Dempster Highway

The Dempster Highway, also referred to as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a highway in Canada that connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories on the Mackenzie River delta. The highway crosses the Peel and the Mackenzie rivers using a combination of seasonal ferry services and ice bridges. Year-round road access from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk opened in November 2017, with the completion of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway, creating the first all-weather road route connecting the Canadian road network with the Arctic Ocean.

Dempster Highway
Yukon Highway 5 Northwest Territories Highway 8
Route information
Maintained by Department of Highways and Public Works
Length	737.5 km (458.3 mi) YT-5: 465 km (289 mi) NWT-8: 271 km (168 mi)
Major junctions
South end	Hwy 2 (Klondike Highway) near Dawson City, YT
North end	Highway 10 (Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway), Inuvik, NT
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Yukon
Highway system
Territorial highways in Yukon Miscellaneous
Northwest Territories highways Sign on Dempster Highway Arctic spruce Dempster Highway Mt. Tombstone in Tombstone Territorial Park The Eagle Plains Hotel, the only lodging establishment along the Dempster Highway, in July 2022 Sign in Eagle Plains: "High winds and blowing snow" Midnight sun over the Dempster near Inuvik The Dempster Highway approaching the MacKenzie River ferry crossing, from the south, with buildings of Tsiigehtchic visible to the right Pavilion marking where the Dempster Highway crosses the Arctic Circle Major intersections Territory Region Location km mi Destinations Notes Yukon unorganized ​ 0 0.0 Hwy 2 (Klondike Highway) – Dawson City, Whitehorse 82 51 North Fork Pass – 1,289 m (4,229 ft) Highest point on the Dempster Highway Eagle Plains 369 229 First available services ​ 391 243 Wiley Aerodrome Uses a portion of the highway as its runway. 405 252 Arctic Circle Yukon – Northwest Territories border 465 289 Hwy 5 northern terminus • Highway 8 southern terminus One hour time change (summer only) Northwest Territories Inuvik ​ 539 335 Crosses the Peel River MV Abraham Francis (June to October) • Ice bridge (late November to April) Fort McPherson 550 340 Second and last available services Tsiigehtchic 608 378 Crosses the Mackenzie River MV Louis Cardinal (June to October) • Ice bridge (late November to April) Inuvik 736 457 Highway 10 north (Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway) – Tuktoyaktuk 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Route transition See also List of Yukon territorial highways Dalton Highway – the only other all-season highway to cross the Arctic Circle in North America References "GCR - News - First ever road to Canada's Arctic coast to open this week". www.globalconstructionreview.com. Retrieved 2017-11-23. Morrison, William R. (January 1986). "W.J.D. Dempster". Arctic. 39 (2): 190–191. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2017. North, Dick (2004). The Lost Patrol: The Mounties' Yukon Tragedy. Globe Pequot. ISBN 1-59228-573-2. "Dempster Highway History". Yukon Info. PR Services Ltd. Retrieved 26 November 2017.^[permanent dead link] Gates, Michael (4 March 2015). "Building the Dempster Highway: an engineering challenge". Yukon News. Yukon News and Black Press Group Ltd. Retrieved 26 November 2017. "Dempster Highway". Yukon Info. PR Services Ltd. Retrieved 26 November 2017. Gray, Don (5 January 2014). "An Engineering Memoir: A Bridge in the Yukon 1971". e-Veritas. Royal Military College Club of Canada. Retrieved 26 November 2017. "Colonel Commandant, BGen S.M. Irwin, CD (Ret'd)". The Canadian Military Engineers Association. Canadian Military Engineers Association. Retrieved 26 November 2017. "The Route". The Dempster Highway. Spectacular Northwest Territories. Retrieved 26 November 2017. "Ferries". Government of Northwest Territories. Retrieved October 31, 2018. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dempster Highway. Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Dempster Highway. Opening of the Dempster Highway Map of the highway Archived 2012-04-23 at the Wayback Machine Dempster Highway at Inuvik Town website Dempster Highway at Travel Yukon Dempster Highway road trip article on the Economist's More Intelligent Life website Detailed Dempster Highway article by Dallas Morning News travel writer Dave Levinthal Video of winter crossing at Tsiigehtchic