Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road (Closed)

As of April 2017, this road has been closed (source). 

This is an adventure that will take you deep into the Arctic Circle to the icy shores of the Arctic Ocean. This is not anything for the faint of heart but should you brave this winter road the rewards can be nothing short of extraordinary!

This adventure starts in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada and ends in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories Canada. But before I get into the journey itself let me elaborate a little more on the title. The reason they call this a winter road instead of just a road is because it is a road that is only accessible during the winter. The road in its entirety is carved out of the frozen Mackenzie River and frozen Arctic Ocean. It is a road made entirely of ice!

When you finally get on the road you probably won't encounter much traffic except for a few truck drivers just let them pass (Fun Fact: This was the road that they filmed season 2 and 6 of Ice Road Truckers). The road itself is about 100 yards wide so have some fun with it, I mean come on you're driving on ice! Finally after roughly 200 miles of slipping and sliding you will arrive at the icy shores of the Arctic Ocean in a little town called Tuktoyaktuk. The locals here are extremely friendly and even helped me get my car unstuck in the middle of a -40F night!

The scenery while barren is absolutely surreal, everything from mountains formed of solid ice to rolling plains of snow. If you choose to drive this road at night (I recommend on a clear night if you can) you will almost certainly be blessed with a display of the Aurora Borealis as long as there isn't too much cloud cover.

For up-to-date information, check the Destination Canada website.