The city of Yellowknife isn’t that old but it is a fairly condensed area with a transient population. Overtime stores, buildings, families all come and go which results in some very confusing directions for newcomers. Longtime residents or just any resident once their accustom to speaking like a local, often use landmarks to give directions and sometimes those landmarks don’t exist anymore. In an effort to help those new to the city and maybe some that have just always wondered, we have started to curate a list of local direction terms – or directionary.
The list is a living record and we’ll add to it as we learn more about the city ourselves, so to that end we invite everyone to contribute. Use the form at the bottom of this post to send in additional information on existing terms or new terms altogether.
If you are looking for an index of locally used acronyms see our Yellowknife Acronym Guide here.
Yellowknife Direction Dictionary
| Direction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 50/50 Mini Mall | 50th Street and 50th Avenue |
| Abe Miller | 4912 53 Street |
| Arthur Laing Building | 49th Street and 50th Avenue |
| Back Bay | The portion of water between Old Town and old Giant Mine site |
| Baker's Centre | 5710 50th Ave |
| Behind Walmart | The Range Lake residental area |
| Big Extra Foods | Independent Grocer on Old Airport Road |
| Bristol Pit | Gravel pit on Old Airport Road near Airport |
| Bullocks | A popular year-round restaurant in an old Trading Post building serving fresh fish and northern fare. Located on Wiley Road across from Weaver and Devor. |
| By Charlie | Large mural painted by Terry Pamplin in honour of Charlie Delorme. Located on 48th street outside Visual Effects |
| Old Chateau Nova | Days Inn on the corner of 50th Avenue and 44th Street |
| Circle K | Shell Gas Station |
| DND | Military Hanger on Bristal Road at the Airport |
| DND Gym | Gymnasim in Multiplex Arena |
| Down the Hill | The hill on Franklin Avenue that leads into Old Town |
| Flea Market | Now “Vinny's” on Old Airport Road opposite the “Bottle Store” in the old Force One building. |
| Gallery Building | Corner of 52 Street and 50 Avenue |
| Goga Cho Building | 4916 47 Street |
| Government Dock | Public dock on MacDonald Drive in Old Town |
| Grandma Lee's Entrance | Yellowknife Public Library, Centre Square Mall entrance |
| Greenstone Building | Federal Building at Angel Street and 50 Avenue |
| Highrise on Moyle | Four-storey apartment building on Moyle Drive |
| IGA Store | Overlander Sports Building |
| Jan Stirling Building | 4702 50 Avenue |
| JJ Hobbies | Previously an art and pet store. Formally at the site of now Shopper’s Drug Mart.The building it was in was also the an old liquor store. |
| JTFN Building | Miltary Building on 49th Avenue and 49th Street |
| Kingland | Ford Dealership on Old Airport Road |
| N'Dilo (Dee-low) | Aboriginal community on Latham Island |
| New Government Building | 5015 49 Street |
| New Town | Downtown Yellowknife |
| OK Ecomony/Super A Foods/Old Extra Foods | Glen's Independent Grocer |
| Old Bay Store | Greenstone Building |
| Old Canadian Tire | Greenstone Building |
| Old Fire Hall | The Baily House - Corner of 50th Avenue and 44th Street |
| Old Stantec Building | Birchwood Coffee K'o on 49th Street |
| Old UNW Building | 5112 52 Street |
| Pacific Western Airways | The large old red roofed building by the causeway in Old Town, now a private residence. |
| Panda ll Mall | 4951 48 Street / YK Centre East Building |
| Peave River Flats | Residential area between 50 Avenue and Back Bay in Old Town |
| Rainbow Valley | A referance to the brightly colored house along a road in N'Dilo |
| Red Rooster | The Village Reddi Mart and sometimes Mac's Gas Station |
| Sissons | French School on 51A Avenue |
| Sliding Hill behind NUP | At the end of 55 Street and 51A Avenue |
| Somba K'e | The Tlicho word for Yellowknife meaning place of money, also park near City Hall |
| Stanton Clinic | Beside MacDonald's on Old Airport Road |
| Stuart Hodgson Building | 5005 49 Street |
| The Bay/Houseboat Bay | Yellowknife Bay, the area around Jolliffee Island |
| The Big Lake | Great Slave Lake |
| The Diner | What was once in the location of what is now The Fat Fox Café |
| The Dump | City of Yellowknife Solid Waste Facility. Just past the ski-club on the Giant Mine access road (formerly Highway #4) |
| The Highrise | The first tall building in Yellowknife, Coast Fraser Tower. |
| The Loop | Stretch of road between the intersection of 48 St and 49 Ave and the intersection of Highway 3 and Old Airport Road. |
| The Leg | The Legislative Assembly Building. Pronounced "the ledge". |
| The Pits | The sandpits just past the Yellowknife Airport on Hwy 3. |
| The Range | The Gold Range Bar/Bad Sam's Pub |
| The Rock | Pilots Monument in Old Town |
| The Trail | Ingraham Trail/Highway 4 |
| The Wildcat | The Wildcat Café in Old Town on Wiley Road |
| Tommy Forest | Tommy Forest Ball Park on 50th Avenue |
| Twin Pine Hill | Where Summit Condos is now |
| Uptown | Yellowknife South/Range Lake/Big Box Store area of town |
| Weledeh | School between 46 and 44 Street along 52 Avenue |
| Willow Flats | Residental area between 50 Avenue and Yellowknife Bay |
| Winks | Mac's Gas Station |
| Woodyard | A collection of shacks located off of Hamilton & Bretslaf Roads |
| YK Inn | Quality Inn |
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[…] is no different. Just like how many Yellowknife’s have a special way of giving directions (see our local direction dictionary here), we also have a long list of acronyms we like to […]
This would be great with a map, for those of us who are new to YK.
Thanks
“…Flea Market – In the rear of St. Patrick’s Church on 51 Avenue & 53 Street…”
Now “Vinny’s” on on Old Airport Road opposite the “Bottle Store”