Arctic Winter Explorer | Ice Road to the Arctic Sea

Meet and greet and transfer to your downtown hotel. En route, your guide will offer a city highlight tour that includes SS Klondike National Historic Site, the Old Log Church and the Log Cabin Skyscraper. You’ll meet your fellow travellers and your guide will review the itinerary and your equipment at our group meeting this afternoon. The remainder of the afternoon and evening is free to explore the city and do any last minute shopping. Accommodation: Whitehorse

Prior to the late 1950’s, the only way to travel to Dawson City in summer was on a majestic paddlewheeler like the SS Klondike. Today, we’ll cover the 550km distance in just a few hours. Our route today takes us through the heart of the Yukon interior more or less along the Yukon River valley. We’ll stop for a coffee in the morning at Braeburn Lodge, famous for its massive cinnamon buns, then continue northbound on the Klondike Highway passing through several small native villages and settlements including, Carmacks, Pelly Crossing and Stewart Crossing. Near Carmacks, the road offers great views of famous Five Finger Rapids and about an hour outside of Dawson, we’ll stop at the Tintina Trench overlook for views of the expansive Yukon interior with the Ogilvie Mountains beyond that we’ll pass through the day after tomorrow. After check-in, we’ll have a bite to eat, and then we’ll keep an eye out for the Northern Lights, which can often be seen right over the town. Accommodation: Dawson

Home to the world’s greatest Gold Rush, some 50,000 gold seekers arrived here in 1898 making Dawson City the largest town west of Winnipeg and North of Seattle (USA) at that time. The entire community is now a national historic site, and the romance of the Old West can be felt on every corner. Dawson’s unpaved streets and wooden boardwalks are still roamed by miners, hunters and trappers. Parks Canada has restored many of the original buildings including the Palace Grand Theatre, the Commissioner’s Residence and the cabins of Jack London and Robert Service’s cabin, among many others. We’ll travel up Bonanza Creek road to the actual claim where gold was discovered in 1896. Discovery Claim is located near the impressive Dredge #4 National Historic Site and we’ll stop for a photo here as well. In the evening you will have the chance to discover Dawson City’s small but authentic bar scene and you will find many longtime residence who can tell you more tales of the far north. Accommodation: Dawson

We’ll get an early start today. 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. Today’s drive is considered most scenic; Tombstone Territorial Park encompasses the jagged peaks to the West that give the park its name and further along, the Ogilvie Mountains offer superb scenery and stunning vistas. Wildlife is often spotted along the roadsides, so keep a good watch for foxes, the occasional wolf and caribou. As we arrive at Eagle Plains in the late afternoon/early evening, the modest hotel, fuel station, and highway maintenance station – the only civilization for approximately 300km in either direction - feels like an oasis! Accommodation: Eagle Plains

Departing Eagle Plains, our first stop is at the Arctic Circle crossing, where we’ll enjoy a celebratory glass of champagne to commemorate this special occasion. After crossing a mountain range and two rivers (the Richardson’s and the Mackenzie and Peel Rivers), we’ll visit the First Nations community of Fort MacPherson. The famed Lost Patrol, found after they perished by RNWMP Corporal Dempster - for whom the highway is named - is laid to rest here. A former Hudson Bay trading post, some native elders still wonder the village in Hudson Bay print dresses. Inuvik is a relatively young community with an ancient history. The Canadian government commissioned the building of the town in the 1950’s when it became apparent that the nearby traditional village of Aklavik, was slowly sinking into the delta. Inuvialuit people (Inuit, once referred to pejoratively as Eskimos) were also moved down from various points on the Arctic coast. Appropriately, the name Inuvik means Place of Man in the Inuvialuit language. We’ll take a short tour of the village on the way to hotel and you’ll have time to explore the town on foot in the evening. Accommodation: Inuvik

Today will be memorable; at the rivers entrance into the Arctic Ocean, the road turns northeast and travels along the coastline of Arctic Ocean toward the village of “Tuk” as it is known by residents. Not far from town, you’ll see the first of several ‘Pingos’. These are mountains literally made of ice; heaved-up season after season with the annual freeze and thaw. The tallest is over 100m! We will be met by local guides who will take us on a tour of their unique village. Stops along the way include the historic Lady of Lourdes schooner and some of Tuk’s famous community buildings such as sod houses and churches. You’ll also see the Northern Early Warning site (formerly DEW Line) and even get a chance to dip your toe in the Arctic Ocean! You’ll be invited to a local resident’s home including a "traditional lunch and display of Inuit clothing" for a glimpse at home-life in a northern community. Return to Inuvik in the late afternoon. Accommodation: Inuvik

After breakfast, we'll visit the town Aklavik, established on the Peel River in 1918, not far from the foot of the Richardson Mountains, accessible only by a winter “ice-road” constructed out of the frozen ice of the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean. Aklavik is the most westerly community in the NWT, with a population of approximately 735 people. It has always been, and still is, a meeting place and home for both the Gwich’in and the Inuvialuit peoples. Many of the inhabitants still follow the traditional way of life – hunting, fishing and trapping. Aklavik was the trapping, trading and transportation centre for the Mackenzie Delta until the establishment of Inuvik, which was built to take over this function. But many residents of Aklavik refused to relocate and are now proud to call their home “the town that wouldn’t die”. Return to Inuvik in the afternoon. Accommodation: Inuvik

Transfer to Inuvik Airport, check in, board southbound aircraft. Tour services end on arrival at Whitehorse Airport. Optional evening in Whitehorse or connecting flights.