Dempster Highway - The Essentials

  Dawson City, Yukon, Canada
Sunday, September 23, 2007

The Dempster Highway - The Essentials

The Dempster Highway, or as I call it - Canada's Last Great Road Trip, is a 732 km all-weather road completed in 1979 that connects Dawson City, YK with Inuvik, NWT.

19-- Dempster-faded orange line above Dawson City

12-- Inuvik and reaching Canada's Arctic

It is the only road access that Canada has to its Arctic region as Inuvik is located on the McKenzie River Delta, 97 km from the Arctic Ocean and 200 km above the Arctic Circle.


An "all-weather road" is code for "not paved". Therefore the road is either topped with gravel, shale, imbedded rock, clay, or a combination thereof.

13-- this is how it starts

The shale has a well earned reputation of shredding tires but the imbedded rock and loose rocks can also do a pretty good job on a tire. I was glad that I was rolling on top notch Yokohama tires inflated with nitrogen gas.

The Dempster provides superb scenery as it passes through the striking Tombstone and Ogilvie Mountain Ranges, threads its way along endless ridgelines reminiscent of the "Top of the World Highway", and crosses vast stretches of arctic tundra. One of the thrills of the highway is the crossing of the Arctic Circle at kilometre 405.6, a moment not to be forgotten.

Simply put, it is a unique drive guaranteed to get the adrenalin flowing.

Services on the highway are few and far between. Eagle Plains Lodge at the 369 km mark is the mid-point and it was created uniquely for the purpose of breaking up the two day drive to Inuvik.

Therefore Eagle Plains Lodge provides the essentials of gasoline, diesel fuel, repairs, a store, accommodations, and a restaurant.

- the starting point from Dempster Corner

- the half way point - Eagle Plains

Miss this gas station and you are out of luck, unless you are driving a vehicle of exceptional fuel economy which might make it to Fort McPherson at the 550 km mark. As I write this, it occurs to me, my Volvo should easily get 550 km from a tank of gas but this desolute territory is not the time to put that theory to the test.

Along the length of the highway are strategically placed beautiful campgrounds and rest areas with facilities.

The Dempster Highway is open year round except for two short periods of the year when the Peel and McKenzie Rivers are in the process of freezing or breaking up.

Normally there are government run ferries at Peel River Crossing (538 km) and McKenzie River Crossing (608 km). In November these ferries are replaced by ice bridges and it is during this transition period that the Dempster Highway is temporarily closed at these points. In the spring, the process repeats itself as the ice is in the process of breaking up.

The Dempster Highway is named after North-West Mounted Police Corporal W.J. Dempster whose adventures with his dog teams in the area are legendary. Among his exploits was the search for the Lost Patrol which will be the subject of another blog.

17-- poster of the Dempster Highway

18-- some of the story of the highway

The highway starts at "the Dempster Corner" which the junction of the Dempster and Klondike (No.2) Highways.. This intersection is located 23 km south of Dawson City.

Information paneles, located near Mile 0, indicate that the highway is patrolled by the Northwest Territories Highways Department.

- information pod

-- some good advice

Drivers are cautioned to reduce their speed upon meeting another car to minimize the damage from flying gravel or rocks. Sudden braking or sudden manouvers are to be avoided as control can be easily lost on the gravel. Headlights are to be covered with a plastic film and the radiator with wire mesh to avoid damage from flying rocks.

For those driving the highway in the summer, it is advised to bring mosquito spray, a first aid kit, extra water, emergency flares and spare gas.

In the winter it is advised to bring a shovel, sleeping bag, cold weather clothing as well as a stove and matches.

Finally it is suggested that the vehicles driving on the Dempster should be in top mechanical condition as help is limited.

Those are the essentials, now it is time to drive it.

Coming soon: Driving the Dempster Highway to Eagle Plains Lodge