Everything You Need To Know About Driving The Dempster Highway

What is the Dempster Highway?

The only road in North America that allows you to drive to the Arctic Ocean!

It starts just outside of Dawson City Yukon & ends in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories (AKA. THE ARCTIC OCEAN!).

Its 740KM (458 MI) from start to finish ONE WAY.

The Details

• Although Google Maps says the drive will take 14 hours, it doesn't take into consideration that the road is in rough shape, so you can’t drive the speed limit. Speeds often range from 40–70 km/h, depending on conditions.

• Expect to double the time Google Maps says, and keep in mind that time doesn't allow for any stops!

• The Dempster Highway is a gravel & crushed stone/shale road built on a gravel berm over permafrost. This is not your average gravel road. It is in rough but manageable condition. There is lots of "wash board" sections and a lot of people get tire blow outs due to the loose rock.

• Weather conditions can change in an instant; you might start the day in sunshine and end up in snow, even in the middle of summer. We saw ice at the start of August!!

• There are no cell service towers along most of the highway, so be prepared to disconnect completely once you leave Dawson City.

• If you don't plan on driving from your starting point, you are most likely going to have to fly into Whitehorse first. Here you can stock up on all groceries and anything else you may need. We found the prices here to be the same as the rest of Canada.

• You can rent a car or RV from Whitehorse. During our time in Whitehorse, we camped at Hi Country RV Park. We noticed that they had a CANADREAM rental place within this park and it looked like they allowed their RVs to go down the Dempster, but its best to call and ask. Make sure to add on extra time to your trip if you are flying into Whitehorse as you will need to drive 6hrs from there to Dawson City.

• Best time to go - Late June to September. This offers the best road conditions, longest daylight hours (including midnight sun), and open services. September can be beautiful but comes with colder temperatures and a higher chance of snow.

• Deciding how long you need depends on a lot of things. Are you flying in or driving? The main starting point for most will be Whitehorse, Yukon. Its ideal to start there, then spend one day in Dawson City to spread out the driving and amount of time in a car. You can spend anywhere from one week - three weeks just depending on how much you want to explore this area. One week would be cutting it pretty short, but it could be done. Sweet spot would be 2 weeks to give time to see Whitehorse & Dawson City as well.

Gas Stops

• Fuel stops are limited and often far apart. The road stretches 740KM one way. Gas is available at the start of the highway on the Dempster Corner & is the best price on the entire journey! Make sure to bring a jerry can!

Other gas stops include:

⛽ Eagle Plains, 368KM’s into the drive (most expensive gas along the route)

⛽ Fort McPherson, an additional 182KM from Eagle Plains

⛽ Inuvik, 186KM from Fort McPherson

Ferry Crossings

• There are 2 ferry crossings (free) and its important you take into consideration a few things with the ferry crossings. Firstly, they have hours. We made the mistake of wanting to leave Inivuk bright and early to head back towards the start, without checking the ferry times. This led us to having to wait an hour and a half for it to open.

Peel River Ferry

Regular Hours of Operation: 9:15 am – 12:45 am

Time to cross: 5 minutes

Overhead restrictions: none

Ramp clearance: 6 metres

Deck length: 23.7 metres

Max weight: 66,000 kg

Average open date: June 3

Average close date: November 2

Mackenzie River Ferry
Regular Hours of Operation: 8:15 am – 11:15 pm

Time to cross: 8 minutes

Overhead restrictions: 5.9 metres

Ramp clearance: 6 metres

Deck length: 38.1 metres

Max weight: 140,000 kg

Average open date: June 1

Average close date: November 2

Camping

• You can pull over and sleep almost anywhere along the route. One exception to this is in Tombstone Territorial Park. Within Tombstone park, the only options for sleeping is camping. You can camp inside the campground (no hook ups) or sleep at the visitor centre if the campground happens to be full.

We would suggest getting the following things

• Bring spare tires & a tire repair kit (& know how to use them!) - we saw many people with blown out tires! We had 2 flat tires ourselves, but thankfully, with a tire repair kit, we were able to patch them up without needing to change the entire tire.

• Windshield repair kit - lots of rocks flying everywhere when other vehicles go past so its always a good idea to carry one of these!

• Satellite phone - no service the entire drive!

• Gas cans - long stretches of road with no gas, plus you will save money by filling these up before starting the drive!

• Lots of food & water - food is expensive here as its so remote, so stocking up before hand will save you money.

• Bug spray - mosquitoes can get really bad out here.

• Layers. It can be very hot or very cold in an instant, so bring layers.

Information for Rv'ers

• There are no dump stations on this road until the end. The only dump station is located at Happy Valley Territorial Park in Inuvik. This dump station is free to use. We would not recommend staying here as they have a lot of issues with crime.

• If you want to camp in Inuvik, we recommend camping at Jàk Territorial Park, which is just outside of Inuvik (less than 10 mins).

• There is one campground in Tuktoyaktuk, Arctic Ocean Campground,

• You can fill up water for free in Fort McPherson, but we would not recommend staying here. It is $60 per night and did not look very nice. You can camp for free along the highway.

• Make sure to bring extra tires for your RV/trailer.

• Give yourself plenty of time for this drive. You cannot drive very fast on this road and even slower if you are towing/are a big vehicle.

• Someone at our campground was towing a 5th wheel trailer on this drive and blew 8 tires. We think this was because he was likely driving to fast and was to overloaded.

Hotels

• Camping is the best way to do this drive since the weather changes quickly. However, if that is not an option for you, there are a few hotels.

• Eagle Plains Hotel and RV Campground - Eagle Plains 368KM's from the start

• Peel River Inn - Fort McPherson, an additional 182KM from Eagle Plains

• Nova Inn Inuvik, Inuvik

• Capital Suites, Inuvik

• Smittys Bed & Breakfast, Tuktoyaktuk

• Hunter's B&B, Tuktoyaktuk

Please note, we did not stay in any of these hotels so we cannot confirm what they are like, this is simply to give you the information you need.

What to expect in Tuktoyaktuk

• Services in Tuk are limited but you could spend one full day here.

• There are grocery stores & one gas station, but as expected, its very expensive. Its best to come here prepared.

• What to see in Tuk: Sod Houses, Swim in the Arctic Ocean, Our Lady of Lourdes Ship, Tuktoyaktuk Visitor Information, Arctic Ocean Sign, Tuktoyaktuk sign, Pingo Canadian Landmark.

• There are 2 souvenir stores Tuktoyaktuk Souvenir Shop & RCMP station

• Expect to spend a few hours here.