The Athabasca Sand Dunes

On the south shore of Lake Athabasca in far northern Saskatchewan lies something that should not be there: a hundred kilometres of active sand dunes, some thirty metres high, one of the most northerly major dune fields on the planet. They are the remains of glacial deposits reworked by wind, and they are still moving, burying stands of jack pine that stand dead and grey where the sand has passed over them. Ten plant species here are found nowhere else in the world, having evolved in isolation on this sand. There are no roads, no facilities and no permanent residents. Visitors arrive by chartered float plane and camp, or paddle in on the William River, which itself runs through the dunes.

What's there

• The active dunes - thirty-metre sand hills at sixty degrees north.
• Buried forest - jack pines standing dead where the sand has moved over them.
• The endemic plants - ten species found nowhere else on earth.
• The William River - running through the dune field to the lake.

When to go

July and August is the practical window, when float planes fly reliably and the weather is warm enough to camp. Even then, wind and smoke from northern wildfires can ground flights. Insects in early summer are severe.

Good to know

Access is by charter float plane only and the cost is substantial for a group, more so for individuals. There is nothing at the other end: no shelter, no water treatment, no rescue nearby, and parties must be fully self-sufficient. Wildfire smoke has closed the region for weeks in recent summers. This is a wilderness expedition, not a park visit.

Nearby

Stony Rapids and Points North are the air bases; Lake Athabasca stretches west into Alberta.