North America's Deepest Lake Is A Scenic Canadian Gem With Clear Water And Islands

The fifth-largest lake in North America is also the continent's deepest, and offers visitors some incredible fishing, world-class paddling, and unique wildlife viewing opportunities. Great Slave Lake, located in the south of Canada's Northwest Territories, is a shimmering gem that's so big, anglers and boaters seeking solitude can disappear for days without seeing another person, not unlike this underrated British Columbia lake with Caribbean-blue waters. Yellowknife, the territorial capital of the Northwest Territories, is the jumping-off point for adventures to this lonely corner of Canada.

Home to the Dene and Chipewyan Indigenous people, Great Slave Lake was initially "discovered" by European fur traders in the 1770s, when the Hudson Bay Company's Samuel Hearne became the first European to visit the lake. The irony? Hearne was guided to the lake by two Chipewyans, Matonabbee and Idotlyazee. These two natives to the region are credited with mapping the lake in the 1760s. But, despite its discovery by colonial interests in the 18th century, the lake really didn't attract too much attention until the 1930s, when prospector Johnny Baker discovered gold around the lake's north shore. It didn't take long for gold camps to spring up, and, eventually, the city of Yellowknife was born.

With an area of just over 11,000 square miles, Great Slave Lake is roughly the same size as Belgium. And, at more than 2,000 feet deep, it's the deepest lake in North America. The lake's sheer size gives visitors the chance to spread out and enjoy the solitude found in this special corner of Canada's boreal north. Lined by black spruce and birch trees, kayakers on the lake can explore hidden bays and lonely granite islands that rise from the water and represent some of the oldest rocks in the world — some are more that 2.7 billion years old. Anglers can cast to trophy northern pike, walleye, and lake trout, and, in the lake's stunning river mouths, plus-sized Arctic grayling offer dry-fly anglers a cooperative, hard-fighting quarry. Because of their sail-like dorsal fins, they are often called the "sailfish of the north."

Great Slave Lake is really two lakes in one. The East Arm of Great Slave Lake is popular with anglers and kayakers because of its many spruce-covered islands, granite bluffs, hidden bays, and river inlets. The lake's fish thrive amid this complex structure, and fishing for the lake's trout and pike is among the best in the world. The North Arm of Great Slave Lake is less visually dramatic, but it's more shallow, and features sandy beaches like Whitebeach Point, which is accessible only by boat. These cold, clear waters are great for inshore boating and paddling. And Yellowknife, one of Canada's best places to view the northern lights from late summer through the winter, is where most Great Slave Lake adventures start.

Yellowknife is situated more than 900 miles north of Edmonton. Adventurous drivers equipped with dependable vehicles can make the drive north in about 15 hours just by following the McKenzie Highway. A more logical choice? Take an hour-and-45-minute flight from Edmonton and rent a car in Yellowknife to explore the city and the northern shore of Great Slave Lake. With plenty of hotels and short-term rental options, a visit to this far-northern city nestled in the boreal forests of the Northwest Territories is totally doable.

Great Slave Lake is the primary attraction. But the surprisingly cosmopolitan city of Yellowknife offers everything from happening bars and breweries to good restaurants. The NWT Brewing Co. and its adjacent Woodyard pub and restaurant offer quality, locally brewed beers and solid bar food. Down the hill from downtown, visitors can find "Canada's weirdest neighborhood," the city's Old Town section. Here, diners can partake in freshly caught fish at Bullock's Bistro, which has been serving lake-caught fish to customers for 30 years. Old Town is walkable, although quite unlike this walkable Canadian gem of unique local businesses. Visitors can check out gorgeous lakeside mansions, often located right next to rustic, old log cabins. Here, colorful houseboats line the marina, adding to the neighborhood's waterfront appeal. It's a chill section of town that visitors can check out before heading out on their next breathtaking Great Slave Lake adventure.