Yellowknife is a gold-rush town that became a diamond capital, run for decades by bush pilots who landed on the bay in floatplanes and on skis. A good city tour threads that story through Old Town shacks, a street named Ragged Ass Road, a legislature with a polar bear rug, and the territorial museum. Two trips do it well, and both stay warm.
Checked with Thomas Beaulieu, Yellowknife guide & northern lights specialist
What does a Yellowknife city tour cover?
The standard loop covers Old Town and the Bush Pilots Monument above Yellowknife Bay, Ragged Ass Road, the Legislative Assembly, and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, in two to three guided hours with hotel pickup. One version adds the Nature's North wildlife gallery. Both run year-round, which makes them the reliable daytime plan on the coldest days and in the no-aurora summer months.
The city tour with the wildlife gallery
The 5.0-rated version, run by a company whose guides have worked these streets for decades. The stop that surprises people is Nature's North, a private taxidermy gallery of northern wildlife you would otherwise never see this close: muskox, wolves, wolverine. Between stops the guide covers the gold mines, the diamond rush and Old Town's floatplane years. For the background story before you go, read our walk through Old Town and the Bush Pilots Monument.
5.0 on Viator · 100% recommend
Best for a first afternoon: the full city story plus the wildlife gallery, with pickup anywhere in town
City Tour + Nature's North Wildlife Gallery (1 to 4 hours)
5.0across 27 Viator reviews
Legislative Assembly, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Bush Pilots Monument, Old Town, and the Nature's North wildlife gallery
Pickup and drop-off anywhere in city limits, car seats available for young children
Runs year-round in a warm vehicle. Non-refundable listing: no changes after booking, so pick your date with care
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
Opens the operator's official listing, where the live price and open times for your date are shown.
The small-group city and culture tour
The other version keeps the group to 14, includes some site admissions, and leans harder into the cultural thread: the Dene history under the gold-rush story, the healing garden, and why a town of twenty thousand runs a legislature built like a snowdrift. It also carries the free-cancellation terms the 5.0 tour lacks, which can decide it for travelers with tight or shifting plans.
Badge of Excellence · free cancellation
Best for small groups and flexible plans: 14 seats max, admissions included, free cancellation
City and Culture Tour of Yellowknife (about 3 hours)
4.9across 25 Viator reviews
Ragged Ass Road, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, the Pilot Monument and the Legislative Assembly with a licensed guide
Small group of up to 14; admissions to some sites included; stroller accessible
Hotel pickup on a set schedule; free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
The rating is Destination NWT's current Viator figure; check the listing for today's price.
Which city tour to take
Honest answer: they overlap heavily on the headline stops, and both are excellent. The differences that actually decide it sit in this table.
City Tour + Wildlife Gallery
City and Culture Tour
Rating
5.0 · 27 reviews
4.9 · 25 reviews
Unique stop
Nature's North wildlife gallery
Stronger cultural/Dene thread, admissions included
Group size
Up to 23
Up to 14
Kids
Car seats available
Stroller accessible
Cancellation
Non-refundable
Free to 24 h
Either fills the afternoon before a night aurora tour without tiring you out, and both run in summer when the aurora does not. If you are planning the whole trip, the winter things-to-do guide stacks the days for you.
City tour questions
Is a city tour in Yellowknife worth it?
For a first visit, yes, and more than most cities: the stories are dense (gold, diamonds, bush pilots, Dene history) and the distances between stops are awkward on foot at minus 25. Two to three warm guided hours cover what would take a full self-guided day, and reviewers on both listings rate the guides as the highlight.
Do city tours run in summer?
Yes, these run year-round. Summer is actually a strong season for them: Old Town and the floatplane bay are at their liveliest under the long daylight, and with no aurora between mid-April and late July, the city tour becomes the anchor activity.
What is Ragged Ass Road?
A short Old Town street with possibly the best-known street name in northern Canada, named in the gold-rush years when its miners were famously broke. The sign gets photographed constantly, and both tours stop there with the story behind it.
Can you visit the Legislative Assembly on your own?
Yes, it is open to the public with free admission, and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre is also free to enter. What the tours add is transport between the far-apart stops, the guide's telling, and the stops you would not find alone, like the wildlife gallery.
About these picks
Written by Thomas Beaulieu, a Yellowknife-based guide. The stops, group sizes and cancellation terms above come from each operator's current Viator listing, including the non-refundable flag on the 5.0 tour, stated plainly rather than buried. We earn a disclosed commission if you book through our links, at no extra cost to you.
See the town behind the lights
Gold, diamonds, bush pilots and a street called Ragged Ass Road, in two warm hours. Live dates and prices are on each official listing.
