Despite its location north of the Arctic Circle, Kugluktuk is one of few communities in Nunavut where summer days get warm enough to let you wile away hours on the beach. In July and August, avid swimmers take advantage of the hamlet's Waterfront Beach Program where the Coppermine River empties into Coronation Gulf. The warm temperatures also aid a longer boating season, which begins in late June and ends in early October. Northwest Passage Expeditions Ltd. provides outings in the Coronation Gulf area in its 30-foot cabin cruiser, checking out old trading posts, abandoned DEW Line sites and historic reminders of earlier explorers along the way. A boat ride will get you to the Coronation Golf Club, an 18-hole course located on a sandbar between the community and the ocean.
Summer is the best time to play there, since early autumn rain and high winds can flood the course.
There's pool, video games, movie rentals and fast food available. Shopping The Kugluktuk Co-op, here since 1960, sells groceries, dry goods, hardware and local arts and crafts . The Northern store also sells groceries and dry goods. The local Kugluktuk Anguniaqtiit Association offers a variety of country foods, including arctic char, caribou, and muskox jerky. The Kugluktuk Visitors Centre in the James Koighok Cultural Centre on Coronation Drive displays arts and crafts that are usually for sale.