Location

150 miles northeast of Yellowknife.

Description

MacKay Lake Lodge is situated on a gravel esker which was left behind by a glacier 10,000 years ago.  The lodge was established in 1989 and has grown to be the largest sport fishing operations in the Northwest Territories.  It employs 15 to 20 seasonal persons.  MacKay Lake is in the barren lands, 150 miles northeast of Yellowknife.  The lake is 100 miles long and boasts fabulous fishing and wildlife photography.  It is in the land of the midnight sun and the summer season begins with ice out at the end of June and ends in September as the lakes begin to freeze.  Access into the area is by truck on a winter road or plane to the 3,500 foot gravel runway.

Fishing species include Lake Trout, Arctic Grayling, and Northern Pike.  Some of the best fishing for Lake Trout and Arctic Graying is found at MacKay Lake, with Lake Trout going over 50 pounds.  Arctic Grayling can be caught on a fly rod or spin casting equipment at 2-3 pounds.  Grayling to 20 inches are common and Northern Pike to over 42 inches.

MacKay Lake Lodge is a licensed lodge catering to more than just fishing.  Activities include a wide section of tourism including fishing, canoeing, and naturalist activities in the area.  It offers a full-service package with guides, boats, meals, lounge, conference facilities, showers, and in-door plumbing.  MacKay Lake Lodge consists of the main lodge and six guest cabins, look to the equipment section to see the configuration and services. 

What an opportunity surrounding one of the most sought after areas in the world for tourism.  This area has been renounced for its fishing and over the past few years has become a destination location for tourists wishing to experience the barrel lands; the midnight sun, the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), ice roads, diverse game species, and unique corporate getaways.  MacKay Lake lodge has it all and is now connected through the winter ice road.  Through the ice road one can easily access the lodge in late winter and early spring to supply goods and supplies for the lodge as well as accommodate eager winter adventurers.  Another advantage that MacKay Lake Lodge has over other rivals is its ability to deliver both supplies and clients to the area through it’s’ 3500 foot gravel airstrip. 

MacKay Lake Lodge is the type of operation that is expanding into exploration and ice road activities creating new avenues of revenue each year.  It has access were others don’t, combine this with one very unique location and it gives the operators of this lodge the ability to thrive.  This is a gem of a business surrounded by diamonds!

Equipment

20 - boats and outboard motors complete with safety equipment and radios
2 - 15KW generators
5 – 1000 gallon propane tanks
1 – van
trucks
1 – packer
1 - grader

Area Data

Travel to the “Barrenlands”, the “Land of the Midnight Sun”, home of the “Aurora Borealis”, and unchanged wilderness since the beginning of time.

The 100 mile-long, MacKay Lake is crystal clear and cold and is fed by a number of pristine rivers, this makes ideal habitat for giant Lake Trout and Arctic Grayling.

Wildlife, which is unique to the Canadian Arctic, is abundant.  The migration of the Bathurst Caribou herd is one of the last remaining, true spectacles of nature and can be witnessed annually at MacKay Lake.
                                   
Spring begins around the end of May as the last straggling Caribou make their way northeast across MacKay Lake to the calving grounds on the Arctic Coast.

As the midnight sun appears in June, the nesting birds arrive and begin the cycle of birth and regeneration.  While the days are long and warm and the snow has left the land, the large body of MacKay Lake is not free of ice until the beginning of July.

For weeks after “ice-out” the Lake Trout can be found near the shallows and river mouths before they begin to disperse and travel into the main body of MacKay Lake.

MacKay Lake is in the heart of the summer range of the Bathurst Caribou herd and the spectacular migration back from the calving grounds occurs around the third week of July.

By the first week of August, the midnight sun begins to fade into darkness and the “northern lights” or “spirit walker” performs its magical, nightly dance.

By the end of August, just eight weeks since their arrival, the wildflowers become blueberries, cranberries, cloud berries or bear berries.  The newborn nesting birds, Peregrine Falcons, Jaeger, Geese, and Tundra Swans are testing their wings and the majestic Caribou are getting ready to shed the velvet from their antlers.

By the end of September, the throbbing energy of the Arctic summer has given way to flaming reds and oranges of autumn.  The Caribou gather into large herds again, in preparation for the mating season and another migration southwest to the trees, where they winter.

In October, the now whitecaped, polished antlered Caribou bulls begin to fight, sometimes to the death for the right to mate, and the lakes in the tundra begin to freeze.

Five to seven feet of ice provides the foundation for a winter road which is ploughed north from Yellowknife in January.  Convoys of trucks re-supply the mines and lodges in the far north until mid-April when the snow begins to melt on the portages.

While the Barrenground Grizzly Bears and Arctic Ground Squirrels sleep through the harsh Arctic winters, countless Wolves, Wolverines, Foxes, Caribou, Muskox, Ptarmigans, and Arctic Hares continue to make the Barrenlands their home.

Photos