The Dempster Highway runs 460 miles from the Klondike Highway south of Dawson City, through the Tombstone Territorial Park, the Arctic Circle, and into the Northwest Territory to the town of Inuvik. The highway is described as a well-maintained gravel highway. From Dawson City, YT, we made a day trip of driving over 65 miles up and then the return trip (about 130 miles total) with time spent visiting and hiking in the Tombstone Territory Park. The highway was completed inn 1978. It has been notorious for being rough on tires. Most resources recommend traveling with two full size spare tires. From talking to several Yukon Parks personnel, it was explained that the road construction initially used a lot of shale. Over time, shale gets very sharp and will puncture tires. They have been covering over the sections with shale, but sometimes a piece works its way to the top. We were also told that good tires should equate to no problems.
Rainy day on the Dempster Highway
The overall condition of the Dempster Highway was better than we were anticipating. There are certainly rough sections with potholes. By keeping a reasonable speed, it is possible to traverse the road in a safe manner. During our trip, it rained through the stretch before the Tombstone Territory Park Interpretive Visitor Center (at mile 45). It also rained during our return trip back down the Dempster. Needless to say, the back half of of our Jeep was coated in mud, but that’s nothing that a car wash can’t fix. We did not encounter many other drivers during our time on the Dempster.
Muddy Jeep after driving on the Dempster Highway
We drove to Two Moose Lake, which is at approximately mile 65. There were numerous waterfowl, warblers and even a muskrat. The lake is surrounded by great expanses of tundra. It was our first trip into tundra. Overall, tundra seems very similar to an alpine area. We had a nice picnic lunch here.
Tundra along the Dempster Highway
Tundra and the Ogilvie Mountains
Tombstone Territorial Park
The Tombstone Territorial Park has an Interpretive Visitor Center and a campground at mile 45. The Interpretive Visitor Center included displays on the area animals such as Dall sheep, moose, caribou, black & grizzly bears, wolves, wolverines, lynx and beaver. There are also numerous birds and the lakes in the region serve as a stop over for migrating birds in spring and fall. During our drive, we were fortunate enough to spot our first Yukon Moose and a herd of 8 Dall Sheep. All of the animals were a good distance from the road, making good close-up shots impossible with the camera being used.
Yukon moose in Tombstone Territorial Park
The small white dots are Dall Sheep
At the visitor center, they also had displays about constructing the Dempster, the First Nations people that used the area, and the geological features. They had up-to-date information about the hiking trails, a map of the hiking trails and local weather. It’s a great place to stop before hiking in the park. Anyone planning on backpacking or using a back country cabin needs to stop at the visitor center for a permit.
Mount Tombstone
Goldensides Mountain Trail
We wanted to get out and explore the area on foot. By the time our picnic lunch was over, the rains had subsided and the sun even made an appearance. We chose to go up the Goldensides Mountain Trail, with the trailhead found at the end of the road that heads off the Dempster at 74.4 km. The trail is 3.4 km in length and climbs steadily (maybe 200 meters) to a saddle which provides 360 degree views of the area, including the Ogilvie Mountains and the tundra. The views were spectacular. As we were finishing up our hike, the rain was moving back in.
Goldensides Trail
View from the top of the Goldensides Trail in Tombstone Territorial Park
We also walked a short distance on the North Klondike River Trail, which is 3.4 km. As the name indicates, the trail winds along next to the North Klondike River. Given the rain and snow melt, the river was running quite rapidly. This trail starts from the Tombstone Mountain Campground, which is just past the Visitor Center. You can park at the visitor center and follow the trail to the campground to get to the trailhead. We saw a snowshoe hare on this trail.
The Ogilvies from the top of Goldensides Trail
We would have spent more time exploring if it had rained less. At any rate, this is a beautiful mountain area, which we would love to explore further in a future trip and have added it to our list of places to travel to in the future. We also want to return to complete the Dempster all the way to Inuvik.
