1: The Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is the longest highway in Canada, stretching over 8,000 kilometers from coast to coast. It starts in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and winds through all ten provinces before ending in Victoria, British Columbia. First envisioned in the 1950s, construction began in the 1960s and the highway was substantially completed in 1971, with upgrades and expansions continuing in many places since.
The Trans-Canada Highway is an important route for both commerce and tourism, used by millions of Canadians and visitors every year, and a popular route for cross-country road trips. Highlights along the way include the Bay of Fundy, Niagara Falls, and the Rocky Mountains. Whether you’re looking for natural beauty or urban excitement, the Trans-Canada Highway has something to offer.
2: The Alaska Highway
The Alaska Highway is a roughly 2,232-kilometer highway connecting the contiguous United States to Alaska, passing through British Columbia and the Yukon along the way. It was constructed during World War II as a strategic route to connect military bases in Alaska to the contiguous United States, completed in 1943, and opened to civilian traffic in 1948.
The Alaska Highway is one of the most scenic highways in North America and is popular with tourists and RV travelers. It passes through some of the world’s most remote and beautiful wilderness, including the Yukon Territory and British Columbia, offering hiking, camping, fishing, and wildlife watching, along with many historic sites and museums. If you’re planning a trip along the Alaska Highway, plan ahead and allow plenty of time to enjoy the journey.
3: The Dempster Highway
The Dempster Highway is one of the longest roads in Canada, stretching 739 km from Dawson City, Yukon, to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. It is named after Canadian surveyor William Alexander Dempster, who explored the route in the early 1900s. The Dempster is the only highway in Canada that crosses the Arctic Circle and is typically open only from mid-May to mid-October due to cold weather and heavy snowfall. It is mostly gravel, with some paved sections near Dawson City and Inuvik, and remains a popular destination for its stunning views of the Arctic landscape and wildlife.
4: The Stewart-Cassiar Highway
The Stewart-Cassiar Highway is a 773 km highway running through British Columbia and the Yukon, starting near Prince George, British Columbia, and ending at the Alaska Highway near Watson Lake, Yukon. It is named after the Stewart and Cassiar mountain ranges it traverses.
The Stewart-Cassiar Highway was built in the early 1970s to provide an all-weather route to the Alaska Highway. Initially gravel-surfaced, it was paved in stages between 1974 and 1978, and is now fully paved and maintained by the provincial governments of British Columbia and the Yukon.
The Stewart-Cassiar Highway is one of the most scenic highways in Canada, winding through forests, mountains, and valleys, and home to abundant wildlife including bears, moose, caribou, and eagles. If you’re planning a road trip to Canada, it should be on your list.
5: The Yellowhead Highway
The Yellowhead Highway is one of the longest highways in Canada, running east to west across several provinces. It is named after Pierre Bostonais, a fur trader nicknamed “Tête Jaune” (yellow head), whose name was also given to the Yellowhead Pass in the Rockies. Originally built as a trade route between Canada’s east and west coasts, it has since become a route that connects many tourist attractions along the way, and a great way to see the country.
6: The Trans-Labrador Highway
The Trans-Labrador Highway stretches roughly 1,100 km across Labrador, linking communities across the region. Substantially completed in the 2000s, it is a remote, rugged road with few amenities and limited cell phone coverage. The highway is open year-round, though winter conditions can be extreme, with temperatures reaching as low as -40°C.
The Trans-Labrador Highway offers visitors a chance to experience some of the most remote and beautiful parts of Canada, with scenery ranging from rocky coastlines to boreal forest, along with numerous lakes, rivers, and wildlife, including caribou, moose, and bears. It is a popular destination for hiking, camping, and fishing.
7: The James Bay Road
The James Bay Road is a roughly 620-mile all-season highway in northern Quebec, built to provide access to the James Bay Hydroelectric Project, which began construction in the early 1970s. The road was completed and opened to the public in the late 1970s.
The James Bay Road is a beautiful but challenging drive. It is mostly paved but remote, with few services along the way, so travelers should be prepared for all conditions. The road winds through boreal forest and offers views of many lakes and rivers, with abundant wildlife including moose and bears.
If you’re planning on driving the James Bay Road, check road conditions before you go, as winter driving can be challenging due to snow and ice.
8: The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway
The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway stretches roughly 138 kilometers from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories, and is the only all-season road in Canada that leads to the Arctic Ocean coast. Completed in 2017, it connects a region previously accessible by air or seasonal ice road.
The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway is a beautiful but challenging drive through tundra landscape, mainly used by local traffic and truckers supplying northern communities. There are limited services along the way, so travelers need to be prepared for the journey. For those looking for a true northern adventure, this route offers a rare chance to reach Canada’s Arctic coastline by road.
9: The Trans-Taiga Road
The Trans-Taiga Road is a road in northern Quebec and one of the longest roads in the province, running roughly 666 km east to west. It is primarily a gravel road with some paved sections, built in the 1970s and 1980s to serve hydroelectric development in the region and connect towns including Matagami and Radisson. The road is used mainly for logging, mining, hunting, and fishing.
The Trans-Taiga Road is open year-round, though winter months can bring ice and snow, and summer can bring dust and occasional forest fires. It passes through forests, mountains, and lakes, making it a scenic route for driving, camping, and hiking.
10: The Icefields Parkway
The Icefields Parkway is one of the most scenic highways in the world. It runs 232 km through the Canadian Rockies, from Lake Louise, Alberta, to Jasper, Alberta, named after the many glaciers and icefields found along its route.
The Icefields Parkway is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Canada, drawing millions of visitors each year to experience its spectacular scenery. It is also popular with outdoor enthusiasts, offering many opportunities for hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing.
Because of its winding mountain terrain, the Icefields Parkway also sees a relatively high number of driving incidents, most commonly linked to speeding, so visitors are urged to drive carefully and obey posted speed limits.
