The Northwest Territories boasts unimaginable wilderness adventure with its vast landscape of seemingly endless trees, rocks, and water. Scattered throughout the territory are natural features, such as waterfalls, that command attention and beckon the curiosities of scientists and artists alike. The territory’s waterfalls featured here are spectacular displays of water’s unique ability to carve rock into dazzling sights to behold.
Sambaa Deh Falls
The Sambaa Deh Falls is a 5-hour drive from Yellowknife and only 2-hour drive east of Fort Simpson, making it a popular stop along Highway 1. The waterfall is named after its river – with Sambaa Deh translating to Trout River in the Slavey language. From Highway 1, the Trout River can be seen coursing through sedimentary rock layers into a tumultuous narrow waterfall, which makes up Sambaa Deh Falls, as it flows north from Trout Lake towards the Mackenzie River. After the falls, the river leads through a narrow canyon of sheer rock walls within which you can see different sedimentary layers. If you were to follow the path that trails the river along the caprock of the canyon, you’d eventually find a vista of the canyon broadening as the river meanders north. One of the reasons this waterfall is so popular, is that fossilized corals can be seen etched into the rocks bordering the falls and its river. Beautiful intricate designs of shells, tubes, and little cups are clustered all along the rock face. They’re relics of what lived underwater here around 360 – 420 million years ago in the Devonian period.
Alexandra Falls
Located a 45-minute drive north of the Alberta-NWT border and 34 minutes south of the town of Hay River, this is the first, and arguably best, waterfall you’ll encounter if entering the territory by vehicle. Just east off the highway, there’s a parking lot and Day Use Area from where you take a short walk (<100m) along a forested path to a viewpoint of the NWT’s third highest waterfall. The 115m wide Hay River tumbles 32m off a cliff edge and into a broad canyon bordered by sheer rock walls resulting in a majestic sight to behold. The thunderous crash of the water can be heard well before you see it. This waterfall is paired with Louise Falls, located on a 4km hike downstream, to make up the Twin Falls Gorge Territorial Park. The two falls are regarded as a grandmother and grandfather spirit in Dene culture. Regardless of the season, Alexandra Falls is a beauty to behold. In the summer, the falls demonstrates a grand display of the unbridled power of water, and in the magic of winter, the silent scene of massive icicles and tumbling water frozen in time and bedecked in thick layers of snow is a beauty in its own right. You’ll notice that in the pictures below, the summer and winter pictures are the before and after, respectively, of a massive forest fire that swept through the area in 2023.
Lady Evelyn Falls
Lady Evelyn Falls is found just off Highway 1 on the gravel road that leads to the small community of Kakisa. It’s a 1h 25m drive from the community of Hay River, and 6 km before Kakisa. Here, the Kakisa River tumbles 17m from a 100m-wide crescent-shaped plateau of sedimentary rock, creating the scene of an elegant waterfall that’s tamer than the grander Alexandra Falls. When it’s sunny, you can often see a picturesque rainbow dazzling in the falls’ delicate mists. Both sides of the river are bordered by tall pine trees creating a natural forested vista. The waterfall is found within the territorial park’s campground by following a trail that leads down a bunch of steps to a viewpoint overlooking the falls. The river can be accessed by continuing to follow the stairs leading down into the gorge.
Cameron Falls
Unlike the waterfalls found in the southern NWT, Cameron Falls is in the North Slave region of the territory, located 50-minutes outside of Yellowknife along the Ingraham Trail highway. Also, unlike the other waterfalls, access to this waterfall requires a short 1.5 km hike (one-way) from the highway along a forested footpath over bedrock hills, boardwalks, and a bunch of stairs [check out: Top 8 Hikes near Yellowknife]. The beautiful granite cascading waterfall of Cameron River makes the adventure worth it. There’s a nice lookout point on the southern side of the falls and there’s also an option to continue along the trail towards the falls’ headwaters where you can cross a pedestrian bridge to safely reach the waterfall’s other side. In the winter, the falls are nestled in a serene landscape of blanketed ice and snow. It’s quiet, with nothing but the howling wind and the crunch of your footsteps to be heard.
