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I recently spent some time trying to figure out the furthest north you can drive in Canada by car (or at least without a float plane), and what there is to do u

I recently spent some time trying to figure out the furthest north you can drive in Canada by car (or at least without a float plane), and what there is to do up there. It's actually pretty interesting. Apparently you can get up to James Bay via the James Bay Road and the Trans Taiga Highway, but there isn't any way to actually get up to Hudson Bay without a boat or a float plane. It's crazy how much of the country is basically unexplored. Apparently over 90% of the lakes don't even have names, so you can name a lake if you want to be the first person to visit it.

ghaff 9y ago
I think the furthest north you can drive is probably Whitehorse in Yukon [EDIT: not BC] on the Pan-American Highway. But presumably you were looking at the eastern end of Canada. [ADDED: As someone else noted, you can keep going north of Whitehorse with the Pan-American Highway eventually crossing the border with Alaska or the Dempsey Highway.]
- notatoad 9y ago
  Whitehorse is in the Yukon, not BC. And you can keep going up past Whitehorse on the Alaska highway
- emilyfm 9y ago
  You can drive a further 1200km+ road distance north of Whitehorse, Yukon on the Dempster Highway to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. End of the road appears to be just north of town: https://goo.gl/maps/shD9UoxTtK42 https://goo.gl/maps/shD9UoxTtK42 Western Canada is big. If you drive from Inuvik to San Diego over 60% of the entire road distance is within Canada.
  - abruzzi 9y ago
    They're actually building a road north out of Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, which will take you to the Arctic Ocean: http://www.cbc.ca/news/multimedia/driving-to-the-top-of-the-world-exploring-canada-s-new-arctic-highway-1.4073615 http://www.cbc.ca/news/multimedia/driving-to-the-top-of-the-...
    - emilyfm 9y ago
      I didn't realise that road was so nearly finished. Should be open by end of this year. That's 3750 km (2400 miles) by road from Vancouver BC to the Arctic Ocean. Longer than Melbourne to Perth across Australia.
  - SwellJoe 9y ago
    That's a beautiful drive. I passed through on my way to Alaska a few years ago. It had some of my favorite stops ever...sometimes just stopping and parking the RV at a pull off even led to gorgeous scenery. One of my favorite hot springs (Liard) is on that route. So many bears and moose and other critters, too.
oh_sigh 9y ago
To be fair that's not because of the remoteness of the lakes, but just because of the sheer number. Like way over 30,000.
greglindahl 9y ago
First person? That area has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years!

ghaff 9y ago

I think the furthest north you can drive is probably Whitehorse in Yukon [EDIT: not BC] on the Pan-American Highway. But presumably you were looking at the eastern end of Canada. [ADDED: As someone else noted, you can keep going north of Whitehorse with the Pan-American Highway eventually crossing the border with Alaska or the Dempsey Highway.]

notatoad 9y ago
Whitehorse is in the Yukon, not BC. And you can keep going up past Whitehorse on the Alaska highway
emilyfm 9y ago
You can drive a further 1200km+ road distance north of Whitehorse, Yukon on the Dempster Highway to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. End of the road appears to be just north of town: https://goo.gl/maps/shD9UoxTtK42 https://goo.gl/maps/shD9UoxTtK42 Western Canada is big. If you drive from Inuvik to San Diego over 60% of the entire road distance is within Canada.
- abruzzi 9y ago
  They're actually building a road north out of Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, which will take you to the Arctic Ocean: http://www.cbc.ca/news/multimedia/driving-to-the-top-of-the-world-exploring-canada-s-new-arctic-highway-1.4073615 http://www.cbc.ca/news/multimedia/driving-to-the-top-of-the-...
  - emilyfm 9y ago
    I didn't realise that road was so nearly finished. Should be open by end of this year. That's 3750 km (2400 miles) by road from Vancouver BC to the Arctic Ocean. Longer than Melbourne to Perth across Australia.
- SwellJoe 9y ago
  That's a beautiful drive. I passed through on my way to Alaska a few years ago. It had some of my favorite stops ever...sometimes just stopping and parking the RV at a pull off even led to gorgeous scenery. One of my favorite hot springs (Liard) is on that route. So many bears and moose and other critters, too.

oh_sigh 9y ago

To be fair that's not because of the remoteness of the lakes, but just because of the sheer number. Like way over 30,000.

greglindahl 9y ago

First person? That area has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years!