Yellowknife, NWT, Canada

Seeking info on road conditions from Alberta, CN to Yellowknife, NWT, CN. I would like to take my RT, but have access to a GS if needed.
If someone has taken this trip within the last year or so I would appreciate and welcome your input.

Bob:

Here's the Northwest Territories Government highways website, but the link to road conditions isn't working right now. There is an 800 number that can be called, as well.

http://www.dot.gov.nt.ca/_live/pages/wpPages/roadConditionsonly.aspx

Also, there's a Northwest Territories Riders Association, who may have more information:

http://www.nwtra.ca/

Rinty,
Thanx much for the valuable info, I do appreciate it. I've been to all of your provinces, plus one territory-NWT is the remaining navigable territory I wish to travel!

Bob

The last time I was on this highway about ten years ago it was winter but I think it is paved the whole way. Now if you want to take a jog over to Fort Simpson there was about 150Km of gravel which would suit a GS and the road was quite nice as well and at my last trip this involved a ferry ride across the Liard River. Weather wise it snowed north of Slave Lake last night but that is just temporary since we got a dusting south of Longview as well.

Made that ride in June 2012 on my LT with another rider on a 1600GTL. Paved roads all the way, last section into Yellowknife had lots of dips and rolls. Check some of the earlier references for more current road conditions and construction. Comments on the trip can be found in the Canadian section of bmwlt.com

rmcclure said:

Made that ride in June 2012 on my LT with another rider on a 1600GTL. Paved roads all the way, last section into Yellowknife had lots of dips and rolls. Check some of the earlier references for more current road conditions and construction. Comments on the trip can be found in the Canadian section of bmwlt.com

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That's the info I was seeking, thanx much! I shall be riding the RT.

Inuvik, NWT

Im headed to Inuvik, NWT via Dempster Hwy., the end of July after MOA Rally in St.Paul. This one is dirt, 450m of it one way. Those frost heaves anywhere up there are to be respected, or you find yourself in trouble! Canada does a pretty good job marking the spots with warning signs. Lots of warning signs. I rode the Dalton Hwy. last year with a guy on a full dress HD, all the way to Deadhorse and back. He had no issues, but was a very good rider on dirt. Your RT probably can do dirt to a degree and will have to even to Yellowknife, NWT, as construction zones will be ever so present. I know you can mount 50/50 DS Tires even on an RT if youre concerned with bad roads, before you leave home.

Yellowknife Trip Report

My riding bud and I met at Kenmare, ND on the afternoon of Independence Day (4 JUL). The next day we departed and entered Saskatchewan, rode through Alberta, then several days later arrived at the 60th parallel (NWT border). We then rode to Hay River, where we had to spend 2 nights because of forest fires and rain. The good news was that the rain checked the fires so that we were able to ride to Yellowknife after the second night. The ride to YK was smoke-free and fuel availability was not a problem. I should point out that my bud was riding an H-D Road King with a 5 gal fuel tank, while I was on my 7 gal R1200RT. The longest fuel leg of the trip was from High Level, AB to Enterprise, NWT about 274 kilometers or 170 miles.

On our first day at YK we visited Trails End H-D, then off to the Airport to Buffalo Airways to meet the Buffalo Joe and Mikey, who I'd seen on the TV program "Ice Pilots". When Buffalo Joe learned that we rode our motorbikes up there from the states, he asked us where they were and had us ride them on the flight line for a photo opp in front of the Sched, their DC-3 that makes daily flights between YK and Hay River. He had his son Mikey ride his Indian out there, and we had photos of us and the 3 motorbikes, with the DC-3 in the background.

A couple of days later we departed YK, but were stopped near Rae, NWT as the road was closed due to the forest fires. The road was still closed 2 days later, and after an unsuccessful attempt to charter a boat across Great Slave Lake to Hay River, I contacted Mikey to see if we might get our bikes flown to Hay River. He said they would work it out and they did! With the help of pallets and a 12' fork lift they loaded our bikes on a second DC-3 (actually a converted military C-47) which was flying cargo to Hay River because of the forest fires.

It was a great relief to land at Hay River, especially when I contacted Buffalo Airways 10 days later only to discover that the road out of YK was still closed. What a venture that trip turned out to be! I can't say enough positive things about Buffalo Airways and their people, they have the "can do" attitude that was responsible for helping us out!

Bottom line: If you plan to travel to Yellowknife, be sure to check the forest fire situation!

OHBobH said:

...then off to the Airport to Buffalo Airways to meet the Buffalo Joe and Mikey, who I'd seen on the TV program "Ice Pilots". When Buffalo Joe learned that we rode our motorbikes up there from the states, he asked us where they were and had us ride them on the flight line for a photo opp...

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Fantastic; I would love to meet those guys.

I flew my Mooney 201 to Yellowknife many years ago, the only time I've been there, and was almost forced down by forest fire smoke. I scared myself silly.

Glad you had a good trip. When you have a chance, maybe you could post some pics of your bikes in the C 47.

RINTY said:

Fantastic; I would love to meet those guys.

I flew my Mooney 201 to Yellowknife many years ago, the only time I've been there, and was almost forced down by forest fire smoke. I scared myself silly.

Glad you had a good trip. When you have a chance, maybe you could post some pics of your bikes in the C 47.

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If you really want to meet them ,since you're literally in their backyard , just hop aboard your Mooney and fly up there. Buffalo Joe and his son Mikey, are very approachable and friendly and I'm sure they would welcome you as they did us. On the other hand, since they are so motorbike friendly, if you chose 2 wheels you could easily make it to Hay River in 3 days, once you get out of the Calgary traffic, which paralleled Atlanta's.

Being somewhat computer challenged, I'll have to wait until my son arrives here next weekend and I'll have him post some of our photos. Thanks for your interest.

Photos of Motorbikes at Buffalo Airways

Here's a few photos of bikes before, during and after loading on their C-47, converted to a DC-3:

Thanks for posting. That's a trip that you'll never forget.

...just hop aboard your Mooney...

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Unfortunately, the Mooney is long gone, but it was fun while it lasted.