The Ukkusiksalik National Park is located just south of the community of Repulse Bay and the Arctic Circle. The Park surrounds Wager Bay, a 100-km-long saltwater inlet on the northwest coast of Hudson Bay in Nunavut. Declared a national park on August 23, 2003, Ukkusiksalik became Canada's 41st national park. The park is accessible by scheduled flights from either Winnipeg or Yellowknife via Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake, or Repulse Bay. The Ukkusiksalik National Park covers 20,500 sq. km.
While Inuit do hunt in the region, the parkland is uninhabited. Inuit had lived in the area from 1000 AD through to the 1960s, and the Hudson's Bay Company had a trading post there from 1925-1947. Over 500 archaeological sites have been identified in the park, including such features as fox traps, tent rings, and food caches. The park protects a representative sample of the Central Tundra Natural Region.
Named after the soapstone found within its boundaries, the park protects important habitat for caribou, muskox, polar bear, grizzly bear, golden eagles and many other arctic wildlife species. The landscape of Ukkusiksalik features eskers, mudflats, cliffs, rolling tundra banks and unique coastal regions and it is the first national park to encompass almost an entire watershed. Wager Bay is important to local Inuit communities as a hunting ground, and also because of its cultural significance.
The Park offers many activities like: camping, hiking, wildlife viewing. It is highly recommended that visitors hire a local outfitter to take them into the park due to the high polar bear population.
The community of Repulse Bay is located near the park. Contact the Economic Development Officer at Hamlet of Repulse Bay for more information and for a list of licensed outfitters in the region. Repulse Bay is considered as the 'gateway to the park'. The Park Office for Ukkusiksalik is also located in Repulse Bay.
Ukkusiksalik National Park of Canada Office
P.O Box 220 Repulse Bay, NU, X0C 0H0
Ph: (867) 462-4090 Fx: (867) 462-4095
E-mail: ukkusiksalik.info@pc.gc.ca
Website: www.pc.gc.ca/ukkusiksalik
