the Muskox Ridge Trail, which offers scenic vistas of the entire area. Along the trail, you’ll also pass by an impressive Arctic fox den, where you may have the opportunity to watch fox cubs at play. You’ll likely encounter muskoxen, too.

After breakfast, long-distance hikers and runners will get their hearts pumping on this once-in-a-lifetime trek across the tundra! From the lodge, you’ll run or hike across the varied terrain of Somerset Island, following along ridges, passing fossil beds and crossing over striking red iron-oxide stone up to Nansen’s Ridge, where you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views of the Northwest Passage.

Following breakfast, you’ll head out on a full-day ATV excursion across Somerset Island, from Cunningham Inlet to Garnier Bay. Take in the memorable scenery as you ride over the rough arctic terrain, from riverbeds to ridges, and keep a lookout for muskoxen, which are common here. Not far from the bay, we’ll stop at Inukshuk Lake for a picnic.

Today, you’ll bid a fond goodbye to the lodge team and the High Arctic. You may have time to take advantage of one more activity before you depart: hiking and stand-up paddle boarding in Google Canyon. Wander between the narrow walls of this cool-looking canyon, named after a Google research balloon crashed here. Herds of muskoxen can often be found grazing in the area. At Sunday Lake, you may encounter snow geese as you savour a picnic lunch, before returning to the lodge.

After breakfast and boot return, you are free to stay in town or continue to airport and home.