Fort Chipewyan

Fort Chipewyan is a hamlet on the western shores of Lake Athabasca 250 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. It had a population of 798 in 2021.

Understand
Fort Chipewyan is one of the oldest European settlements in Alberta. It was established in 1788 as a Northwest Company trading post. Most locals are native Cree or Chipewyan.

By car
Travel overland to Fort Chipewyan is only possibly via seasonal ice roads which cross a pair of frozen rivers in winter. A Fort Chipewyan Winter Road hotline at +1-866-743-6111 provides road information.

There is one fuel station between Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan (a Petro-Canada in Fort McKay's industrial park) and virtually no services.

When crossing ice bridges (river crossings), go the speed limit! If you go too fast, you may create an underwater wave which can travel ahead of you and break the ice once it reaches the other shore.

By boat
It is possible to reach Fort Chipewyan from Fort McKay in summer by boating the Athabasca River; the Slave River leads from Fort Chipewyan to Wood Buffalo National Park and Fort Smith, NWT.

Do

 * Visit Wood Buffalo National Park, the largest national park of Canada, which is about the size of Denmark. It is home to the world's largest herd of free roaming wood bison, estimated at more than 5,000. It is one of two known nesting sites of whooping cranes. Access to the park from Fort Chip is via the winter road, or by motorboat or canoe in summer.

Go next

 * Wood Buffalo National Park is at the northern edge of Alberta; access is from Fort Chip or from Fort Smith (NWT).