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HAY RIVER (pop. 3100) is a typical no-nonsense northern town designed for practicalities rather than sightseeing self-indulgence. Long a strategic site, it's been inhabited for thousands of years by Slavey Dene people attracted by its position on Great Slave Lake at the mouth of the Hay River. White settlers had put it on the map by 1854, but the inevitable Hudson's Bay Company trading post arrived only in 1868, and it wasn't until recently - with the completion of the Mackenzie Hwy, oil and gas exploration, and the arrival of a railway to carry zinc ore from local mines - that the town became an important transport centre. It's now also one of the most important ports in the north, shipping freight up the Mackenzie in huge barges to provide a precarious lifeline for High Arctic communities as far away as Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. If you're stuck in town, the best way to kill time is to wander the wharves where piles of supplies compete for space with tugs, barges, huge dredges and the town's big fishing fleet. The town divides into the New Town on the west bank of the Hay River - home to most of the motels, restaurants and key buildings - and the somewhat moribund Vale Island across a bridge to the north: in the latter, which centres on Mackenzie Drive, you'll find the wharves, airport, the remnants of the old town (badly damaged by flooding in 1963), the campsite and a series of passable and popular beaches (the last a total of 7km from the centre of New Town). The best sand is near the campsite on the northeast side of the island at the end of 106th Avenue. The bus depot is on the right immediately over the bridge: cross back over for the New Town. The visitor centre (mid-May to mid-Sept daily 9am-9pm; tel 874-3180) is on Hwy 2 south of the New Town centre on the corner with McBryan Drive. There's ample accommodation , much of it cheaper than elsewhere in the north. Most reasonable is the pretty downbeat Cedar Rest Motel (tel 874-3732; $40-60) on the main Hwy 2 south of the New Town downtown area (rooms have kitchenettes). Just north of downtown, on the right between New Town and the Vale Island bridge, is the Migrator Hotel (tel 874-6792; $80-100), five-minutes' walk from the town centre. The best if you want comfort after a long haul is the downtown Ptarmigan Inn , 10 J. Gagnier St (tel 874-6781 or 1-800/661-0842, randyhi@ssimicro.com ; $100-125): the restaurant at the Ptarmigan, The Keys , is popular. You can camp near the beach on Vale Island at the Hay River Campground ($13; mid-May to mid-Sept) or to the south of the New Town off Hwy 2 at the private Paradise Gardens Campground ($9.50).
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