Ice Road Adventures

Driving the coolest highways

In deepest winter the ice on our lakes reaches four feet thick. That’s the time our ice-road traffic is at its peak. From January to March, roads built on ice reach out across the Northwest Territories to resupply communities and mines. They stretch across the Mackenzie Delta from Inuvik to Aklavik, north from Yellowknife almost to the Arctic coast, down the Mackenzie Valley from Wrigley to Norman Wells and Délįne, and link Tłįchǫ communities with Behchokǫ̀. For a taste of ice-road travel, drive on Great Slave Lake from Yellowknife to Dettah. For information on seasonal roads, check with  NWT Department of Transportation.

 

Our Stories

Intriguing tales from Canada's Northwest Territories

#7: Please don't get your tongue stuck to an ice road.

Pack extra adjectives. This is a land of extremes. 

East of Great Slave is a regal, lonesome realm – the treeless zone of the Barrens.

Wanna get to a place of meaning? Here's a hint: You aren't going to drive there. 

Go with the flow on in Canada's fresh-water paradise.

When the going gets rough, waddaya do? You travel like a true Northerner. 

View More Winter Adventure Stories

Delta Ice Roads From January to April, ice roads connect Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Visitors can rent a vehicle and drive the winding river and stream route to Aklavik. For a wildly different sense of place, it is still...

Ice Roads The longest ice road in the world is a private road built by a consortium of mining companies which extends from Tibbett Lake at the end of the Ingraham Trail 568 km to Contwoyto Lake in Nunavut. It is open to large trucks bringing supplies to the mines...

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