Where did the Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road start and end?
Canada, north-america
177 km
2 m
hard
Year-round
Okay, picture this: you're in the Northwest Territories, Canada, ready to tackle one of the world's most northerly roads. We're talking about the legendary Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road, a 177km (109-mile) ice road stretching from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk.
For years, "Tuk" was only accessible by plane or boat in the summer. But come winter, when the Mackenzie River Delta froze solid, crews carved out this incredible ice highway. For three frigid months (December to March), it was showtime.
The road, snaking across the frozen river and even parts of the Arctic Ocean, became a vital artery. It supplied remote gas hydrate fields and acted as a lifeline for Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik. Imagine convoys of rigs hauling everything from fuel to equipment across this icy expanse!
Now, this wasn't your average Sunday drive. The ice was thick – around 8 feet – but riddled with cracks and ridges. It sometimes felt like driving on glassy marble! Daytime highs in Inuvik hovered between -7°C and -17°C, and dipped even lower at night.
Sadly, the Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road closed for good on April 29, 2017. The new Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, the first all-weather road to Canada's Arctic Coast replaced it.
Road Details
- Country
- Canada
- Continent
- north-america
- Length
- 177 km
- Max Elevation
- 2 m
- Difficulty
- hard
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