Dempster Highway

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This path received sad notoriety in the winter of 1911 when a police patrol strayed from the route and were later found dead. The present highway is named after the leader of search party which found them, Corporal W.D. Dempster. When, in the 1950s, a start was made on searching for raw materials in this largely unexplored region the first few miles of the rough road were made up. Oil and gas exploration in the Beaufort Sea speeded up work on the road - necessary to provide a link and transport provisions to the sites - as far as the mouth of Mackenzie River and this was completed in 1979.

A thorough servicing of the car is strongly recommended before setting off along this highway. Petrol stations with repair facilities will be found only in Eagle Plains, Fort McPherson and Inuvik.

Soon after reaching the Klondike Valley, the Klondike River Lodge services come up at the 678 km mark (421 mi.). Here the Dempster Highway turns off into the Canadian north, eventually reaching to Inuvik in the Mackenzie River delta after about 750 km (466 mi.) of magnificent scenery.