The first Phase of this trip will take us from our home in Grande Prairie, AB, Canada to Tuktoyaktuk, NT, Canada and back.  This part of the trip will be just over 6,000 kms round trip. For this leg of the adventure we will be using our truck, but not the camper.  It is our intention to drive the Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik from Inuvik, NT, Canada.  We will stay in hotels along the way.  Based on my research, the best time to travel the ice road is from mid-March to early-April.  Daylight is getting longer at this time of year and the ice road is in the best condition for travel.

A big part of the trip will be driving the Dempster Highway. The Dempster is one of the truly great Canadian roadways. Completed only in the late 1970’s, the Dempster is still the only fully public road in North America to cross the Arctic Circle.  Inuvik means Place of Man in the Inuvialuit language.

From Inuvik, we will travel on the ice road to Tuktoyaktuk, with a side trip to Aklavik. The only time you can travel by road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk is during the winter months (i.e. January to April approximately) on the temporary ice road on the Mackenzie River. The ice road allows for road travel to both Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk from Inuvik. During the rest of the year, road travel is not possible.

A general itinerary is below;