Driving the Dempster Highway

The first half of the Dempster highway winds and wends its way through the Tombstone, Ogilvie, and Richardson Mountains. I have many times heard people say that the section between the end of the mountains and Eagle Plains is boring and not beautiful. I don't think we were driving the same road.

This first portion of the Dempster is the most isolated. There are really no services between the Klondike River Lodge and Eagle Plains, just a lot of wide open country, the Tombstone interpretive centre, and a highway maintenance camp.

It's really a good idea to bring a spare tire or two, but I really don't see the point of bringing extra gas unless you plan to zip past Eagle Plains when the gas pump is closed.

This first 400km or so was in reasonably good shape on the day I drove it; dry and recently graded. I still had to watch out for pot holes, pointy bits of shale which are known to shred tires beyond repair, and speedy drivers throwing up rocks. All of this meant focusing more on the road than on the landscape; it might be nice to do this trip again as a passenger. :D

I left Dawson City at about 11:45 am and, even though the drive hadn't been that difficult, when the oasis of Eagle Plains came into view at quarter to seven, I was very grateful and more than ready to stop!

Eagle Plains is a complex located on a plateau. It was built in the late 1970's at about the same time the Dempster highway was completed. It is completely self-sufficient and self-contained. There is a service station, motel, lounge/bar, restaurant, apartments for highway workers, and a campground. It must have been a remarkable establishment back in its day, but now it is showing the signs of age and isolation. Still, the facilities are clean, if shabby, and the staff is friendly. A tent site cost me $15.75, including free hot showers, and remarkably good food is available at the restaurant at reasonable prices. A beer with a fancy chicken burger (real breast meat with fried onions, cheese, and BBQ sauce), fries, dessert, tip, and taxes came to $23.

I spoke to the server at the restaurant about life at Eagle Plains. She's a student for whom this was her third summer at the lodge. She said she never gets bored, what with work, hiking, and photography to be done. I asked her if she is more likely to go north or south on her days off and she said north, claiming the scenery is prettier and that there are more services in Inuvik than Dawson.

The second half of the Dempster has a lot of milestones. The first was the crossing of the imaginary line known as the Arctic Circle. We humans make such a fuss over other imaginary things like time and mathematics and borders, so why not a line around the earth?

The second big milestone is crossing the border into the Northwest Territories!

A couple hours after Eagle Plains, I hit the first of the two ferries, that at the Peel River. The ferries are free and run on demand weather permitting. There is no ferry service during ice breakup in the spring or during freezeup in the fall. In the winter, you can simply drive over the ice.

I then came across the community of Fort McPherson, known for its canvas products such as tents and bags. The factory wasn't open yet for public viewing and there wasn't much else to see in this tiny town, so I pushed on towards the second ferry crossing.

The tiny village of Tsiigehtchic, at the confluence of the Arctic Red and Mackenzie Rivers (see picture), is a sight to behold; so picturesque with its white church and set against emerald greenery.

This ferry crossing features a larger boat which travels in a triangular pattern: south shore of the Mackenzie, then Tsiigehtchic, then the north shore. As a side note, the Arctic Red River should not be confused with the more southern Red River that passes through Winnipeg.

The Mackenzie River is the longest in Canada and the eleventh longest in the world. This is a fact that was drilled into me in my elementary geography classes and I was not disappointed by the river in the least! It is big and wide and most impressive.

There's a nice view point (or veiw point according to the NWT) shortly before Inuvik. I enjoyed the short walk up to the lookout platform, where I was awed by all the trees! Where was the barren Arctic I'd read about?!

Some more kilometres passed and then, just like that, I hit pavement and the Inuvik airport. I felt so accomplished at knowing that I'd made it through the Dempster unscathed, but I never forgot that I'd have to do it again!

Driving the Dempster in an RV has both pros and cons. The pros are that you can take advantage of camping opportunities and have access to a kitchen when you get to Inuvik. The big disadvantage is that the road can be very rough. On dry years, it is easy enough to drive, but on wet years it can be extremely challenging.

For tips on driving the Dempster and other rough northern roads, checking out my article Driving On a Rough Road in an RV.