VI.

Recreation

Recreational facilities, such as school gymnasiums and outdoor playgrounds, exist in all communities. More expensive indoor facilities, such as swimming pools, are only found in larger communities. For most northerners the main recreational activities are outdoors. Canoeing, hiking, and fishing are popular summer activities, and cross-country skiing and ice fishing are two popular winter sports.

Four national parks are located in the Northwest Territories. Aulavik National Park was established in 1992 and has an area of 12,200 sq km (4,700 sq mi). Wood Buffalo National Park, which is partly in Alberta, was established in 1922; it has an area of 44,807 sq km (17,300 sq mi). Nahanni National Park, established in 1976, has an area of 4,766 sq km (1,840 sq mi), and Tuktut Nogait National Park was established in 1998, with an area of 16,300 sq km (6,300 sq mi). Both Nahanni and Wood Buffalo parks have been designated as World Heritage Sites. The east arm of Great Slave Lake has been proposed as a new national park.