The Dempster: Fuel & Range
Check your tank against the long stretches between fuel stops on the Dempster and the road to Tuk, and see how much extra fuel to carry.
The Dempster is the only road between Inuvik and the rest of the country, and its fuel stops are far apart — there's nothing between Eagle Plains and Dawson but about 400 km of gravel. Enter your tank size and how much fuel your vehicle uses to see whether you'll clear each stretch on the way out, and how much extra to carry. It works off the numbers you enter — it never tells you a road is safe.
How much fuel your tank holds when full.
Highway figures from the handbook are optimistic out here — soft sand, corrugations and a loaded vehicle use far more. If unsure, enter a higher number.
Fuel you want to arrive with, never run down to. 20% is a sensible minimum.
Inuvik → Dawson City (the road south)
≈776 km · gravel, maintained · two river crossingsThe Dempster Highway out to the Klondike Highway near Dawson City — the way to Whitehorse, Edmonton and the south.
Longest stretch with no fuel: Eagle Plains → Dawson City — 409 km
- Longest fuel-free stretch
- 409 km
- Your usable range on one tank
- 404 km
Your tank is short by about 5 km.
Carry at least 1 L extra to cover the gap.
This is the bare minimum to bridge the longest stretch on paper. Carry well beyond it — sand, headwinds, detours and idling all burn more.
Inuvik → Tuktoyaktuk (the Arctic Ocean)
144 km · gravel, all-weather · no fuel betweenThe all-weather Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway out to the Arctic Ocean.
Longest stretch with no fuel: Inuvik → Tuktoyaktuk — 144 km
- Longest fuel-free stretch
- 144 km
- Your usable range on one tank
- 404 km
Your tank should cover this stretch.
That is the maths on the figures you entered — not a promise. Always carry a reserve and check the road report before you set out.
Gravel and cold burn more fuel than the highway figure
The road closes at the river crossings
Two spares, not one
Before you set out
- Fill up at every fuel stop — Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Eagle Plains, Dawson — even if the tank still looks fine.
- For the Eagle Plains–Dawson stretch with a small tank, carry extra fuel in approved cans.
- Two full-size spare tires and a plug kit; the shale flats tires.
- Food, water, warm clothing and a way to stay warm if you're stranded — traffic is thin and there is often no cell signal.
- Tell someone your route and when you expect to arrive, and check the ferry and road status before you leave.
Check the roads first
- The Dempster segments, Hwy 10 to Tuk, and both river crossings
- DriveNWT — road & ferry status (NWT side)
- The Dempster south of the NWT border, toward Dawson
- 511 Yukon — road report (Yukon side)