Behchokǫ̀ to Whatì Winter Road — Pre-All-Season Era Ice Route

Before the Tłı̨chǫ All-Season Road was completed in 2022, this winter route across a chain of frozen lakes and boreal muskeg was the only land connection Whatì had to the outside world for months at a time. The route chains together Roundrock Lake, Snare Lake, and several unnamed water bodies over roughly 90 km of ice and packed snow, cutting north from Behchokǫ̀ into classic Canadian Shield country — ancient granite, black spruce, and skies that swallow you whole. Even now that the all-season road exists, some locals still use portions of the winter route when conditions are right, and it remains one of the more approachable traditional ice roads in the Tłı̨chǫ homeland.

The all-season road has taken pressure off this route, but it’s still officially maintained by the GNWT during winter road season and remains passable for prepared rigs mid-January through early March. Two-vehicle travel is strongly advised. Cell service is gone the moment you leave Behchokǫ̀. No permits required. Fuel up before departure — there is nothing between the two communities. The reward is the Shield landscape itself: frozen lake panoramas, wolf tracks crossing the road at dawn, and the deep quiet that you only get this far north in January. This is the NWT doing what it does best.