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The Arctic Ocean

The end of the Dempster Highway

By K-load Pictures

TUKTOYAKTUK, the spectacular adventure

Tuktoyaktuk is located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories and since the end of 2017, it is the only community on the Arctic Ocean that is connected to the rest of Canada by road.

Located at the 69 th parallel, Tuk was our destination for the summer of 2018, riding one of our awaited bucket list road : The famous Demspter Highway.

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

destination: 69th Parallel

Our starting point is Calgary, Alberta. The plan consists to reach Tuktoyaktuk, NWT as quick as we can (we never know what can happen on the way… hey, it’s adventure!). Its a nearly 4000km to get to the Arctic Ocean and I prefer to have spare time coming back rather than rushing the last days. It’s going to be a 9000km journey, filled with gravel roads, super fast and drastically weather changes, camping & dry food, comfy hotels and oh!, fun with our friends Josée and Dave travelling with us.

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

Lakes & mountains

Included in Canada’s beautiful land.

The Arctic Ocean

Wood Bisons’ Photo Hunt

I love Buffalos. They’re big and like me, they have a large neck! So we were very excited to learn a couple a years ago that free range herd were wandering in Yukon. There’s about 7000 wood bison remaining in the wild, mostly located in the Northwest Territories & Yukon. Like humans, they try to find relief from the biting flies in summer… by wallowing in sand pits!

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

Crossing the Yukon borders means The Dempster highway segment is coming!

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

🎬 Our Adventure in motion.

A stop at Dawson city

With more than 1300 inhabitants, Dawson is the second largest town of Yukon and was the centre of the Gold Rush in the late 1800s.

We had The Sourtoe Cocktail, it is a must for visitors to Dawson City. It's a simple drink with… a mummified human toe! There's just one rule: "You can drink it fast. You can drink it slow. But your lips must touch that gnarly toe."

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The dempster highway

We left Dawson City at 8am to get on the Dempster Highway and completed it in Inuvik at 10 pm. With the midnight sun of the north, the completion in one day is fairly easy. What is far more difficult is riding the full 800km long highway while the weather is playing with you along the way...

We got dust, sun, heavy wind squall, downpour, thunderstorm and fog. In one day. A big one.

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

Spectacular Northwest Territories

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

One lady, Eagle Plains and ferries.

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

Oh i see, it’s called dirt roads

After an entire day of riding the full Dempster Highway and under E-VE-RY weather conditions you can spell, we arrived at the Mackenzie Hotel in Inuvik full of dirt.

Hot shower was mandatory. (The bikes will wait the day after!)

The Arctic Ocean

TO THE 69TH PARALLEL

It’s a long way to Tuktoyaktuk.

The Arctic Ocean

it looks like a caribou.

Tuktoyaktuk means «ressembling a caribou». At low tide, reefs looking like caribou are supposed to be visible along the Arctic Ocean shore.

Tuk was our ultimate goal for this adventure. Reachable by road year long only since fall 2017, we knew it was our time. From Calgary, our starting point, it’s a ride of over 3500km.

Tuktoyaktuk could have easily mean «looks like there’s a ton of mosquitos here» !

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

land of the pingos.

Eight of these imposing hills form the Pingo Canadian Landmark, on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Pingos are a layer of soil over a large core of ice, occurring in permafrost areas. The largest pingo is growing at the rate of about two centimeters a year.

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

NORTHWESTERN SKIES

The Arctic Ocean

Not only the land is raw and beautiful but the sky is also a piece of art most of the time. But that means be prepare to gear up and have the complete wardrobe in your cases, weather is unpredictable!

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean

THE MAGIC IS OUT THERE

Enjoy all trails. Cherish every sunset.

© 2026 K-load Pictures

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