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35-804: The trail follows the route of the Canol Road lying within the Northwest Territories where it is no longer maintained beyond the Yukon border.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. The eastern end of

70-497: A cabin for a retreat at Quiet Lake , and at party meetings, some people showed up with signs identifying themselves as delegates for Quiet Lake. Quiet Lake was the location of a small boat used by military officers for recreation during the war; that boat is now at the Transportation Museum in Whitehorse . Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers wrote and performed a song called " Canol Road " which names several settlements in

105-545: A consortium to construct the project. Known as Bechtel-Price-Callahan it also included six associated companies. Standard Oil Company was a consultant on the project and would operate the refinery in Whitehorse. Imperial Oil owned the Norman Wells field and would be responsible for the supply of oil. J. Gordon Turnbull and Sverdrup and Parcel were chosen to the project's architect and engineer of record. The eventual scope of

140-456: A source of fuel was required. High-grade oil was available at Norman Wells, and the scheme was to construct a pipeline to Whitehorse. Assorted components, including pieces from Texas , were moved to Whitehorse to construct a refinery . A road was built to provide access to build and service the pipeline. At first, the effort was to move all construction activity for the pipeline and road to Norman Wells from northeastern Alberta . This required

175-445: Is a winding, hilly road, resembling the original Alaska Highway (which has since been substantially upgraded); the road is not recommended for RVs , and traffic is very light. Occasionally, the road's alignment is emphasized with signs that show the symbol for winding road. There are few guardrails, and other than a government campground, no facilities exist except at Ross River. Former Yukon Member of Parliament Erik Nielsen owned

210-607: Is complete it will allow the creation of a territorial park to proceed as set out in the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement . Stan Rogers wrote a song referencing Canol Road, with it appearing on his album Northwest Passage. The song details a man who tries to escape the police on Canol Road after all other ways are blocked, and subsequently freezing to death. 61°16′09″N 133°00′17″W  /  61.269153°N 133.004633°W  / 61.269153; -133.004633 Canol Project The Canol Project

245-576: Is no longer maintained and quickly becomes impassable to most vehicles. The western end of the trail is officially the airstrip at Milepost 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 375 kilometres (233 mi). 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

280-633: The Leduc oil strike. The roadway is the surviving legacy of the Canol Project . Although abandoned in 1946–1947, the southernmost 150 miles (240 km) was reopened in 1958 to connect Ross River, Yukon , with the Alaska Highway. A molybdenum mine briefly operated along this part of the route in the late 1950s. The next 130 miles (210 km) from Ross River to the Northwest Territories border

315-575: The Pelly River . There are several old vehicle dumps remaining on the Yukon side and an old pipeline crossing remains in Ross River. The bridge has been used as a footbridge and was recently refurbished. In the Northwest Territories the road is no longer maintained and is now the Canol Heritage Trail . It is estimated that 46,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled along the pipeline route. Many of

350-686: The 449 kilometres (279 mi) long Yukon portion of the road is maintained by the Yukon Government during summer months. The portion of the road that still exists in the NWT is called the Canol Heritage Trail . Both road and trail are incorporated into the Trans-Canada Trail . The Canol Road starts at Johnson's Crossing on the Alaska Highway near the Teslin River bridge, 126 kilometres (78 mi) east of Whitehorse, Yukon , and runs to

385-600: The Americans decided the Canol project was a failure, it was abandoned and sold for scrap to Imperial Oil . Some valuable equipment was salvaged but a great deal of pipeline, wire, vehicles and buildings remained as well as various contaminants. Clean-up of telegraph wire began in 2015 and at the end of 2016 over 70% of wire on the trail had been cut and stockpiled for future removal. Work to remove contaminants, collect bundles of wire, secure standing buildings and address physical hazards

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420-586: The Little Keele. In 2016 a seasonal cable ferry system was tested to provide a safer crossing of the Twitya, however it has not been reinstalled. In 2018 the Government of the Northwest Territories began building emergency shelters on the trail. As of 2020 five shelters have been completed with plans to add up to 15 more. The trail crosses grizzly bear and black bear habitat, so precautions should be taken. After

455-468: The Norman Wells crude as fuel. An additional 19 pump stations moved the refined fuel along the Alaska Highway from Whitehorse as far as Watson Lake and Fairbanks. The final construction cost for the Canol Project construction has been estimated at $ 134 million (equivalent to $ 2,319,289,225 in 2023) and may have been closer to $ 300 million when military personnel are included. The last pipeline weld

490-590: The Northwest Territories border. The highway joins the Robert Campbell Highway near Ross River, Yukon , where there is a cable ferry across the Pelly River , and an old footbridge, still in use, that once supported the pipeline. Construction and development of the Alaska Highway and airfields along the Northwest Staging Route and provision of military bases in Alaska led to a determination that

525-426: The Northwest Territories over motorized use of the trail. 63°9′9.1″N 129°55′47.3″W  /  63.152528°N 129.929806°W  / 63.152528; -129.929806 Canol Road The Canol Road was part of the Canol Project and was built to construct a pipeline from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories southwest to Whitehorse, Yukon , during World War II . The pipeline no longer exists, but

560-539: The US War Department made the decision to shut the project down. Work began immediately to winterize all equipment, clean and stock camps and remove all personnel. Shortly after the line was declared as surplus to the war effort. Imperial Oil purchased equipment at Norman Wells for $ 3 million. Imperial also paid $ 1 million for the Whitehorse refinery, which had been installed at a cost of $ 27 million, which they then dismantled and shipped to Alberta. The salvage rights for

595-410: The abandoned buildings and vehicles contain hazardous materials and telegraph wire has entangled animals such as moose and caribou. Clean-up of telegraph wire began in 2015 and most of the wire along the trail has been coiled up for removal. Remediation work began in 2018 to remove contaminants, telegraph wire and other safety hazards along the trail and expected to be completed in 2020. Remediation of

630-551: The area. Mile Zero of the Canol Road was located at Norman Wells where vehicles drove across the ice in the winter. From the banks of the Mackenzie River (Milepost 4) the road extends 236 miles (380 km) southwest to the Yukon border. The main site of project administration and operations, including a large airfield, was at Camp Canol (Milepost 8). The Canol Road is not maintained in the Northwest Territories and all bridges are gone. The road remains passable for some distance past

665-525: The border depending on the capabilities of the vehicle. Vehicles commonly drive as far as the airstrip and buildings located at Milepost 222. The prospect of the Northwest Territories portion being repaired for automobile use is unlikely. It is an extremely difficult route in sections and the road condition has badly deteriorated. If the demand existed for a road between Ross River and the Sahtu region, it would make more sense to build along an entirely new route that

700-534: The equivalent of one tanker-full. Some of the supplementary pipelines remained active into the 1990s, although the line to Skagway, Alaska , had its flow reversed, and it was used by the White Pass and Yukon Route railway to move petroleum products into the Yukon. Portions of the primary pipeline between Whitehorse and Canol was later removed and sold for use elsewhere. The refinery was purchased in early 1948 by Imperial Oil , dismantled, and trucked to Alberta for

735-453: The project included: The pipeline was just 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. The low gravity crude oil from Norman Wells had a pour point well below the freezing mark and could be run through a narrow pipeline without being heated. The pipeline was laid on the surface of the ground to simplify construction and maintenance. Ten pump stations were needed to move the crude oil to Whitehorse. The pumps were specially designed to be able to use

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770-399: The remainder of the line were sold for $ 700,000 and carried out by George Price of Dawson Creek, British Columbia . Some valuable equipment was salvaged but much of the pipeline, telegraph wire, vehicles and buildings were left in place. The Canol Road is still seasonally maintained within the Yukon and is known as Highway 6. A ferry in the community of Ross River, Yukon is used to cross

805-419: The road is little changed from 1945, although culverts have replaced some of the original one-lane bridges, and several one-lane Bailey bridges remain. There are very few two-lane bridges on the road. Many are marked with a sign indicating differing vehicle weight limits above and below −35 °C (−31 °F), seemingly redundant since the road is closed in winter, when such temperatures would happen. It

840-522: The trail is at Milepost 4, across the Mackenzie River from Norman Wells, requiring arrangements to be made to cross the river by either air or boat. The western end 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

875-699: 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. The fastest known time to hike the trail is just over 5 days. Major river crossings include the third and fourth crossings of the Ekwi, the Twitya, the Little Keele and the second crossing of the Carcajou. Depending on water levels these can be difficult or impossible to cross on foot. There are also many smaller creek and river crossings that may be difficult at high water. A hiker died in 2016 after being swept away crossing

910-635: The use of winter roads and river movement, including several portages around rapids, and was soon found to be cumbersome, slow, and a bottleneck. Ultimately, construction proceeded both from "Canol Camp" (across the Mackenzie River from Norman Wells) and Whitehorse, and the roadway was joined in the vicinity of the Macmillan Pass in the Mackenzie Mountains , on the Yukon – Northwest Territories border, December 31, 1943. The 4-inch (101.6 mm) pipeline

945-717: The west coast and cutting off supply lines to Alaska. They built the Alaska Highway to connect Alaska to the rest of the United States and conceived the CANOL (Canadian Oil) project to ensure a supply of oil from Norman Wells in the Canadian Northwest Territories . The US War Department decided to construct the project in April 1942 and it was assigned to the United States Army Corps of Engineers . W.A. Bechtel Co , H. Price & Co. and W. E. Callahan Construction Co. formed

980-461: The work. The oil flow commenced in 1944, but was shut down April 1, 1945, having not performed entirely satisfactorily. Some supplementary pipelines were installed to distribute product from the Whitehorse refinery, which also closed in 1945. Twelve tankers-full of oil were delivered to Alaska annually in spite of the perceived threat from Japanese occupation of the Aleutians, while Canol only provided

1015-607: Was actually recommended in 1942 by the First Nations member who was called upon to locate a route. Such a route would emerge from the mountains opposite Tulita, Northwest Territories . The 350 kilometres (220 mi) of Canol Road between Milepost 222 and the Mackenzie River is now the Canol Heritage Trail and traveled by hiking and mountain biking. Clean up of the Northwest Territories section has been underway since 2007 to remove old telegraph wire, remove hazardous materials and demolish or board up old buildings. When remediation

1050-535: Was an oil pipeline project constructed during World War II to ensure a supply of oil for the defense of Alaska and the North American west coast. The project included a section of crude petroleum transport by barge, a refinery, and a 4 inch pipeline. It was completed in two years at great cost and was abandoned less than a year later. During World War II the United States was concerned about Japan attacking

1085-656: Was completed between 2017 and 2019 and long-term monitoring is now underway. Remediation of the trail will allow the creation of a territorial park to proceed as set out in the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement . In 2021, the trail was designated as part of the Trans Canada Trail network. The first successful summer motorized expedition, crossing from Ross River, YT to Norman Wells, NWT, occurred in July 1973. Unassisted, seven Honda ATC90 trikes and riders traveled 589 km (366 mi) in 10 days. The entire trail

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1120-494: Was completed on February 16, 1944 near Macmillan Pass . The first crude oil reached the refinery in Whitehorse on April 16 and the grand opening was held on April 30. Initially only able to produce gasoline, it was finally able to produce aviation gas in November 1944. Due to its remoteness and challenging conditions the costs to provide fuel from the Canol were considerably higher than having fuel arrive via tanker. On March 8, 1945

1155-457: Was first completed by bicycle in 1991. In 2012 the trail was completed in eight days, with no food drops, from Macmillan Pass to the Mackenzie River using mountain bikes and packrafts and since that time cycling attempts have become more common. The trail has been traversed by snowmobile and dog team in the winter and by All-terrain vehicle in the summer. Attempts to travel it by off road vehicles in 2009 and 2011 sparked controversy in

1190-429: Was laid directly on the ground, and the high grade of the oil allowed it to flow even at −80 °F (−62 °C). Workers on the road and pipeline had to endure mosquitoes, black flies, extreme cold and other difficult conditions. One poster for the company that hired workers warned that the conditions could be life-threatening, emphasising that if people were not willing to endure the conditions, they should not apply for

1225-420: Was reopened in 1972, and soon after, mining exploration companies used the route to reach into the N.W.T., including the use of washed-out, bridgeless roadway to scout for minerals, although none beyond the border have been developed. A barite mine has operated near the north end of the Yukon section. The highway was designated as Yukon Highway 8 until 1978, when it became Yukon Highway 6. The Yukon section of

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