On my bucket list was a sign that said “Arctic Ocean” and it is located in my home country of Canada way up north in the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk. I had itchy feet and I needed to go somewhere and do something so I planned and booked this trip. Then I broke my big toe 5 weeks ago after dropping a 10kg weight on my foot, but that’s a different story and it wasn’t going to stop me ~ nothing gets between a gal and her bucket list! Surprisingly, Tuktoyaktuk was quite easy for me to travel to from Edmonton, Alberta.
With my trusty purple backpack, I flew with Canadian North to Mike Zubko Airport in Inuvik, picked up my rental car and hit the road. I had a full size Yukon for a rental.
This was my first time flying with Canadian North and it was great! The plane only had economy seats and the front part is for cargo. Meals were provided and were very good. I have to find out who in Yellowknife airport provided the potato salad. My flight companions and flight attendants were awesome.
Dempster Highway
You can drive to Inuvik via the famous Dempster Highway from Dawson City, Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. If I had more time, I would have drove instead of flying into Inuvik.
The Dempster Highway is a 740 km hard packed, but well maintained, gravel road that winds its way through two mountain ranges, the Ogilvie and the Richardson, crosses the continental divide three times, traverses the Arctic Circle and loosely follows the old dog team routes on its way to Inuvik and the Mackenzie Delta where access to the Arctic Ocean is available.
Inuvik ~ Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH)
The Northwest Territories Highway 10 is also known as the ITH (Inuvik~Tuktoyaktuk Highway) and “The Road to the Top of the World” and it is the first road in history to reach the polar shore of North America. The ITH starts at the end of the Dempster Highway in Inuvik and is 140 km long ending in Tuktoyaktuk. It is a two-lane gravel, all-weather road and the first all-weather road to Canada’s Arctic Coast. There are eight bridges to cross and the drive takes about 2.5 hours. The ITH was completed in 2017. I highly recommend adding this to your Bucket List!
Off I went! These five billboards are in different languages – English, French, Gwich’in and two Inuvialuktun dialects ~ Uummarmiutun and Sallirmiutun.
My biggest fear was my rental breaking down on the highway and being found by a polar bear.
There wasn’t a lot of traffic and for the most part, the road was dry. Here and there it was muddy and I had to navigate some pot holes. The views were breathtaking.
Pingo Canadian Landmark Viewpoint
I had to google what a pingo was ~ Parks Canada has a great webpage explaining how a pingo is formed: Pingo Formation.
Pingos are intrapermafrost ice-cored hills, 3–70 m high and 30–1,000 m in diameter. They are typically conical in shape and grow and persist only in permafrost environments, such as the Arctic and subarctic.
~ Wikipedia
Welcome to Tuktoyaktuk Sign
I arrived in Tuktoyaktuk, Land of the Pingos to continue my adventure!
I enjoyed this drive.
Happy Travels!
Adventures in Canada’s Arctic
Jackie is “Mom” to one amazing son, an IT professional and an obsessed traveller. She spends her time reading, golfing at Ladies League and implementing software projects. Jackie has travelled to 7 continents, 5 oceans and 102 countries and she is always planning the next destination and adventure!
Sounds like a brilliant trip.
It was fabulous!