Driving the Dempster Highway to Tuktoyaktuk (Arctic Ocean or Bust)

Driving the Dempster Highway is one of the great North American adventures as you drive all the way to the Arctic Ocean, in the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk (lovingly referred to as “Tuk”, pronounced “tuck”).  I was driving the Dempster Highway from August 10-15, 2019.  I had originally planned to visit around July 18 to attend the annual arts festival in Inuvik, but the smoke conditions were very bad, so I detoured to Atlin, BC and Alaska first.   Read here about my experience on the Dempster Highway, and below for some tips if you’re planning to do the journey for driving tips and things you can see on the Dempster Highway.

What is the Dempster Highway?

The Dempster is a 736 km (457 mile) gravel road from the junction of Highway 2 in Yukon (aka the Klondike Highway) to Inuvik, Northwest Territories.  It was completed in 1978 and has been known as one of the more extreme road trips in North America.  In late 2017, a road was completed the final 144 km (90 miles) to Tuktoyaktuk, which previously was only reachable by plane and in the winter when there was an ice road on the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean.  So now, you can drive 547 miles one way to the Arctic Ocean, of course you have to drive back the same way you came!

What to See on the Dempster Highway – Scenery

The highway is famous for its scenery.  Some of the top scenic highlights include:

Tombstone Territorial Park – this is one of the most scenic sections of the Dempster Highway.  There are several hikes to do in the park.  If you’re short on time, the Goldenside Trail is a short (4 km), scenic hike. 

Fall Colors – late August to early September is one of the best times to travel the highway, as you might see the northern lights and the fall colors are amazing.

Ogilvie-Peel viewpoint Lookout – this viewpoint is the meeting of two rivers. 

Arctic Circle Crossing – stop at the Arctic Circle for great views and pictures at the Arctic Circle Marker.

Yukon/NWT Crossing and Markers – the border is located on a mountain pass, there was snow present in my early August visit.  Each territory has its own welcome signs.

Fort McPherson – it’s worth a visit to the local church and cemetery.  You can visit the grave of the Lost Patrol. The Lost Patrol were 4 Mounties that set off using sled dogs from Fort McPherson to Dawson City in the winter without a guide. Sadly, it didn’t end well for the Mounties or the dogs.

Inuvik/Mackenzie River – Inuvik is the largest town in this part of NWT, with a population above 3,000.  It’s the only pavement you will see on the entire Dempster highway.  The Mackenzie River makes the border of the western side of Inuvik

Pingos – Pingos are earth-covered ice blocks caused by permafrost and one of the largest Pingos in the world is located just outside of Tuktoyaktuk, part of Parks Canada.  The adventurous can canoe to a boardwalk to get a closer view.

Tuktoyaktuk/Arctic Ocean – Tuktoyaktuk is a small town with mostly First Nations population on the Arctic Ocean.  You can park on the spit for photos of the “Arctic Ocean” sign.  It’s also possible to camp out there for $63 CAD per night (money to go for developing the site).   While you are allowed to dip your toes at the city park, a better place to swim or dip your toes is at the beach at Grandma’s Kitchen.  Make sure you stop into Grandma’s Kitchen to try local delicacies.  I tried a sampler plate of smoked fish, muktuk (raw beluga meat), and beluga jerky.

What to See on the Dempster Highway – Wildlife

Wildlife is not abundant on the highway.  The only wildlife I saw was birds, rabbits, and a couple foxes.  That being said, you may be lucky.  I met 3 different travelers, one saw a Grizzly Bear, one saw the huge Porcupine Caribou herd, and the other incredibly saw a Musk Ox. 

How Many Days to Do the Dempster Highway?

They say the highway is like Vegas – 3 days is too short and 7 days is too long.   3 days would mean you’re literally driving from morning to night with no stops (it is 1100 miles on gravel, after all).  I would say do a minimum of 4 days  (Day 1 to Dawson City to Eagle Plains, Day 2 to Tuktoyaktuk, Day 3 back to Eagle Plains, Day 4 back to Dawson City).   My trip was 5.5 days and I felt that was about perfect.  It gave me some time to explore Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik, and Tombstone Territorial Park.

Dempster Highway Driving Tips

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Take the Milepost Guidebook.  This book has maps and a mile by mile description of the Top of the World Highway, as well as the other highways and detours to and around Alaska.

The best advice someone gave me – if it is raining and the road is sloppy, avoid driving.  You will be stuck in slippery mud.  On the day I had planned my departure from Inuvik, it had rained all night and the roads were terrible.  So I hung out in Inuvik all day, visiting the museum, watching films, taking an art class (making a small dream catcher), and using the wi-fi at the library.  By 5 pm, the roads were drier so I drove for 5 hours on better roads.  The next day, I heard both a tour bus and RV had gone in the ditch near Rock River Campground, the worst part of the Dempster Highway. 

There is limited cell phone reception and wi-fi only at a few locations, so plan to be disconnected – and ENJOY being disconnected!

Ferry Crossings – the times are fairly random, so expect to wait awhile, up to 30 minutes at the Mackenzie River crossing as that’s a 3-way crossing between the two ends of the Dempster and the village of Tsiigehtchic.  The Peel River Ferry just runs back and forth so it’s a shorter wait. These ferries are open from 8-9 am to 11-12 midnight each day.  If you do get stuck in between the two ferries, there is a motel in Fort McPherson, a NWT campground at Nitainlaii Territorial Park just north of the Peel River ferry, and several places you can Boondock camp for free.

Dempster Highway Gas Stations – the gas stations from south to north are Dawson City, Dempster Highway Junction (24-hour cardlock only), Eagle Plains, Fort McPherson, Inuvik, and Tuktoyaktuk.  At the time of my visit, there was only an 11 cent difference per liter of gas.  It seems that Fort McPherson consistently has the cheapest gas, and Eagle Plains has the most expensive (probably because they can – it’s such a long distance without stations from Dawson City to Eagle Plains).  In summer 2019, Bob’s Welding which has stations in Inuvik and Tuk was offering a 10% discount.   These are full service stations but keep an eye on your gas filler – I suspect one time the machine hadn’t been reset to zero and another time the guy overfilled my tank by topping it up to much, which I didn’t ask for.  Also, at Eagle Plains, they will automatically fill your tank rather than ask how much you want – I only wanted enough to get to Fort McPherson but he had already filled it by the time I got out of my car to talk to him.

The Dempster is notorious for flat tires but I think this is a story of the past – I don’t think I met a single person that had a flat tire, and I didn’t see anyone stopped fixing one on the road.  That being said, it is worth coming prepared as flats certainly do happen.  Bring any automotive essentials you might take on a remote gravel road (spare tire, repair kit, etc)

The Dempster is also notorious for chipped windshields and I am sorry to report I did end up with a small chip.  I was pulling over to let semis go by but a big pickup truck sent a small rock flying my way.  Of the others that had rock chips, most of them got it on the Alaska Highway rather than the Dempster. 

Warning – your car will be VERY dirty and caked with mud after driving the highway.  The back of my van was caked with as much as ½ an inch of mud, and I had to kick huge clumps of mud from my wheel wells.   There are several car washes in Dawson City.  Insider tip: consider having your tires washed of the mud.  My van was off balance for some time due to caked mud.   

Weather on the Dempster Highway

On the Dempster Highway, I encountered sun, rain, mud, sleet, snow, horizontal mist, rainbows, and that was on Monday morning!  Weather on the Dempster Highway is quite erratic.  In general, the weather was a little be better than forecast – for example if it was a forecast of clouds, there was a little sun.  If there was a forecast of rain, there were clearings in the rain. 

Cost to Drive the Dempster Highway

The main cost of the Dempster Highway is the gas!  Gas cost from $1.59 to $1.70 CAD per liter.   I got surprisingly good mileage on the gravel road, but poor mileage on the sections where I was driving in mushy mud. 

The next cost was camping.  While there are lots of places to pull over in Yukon and southern NWT to camp for free, once you get near Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, there are no places to camp for free (or legally anyways).  The public campgrounds in NWT are $23.65 CAD a night, but they usually include flush toilets and hot showers, unlike the public Yukon campgrounds that cost only $12 CAD a night. 

Another cost was food.  I was on a diet and I had stocked up prior to making the trip north.  I did eat out one meal at Grandma’s Kitchen in Tuktoyaktuk.  And I stopped into the cafe at Eagle Plains for some great coffee.

Most activities and attractions along the Dempster Highway are free – including Tombstone Territorial Park, Arctic Circle marker, Pingos, and Tuktoyaktuk spit.  I also participated in some free cultural activities in Inuvik.

Where to Stay on the Dempster Highway

There’s lots of camping on the Dempster Highway.  If you’re not camping, there are only a few places to stay – the single motel at Eagle Plains and one of several motels and hotels in Inuvik (Check Rates and Availability in Inuvik).  There are also a few B&B’s in Tuktoyaktuk, but they are quite expensive.

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