Canol Heritage Trail

The Canol Heritage Trail is a 355-kilometre-long (221 mi) trail running from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, through the Mackenzie Mountains, to the Yukon border. Because of its remoteness, length and river crossings, it is considered one of the most challenging trails in Canada. The trail is in the process of becoming a territorial park.

The trail follows the route of the Canol Road lying within the Northwest Territories where it is no longer maintained beyond the Yukon border. The road was constructed during the Second World War by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to build and service a pipeline bringing oil from Norman Wells to a refinery in Whitehorse, Yukon. Though built at huge expense, it was abandoned after only thirteen months of operation.

Main articles: Canol Road and Canol pipeline

The trail’s eastern terminus is across the Mackenzie River from Norman Wells requiring arrangements to be made to cross the river by either air or boat. The western terminus can be reached by plane from either Norman Wells or Whitehorse. In summer, it can also be reached by road along Yukon Highway 6/North Canol Road. The road receives minimal maintenance and can be a rough ride up to the Yukon-NWT border where it is no longer maintained and quickly becomes impassable to most vehicles. The western end of the trail is officially the airstrip at Mile 222 in the NWT. The small airstrip at Macmillan Pass near the Yukon border is also used, which brings the total distance to the Mackenzie River to 381 km.

Due to its length and difficulty, it should only be undertaken by experienced and fit hikers. Most hikers will take between 14 and 22 days to complete the trail. There are no services along the trail and, though it has been hiked with no resupply, most people arrange for one to three food drops to be made by aircraft.

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Wikipedia