My EV Road Trip to Yellowknife Plan: What You Need to Know

Driving to Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories and my hometown, has long been on my EV road trip bucket list. The journey spans over 1,500 kilometers from Edmonton, cutting through some of the most remote stretches of highway in Canada.

It’s a route I know well from childhood road trips with my father—back when the highway was mostly gravel, and crossing the mighty Mackenzie River meant waiting for a ferry in the summer or carefully navigating an ice road in the winter. It was an adventure then, and in many ways, it still is, especially in an EV.

While the Government of the Northwest Territories has recently installed new fast chargers along the way, finally making this trip feasible for electric vehicles, it’s far from straightforward. This EV road trip to Yellowknife still demands careful planning, backup options, and a healthy respect for the unpredictability of the road ahead.

This route also serves as a dry run for a more ambitious goal: driving to the Arctic Ocean via the Dempster Highway this fall.

Here’s how I’m planning this remote trip in my Tesla Model Y.

Charging in Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories

The biggest issue with this EV road trip is the lack of chargers in northern Alberta and into NWT. Alberta ranks lowest in my province-by-province EV-friendliness breakdown. The gaps in northern coverage make charging a challenge. Thankfully, there are just enough chargers to make this trip technically possible, though not without risk.

Factors like wildfires (remember the Yellowknife evacuation just a few years back?) can quickly complicate an already tricky route. The NWT government had committed to installing fast chargers along the route to Yellowknife by March 2025. As of now, a few key stations—specifically Enterprise and Fort Providence—are still under construction.

Vancouver to Edmonton

Technically, my Edmonton to Yellowknife EV kicks off from my home in Vancouver. This part of the trip is one I’ve driven and documented before. For details, check out my previous posts on the Edmonton to Vancouver EV road trip, Calgary to Jasper, and my favorite route—the Icefields Parkway.

Leg 1: Edmonton to High Level (~790km)

Starting from northern Edmonton, I’ll leave fully charged thanks to a friend with a 50 amp circuit in his garage. From there:

• St. Albert to Slave Lake Fast Charger: ~237km (~3hr 7min)
• Slave Lake to Falher Fast Charger: ~181km (~2hr 8min)
• Falher to Peace River (L2 charger stop for lunch): ~70km (~46min)
• Peace River to High Level: ~296km (~3hr 51min)

In High Level, I’ll be staying at the Best Western Mirage, which has a free Tesla L2 charger. There’s also a 60kW fast charger at a Ford dealership, but it only operates during business hours (8AM–5PM).

Leg 2: High Level to Yellowknife (~686km)

This stretch is the most uncertain. Long gaps between chargers mean I’ll likely charge to 100% in High Level, something I don’t think I have done yet in my 2022 Tesla Model Y. My first planned stop is:

• High Level to Enterprise Community Hall: ~274km (~3hr 12min)

The fast charger in Enterprise had been showing as operational until just a few days ago. Its sudden outage, with no apparent cause or warning, underscores the unpredictable nature of charging infrastructure in remote areas. Whether it’s due to network issues, hardware faults, or temporary power disruptions, the fact remains—it’s now offline.

This highlights the critical importance of having backup plans for remote EV road trips like this. If it’s still unavailable by the time I depart High Level, I’ll need to detour to charge at the Hay River NT Energy Charger (100kW), and potentially top up at Fort Providence Territorial Park (30A/7.2kW) to gain an extra 10–20% buffer to safely make it to Behchokǫ̀.

Next:

• Fort Providence to Behchokǫ̀ Fast Charger: ~226km (~2hr 18min)
• Behchokǫ̀ to Yellowknife: ~95km (~1hr 11min)

Yellowknife offers multiple L2 options and a fast charger at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. That said, I’m hoping I can trickle charge at my brother’s Air BnB during my visit.

Things to Do in Yellowknife

As a local, Yellowknife in the summer is all about the water. Rent a canoe, go fishing, or take a floatplane tour. Eat at Bullocks Bistro—once voted best fish and chips in Canada.

If you’re visiting in July, check out Folk on the Rocks, a local music fest I’m attending. Also worth visiting is the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, which offers fascinating exhibits about life in the North.

In the fall and winter, Yellowknife transforms into a world-class destination for northern lights viewing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and the famous Ice Castle on Great Slave Lake.

That said, it’s important to note that making the drive to Yellowknife in the depths of winter can be especially challenging in an EV.

Extreme cold significantly reduces battery range and charging efficiency, making careful planning—and a willingness to brave the elements—essential for those attempting the trip during the colder months.

Return Route

Day 1: Yellowknife to Lady Evelyn Falls Campground

After a few days at home in Yellowknife, I’m heading south with a stop at Lady Evelyn Falls Campground for the night. I haven’t done any car camping in a while, so I’m looking forward to breaking in my new setup—including a mattress I’ve been meaning to test out.

That said, I’m not exactly looking forward to the bugs, which I remember all too well from childhood summers up here.

This stop is more about the experience than necessity—on the way north, I had originally planned to take my time, camp along the way, and enjoy the slower pace. That still might happen, especially since there are two campsites with 30-amp plugs between Enterprise and Behchokǫ̀. They serve as solid fallback options in case something goes wrong with charging on those long stretches.

Day 2: Lady Evelyn Falls to Shaws Point (near Grouard)

From Lady Evelyn, I’ll make the 833 km drive to Shaws Point, located on the north side of Lesser Slave Lake near Grouard. Google Maps clocks it at about 8 hours and 19 minutes of driving, retracing many of the same charging stops I used on the way north, including a possible top-up in Peace River.

Shaws Point is a bit of a personal highlight: a friend has a cabin there, and his uncle—true northern hospitality—has a cabin equipped with a Tesla charger. Payment in the form of beer or whisky may apply. 😄

This part of the trip is also a bit of a reset point. From here, I’ll follow a similar route south through Edmonton, but I’ve purposely left the rest of the return leg flexible. Depending on weather, timing, and how I’m feeling, I may detour for some camping in BC before wrapping up the adventure.

EV Travel Tips for Northwest Territories

If you’re considering a similar EV road trip Edmonton to Yellowknife, here are a few tips:

• Use apps like PlugShare to verify charger status. Things change fast.
• Be prepared to L2 charge overnight. Some areas only have 30A plugs.
• Travel with an air pump and patch kit in case of flats.
• Tesla owners, read up on charging a Tesla off of the Supercharger network.
• Consider paint protection film and mud flaps for your Model Y to protect it from gravel.
• Grad a dual-port TT-30 charger so that you can plug it into 2 plugs at RV parks.

Packing List

As mentioned, I’m treating this trip as prep for my Dempster Highway journey. That means I’m packing more than usual:

• Full-size spare tire
• Hydrauluic jack and wrench
• Charging adaptors and cables including a CCS adapter
• Tent and camping accessories
• In-car cooler
• Water, food, and warm clothing

Check out my guides on EV road trip accessories for more packing tips.

Wrapping up Driving to Yellowknife in an EV

Driving to Yellowknife in an EV is finally possible thanks to the new chargers—but it’s not without challenges. For anyone interested in how it goes, I’ll be updating on-the-go via Instagram stories at @MyEVTrips, and will share a full breakdown here after the trip.

Follow along to see if this remote EV journey lives up to the hype. And if it goes well, the Arctic Ocean is next.

EV Road Trip to Yellowknife FAQs