Canada
Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserve
A park so new the trails don't exist — Dene sacred headwaters in roadless Mackenzie Mountains.
There are no trails in Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserve. No campgrounds. No facilities. You navigate by map, compass, and the river. The park is so new that the infrastructure simply doesn't exist yet — and that's the draw.
Nááts'ihch'oh protects the headwaters of the South Nahanni River in the Mackenzie Mountains of the Northwest Territories. Sacred to the Sahtu Dene and Métis people, the landscape is one of roadless boreal forest, alpine meadows, and mountain peaks. Mackenzie Mountain caribou and mountain goats inhabit the peaks, rarely seen by humans. Fewer than 100 people visit per year, making it one of the least-visited national parks in the world. Access is by charter float plane only, and visitors must be entirely self-sufficient — there is nothing here but wilderness.
Solo
Nááts'ihch'oh is the ultimate test for the self-reliant solo traveller — no trails, no facilities, no other people. The reward is one of the last truly untouched landscapes in North America.
- The park is so new that formal trail systems don't exist — you navigate by map, compass, and the river.
- The headwaters of the South Nahanni River begin here, sacred to the Sahtu Dene and Métis people.
- Mackenzie Mountain caribou and mountain goats inhabit the peaks, rarely seen by humans.
- Fewer than 100 people visit per year — one of the least-visited national parks in the world.
Everything you eat here, you flew in — and the solitude makes it taste extraordinary.
Dried caribou and trail mix shared with your bush pilot at a gravel bar camp.
Mountain tea brewed from Labrador tea plants growing wild across the alpine meadows.
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