The Gold Range — universally known to locals as the Strange Range — is Yellowknife's most storied drinking establishment, a rough-edged bar that has been serving miners, politicians, and everyone in between since the gold rush era. It features in more than one piece of northern Canadian literature, and its clientele has included dog mushers, Dene elders, government bureaucrats, and transient workers on their way to or from the diamond mines.
The atmosphere is unpretentious to say the least. It is loud, occasionally chaotic, and precisely the kind of place that corporate travel guides do not recommend but travelers remember. The bar is open late, serves cheap drinks, and occasionally has live music. It is not for everyone, but it is very much Yellowknife.