Ragged Ass Rd

Yellowknife


Named by prospectors who had gone stone-broke (ragged ass), this road was immortalized in a song and album by Tom Cochrane, himself the son of a bush pilot. The street sign went missing so often that the authorities started selling souvenir copies. Mansions now outnumber sagging gold-rush-era cabins.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Yellowknife attractions

1. Yellowknife Cultural Crossroads

0.17 MILES

On a huge boulder by the road there's a striking work of art: a soaring eagle, a whirl of colorful handprints and the skeletal outline of a tipi. In front…

2. Old Town

0.39 MILES

Many living people are older than Yellowknife but, despite the fact the Old Town only dates from the mid-1930s, its ramshackle streets wedged between Back…

3. Bush Pilot's Monument

0.42 MILES

Perched atop 'The Rock,' a large outcrop in the middle of the Old Town, this simple needle pays homage to the gutsy bush pilots who opened up the NWT a…

4. NWT Diamond Centre

0.69 MILES

A great place to buy your diamond bling, this gallery also provides a good overview of diamond mining in Canada's frigid north. The accompanying video…

6. Legislative Assembly

0.93 MILES

In the impressive, igloo-shaped Legislative Assembly, you can learn about the territory's aboriginal-style government by joining their free hour-long tour…

7. Great Slave Lake

1.47 MILES

Yellowknife sits on the shores of Great Slave Lake – the 10th largest lake in the world and the deepest in North America. It takes its name from the…

8. Bristol Monument

1.9 MILES

Overlooking the airport, this Bristol freighter, once operated by Wardair, became the first ever plane to land at the North Pole in 1967.