The Arctic Circle Trail is a hiking

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. The route covers from the interior settlement of

Kangerlussuaq Kangerlussuaq (; ; ) is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipalities of Greenland, municipality located at the head of the Kangerlussuaq Fjord, fjord of the same name. It was Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of G ...

Sisimiut Sisimiut (), also known by its Danish name Holstensborg or Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America.The term 'city' is loos ...

on the coast.

Geography and terrain

The entirety of the trail is north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

, hence the name. While 80% of Greenland is covered in ice sheets, the trail travels from the edge of the ice cap to the western coast of the island. The trail covers parts of traditional hunting grounds now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Aasivissuit – Nipisat: Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea, though it was officially established in 1998. Approximately the first of the trail is along a

gravel road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. Gravel roads are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and ...

, with the rest of it on single track hiking trail that is sparsely marked by

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

s. The trail does not have any significant

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

es to cross, reaching a maximum altitude of . It passes by numerous lakes, river crossings, and

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

gy terrain. During summer the route is largely snow free, but during spring, fall, and winter it requires skis,

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

s, or

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow, a practice known as mushing. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for Sled dog racing, dog sl ...

s to travel.

Hiking

The most well-known trail in Greenland, it sees relatively few hikers in a season, typically no more than 1,500. The trail requires no permits and is free to use. Most hikers complete the route in 7–10 days, though the

fastest known time A Fastest Known Time (FKT) is the speed record for a running, hiking or cycling route. Unlike most endurance sports competitions such as marathon world records, FKTs are self-organized and done alone or in small groups. FKTs are most popular on long ...

is just under two days. There are no towns or settlements along the route for resupply, so hikers must be completely self-supported in terms of food and gear. There are, however, 10 primitive huts that provide shelter along the trail. In recent years, fires on the tundra have forced some hikers to evacuate from the route. Otherwise, the most common challenges faced are the extreme remoteness of the trail, river crossings, and a heavy

mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

population during the early summer.

References

External links

*
Trail guide

Official website
{{Authority control Geography of Greenland Hiking trails in North America