The Winter Roads to Attawapiskat

Driving across frozen roads only accessible two months of the year near James Bay was an off-road adventure of a lifetime.

by

Words by Brian Helliwell

To me an adventure road is one that will take you to some unique remote destination that few have ever heard of and fewer will ever reach. A few good examples in Canada are the Dempster Highway and the Trans- Labrador Highway.

There are also a series of roads in Ontario that I’d call adventure roads, which are so unique that most don’t even know they exist. I recently went on a trip up along Wetum Road and the James Bay Winter Road in early March to Attawapiskat, which is half way up to the James Bay region.

If you’re reaching for your maps now or Google, you’ll have trouble finding them. These roads only have access for two months – from mid-January to mid-March. Driving to a place with road access just a few months of the year is a rare experience. Factor in driving across huge frozen rivers and you have a real adventure!

My adventure planning started in early 2019 when I first heard about these winter roads. After doing some online research, I planned a trip for mid-March of that year. When the time rolled around, the temperature rose and the roads were shut down for the season. I made a note to myself to try earlier in the season next time.

There is a fine line between leaving late enough in the year that the days are longer and the temperatures slightly warmer and leaving it too late that the roads will be closed for the season.

The First Attempt

Earlier this year, I posted on a couple of Facebook groups looking for anyone interested in driving to Attawapiskat. I managed to find a couple guys that were serious. We picked a weekend late in February and plans were finalized and reservations made. A couple days before our late February departure, the Weather Network reported that Ontario was preparing for the worse winter storm of the year.

The three of us had booked time off and essentially has one shot at this so we were still going. So, the night before I loaded up my Toyota Tacoma with five 20 l (5 gal) cans of gas, a sleeping bag, some food, traction boards, a shovel, GPS and maps – all the gear that might be needed in a worst case scenario.

Leaving London, Ontario, in the early hours in late February, I met William and his two friends in Vaughan. After enduring whiteout conditions, driving north on Highway 400, we met the third member of our group, Christian, in Parry Sound.

We stopped to re-evaluate the trip. While the weather had improved by Parry Sound, we still had another 600 km (373 mi) to finish our first day. Reports about conditions on Wetum Road weren’t looking good either. It was with heavy hearts that we decided to pull the plug on this adventure.

If the conditions were bad enough, the road could be closed for a couple of days. We didn’t want to take that chance. After we made our decision, we learnt that Wetum Road was to be closed for at least one day. Turning around at this point definitely was the right thing to do.

The Second (Successful) Attempt and Wetum Road

However, I wasn’t quite ready to give up on my adventure. The very next weekend had favourable weather in the forecast. The guys from last weekend weren’t available so this was going to be a solo trip.

I picked the best four days around the weekend, booked hotel rooms at the last minute and once again, loaded up my truck, and departed (on the Thursday before the weekend on March 5) London, driving towards the first night’s destination of Smooth Rock Falls 1,000 km (621 mi) to the north.

The drive was long, but much easier this time. My only concern along the way was that the temperatures were a little higher than I would have liked. After 12 hours on the road, I arrived at the Moose Motel in Smooth Rock Falls.

I was up early Friday morning. This is the day when the adventure really began. I needn’t have worried about the temperatures as my day started at a frosty -20°C (-4°F). After setting up my Garmin GPS and my tablet loaded with the Gaia app, I left Smooth Rock Falls, driving north on Highway 634 as the sun was coming up.

The plan for the day was to make it all the way to Attawapiskat approximately 600 km (373 mi) further north and half way up the side of James Bay. The only source of information I had with planning the trip was the Wetum Road Facebook page, the James Bay Winter Road webpage and some YouTube videos. As I made my way north, I didn’t know what to expect.

Highway 634 is a desolate road leading to the dam at Abitbi Canyon. The dam is an impressive site. I stopped for some pictures and proceeded to drive across. Crossing the dam is another milestone. I reflected for a moment on where I am and how far I’ve come. Plus, I’m excited for what’s yet to come!

I arrived on the snow-covered 50 km (31 mi) Otter Rapids Road, leading to the start of Wetum Road. It was a beautiful drive with lots of nice rolling hills and untouched powder snow with not another car in sight.

Before long I arrived on the start of Wetum Road and came upon a small trailer in the middle of nowhere. Stopping, someone came out and took my name and destination as they always keep track of who’s on the road at all times in the event someone runs into problems.

While it was a great adventure so far, Wetum Road is one of the main attractions. This 170 km (105 mi) winter road connects Moose Factory and Moosonee with the outside world for two months of the year. The only year-round access is via rail or air. No heavy trucks are permitted. Closures are common, either to allow crews to clean up after a storm or when temperatures creep up over the freezing mark.

I asked the guy at the trailer how long it takes to get to Moose Factory and he said about three hours. With those details, I continued on my journey. The driving was pretty easy and the scenery just incredible. Unlike Otter Rapids Road, the trees along Wetum Road are stunted coniferous. It was mostly straight and flat but there were a few surprises where the road narrowed and dropped into a river crossing with steep climbs out.

In fact, one area caught me off guard and seemed like all of a sudden the sky and the snow were the same colour to the point where it was actually hard to see where the road went. After realizing this, I came a little too close to a snowbank.

So, I took it easy for the next little while as I strained to see the road ahead. Since conditions always dictate speed, my speedometer commonly read between 40 kph and 70 kph (25 mph and 43 mph). Some sections were incredibly rough, but conditions do change day to day. I never saw a lot of traffic driving south bound and was only passed a couple times.

I had been following my progress on the Gaia app. I knew I had been making pretty good time, but was surprised to see Moose River appear on the map, and it wasn’t long until I was staring at the first major ice crossing of the trip.

The crossing was nearly 1 km (.6 mi) but I drove across like I did it all the time. As I went up the bank into Moose Factory, there was another small trailer, marking the end of Wetum Road. The village of Moose Factory is on an island and to reach Moosonee, there’s another kilometer of frozen Moose River to cross.

Taking a quick spin around town, I stopped at a northern store, which is an all-encompassing retail space commonly found in most remote northern villages. I didn’t see any restaurants, so I settled on KFC takeout – of all things that were at this store.

James Bay Winter Road and Attawapiskat

The second part of the day was spent driving on James Bay Winter Road, leading to Attawapiskat – another 259 km (161 mi) to the north. James Bay Winter Road is a completely different animal from Wetum Road. It’s wider, flatter and open to transport trucks. The surface is pretty much all ice, even though there are very few river crossings.

I felt comfortable on Wetum Road driving in 2WD but as soon as I started on James Bay Winter Road, I put the Tacoma in 4 Hi and kept it there for the rest of the day. While I did have winter tires, which helped throughout this adventure, they were non-studded. Studded tires are allowed in Northern Ontario and I’m sure they would have provided an extra measure of security on the icy surface. Once I was comfortable with the level of traction, I could maintain a pretty decent pace.

The road is on a coastal plain inland from the coast, but it wasn’t too hard to imagine James Bay and with it Nunavut just a few kilometers away. Like Wetum Road, James Bay Winter Road was well marked. It was somewhere near the 150 km (93 mi) mark I came to the first of several major river crossings.

Each branch of the Albany River along this road is nearly a kilometer across. The northern branch has a turnoff up the river to the village of Kashechewan. I took a little detour through the village and then continued my way north. The sun was getting low as I reached the Attawapiskat River crossing. As I descended the bank to the frozen water, I could see the iconic church watching over the river on the other side.

It was a great feeling rolling into town. I was now 1,600 km (994 mi) north of home in an area that very people ever see, and only has road access a couple months of the year. After a quick ‘feel-good’ moment, I took a little trip around the village, and then started to look for the White Wolf Inn, my destination for the night. There’s no need for flashy signs when everyone knows where everything is. I ended up asking a guy at another northern store only to discover that it was directly across the road!

The White Wolf Inn was actually one of the highlights of the trip and a very nice surprise. It wasn’t really a motel and felt more like a traveller’s hostel – and they don’t get very many tourists. It’s used mostly by teachers, contractors and medical professionals that support the village during short stays. There were an interesting collection of people when I arrived and I was the only tourist. Of course, I had to explain why I would drive all the way to Attawapiskat just to turn around the next day – well because it’s there!

Since Smooth Rock Falls, only Moose Factory and Moosonee had cell service. The White Wolf Inn had Wi-Fi but no cell service. I learned through the Wetum Road Facebook page that the road was going to be closed the next day until 6:00 pm due to warm temperatures. That meant I could sleep in and take my time getting back to Moosonee and Moose Factory.

Warmer Temperatures and the Journey Home

On Saturday morning, I topped up with fuel and after another quick tour of the village, I was on my way south with the only goal to be back in Moose Factory by 6 pm when Wetum was to re-open. Unlike the previous chilly morning of -20 º C (-4 º F), it was now a balmy -4º C (29º F).

I had learned from one of the guests at the White Wolf Inn that there was a Tim Hortons at a northern store in Kashechewan. I definitely made that detour. I then took a back way over to Fort Albany and had a look around before rejoining the James Bay Winter Road. As I arrived closer to Moosonee, it was obvious that the warmer temperatures had begun taking a toll on the road as some dirt patches were showing though.

I was surprised that my truck’s navigation system showed the streets of all the little villages I stopped in along the way. It even displayed James Bay Winter Road.

I then arrived back in Moosonee/Moose Factory early enough to drive around both villages and top up with fuel again. As Wetum Road wasn’t scheduled to open up until 6 pm, there was a possibility the warmer temperatures would delay the opening until the following morning. I didn’t have a plan B.

Nonetheless, just before 6 pm, I passed through the check point and made my way onto Moose River, starting my southbound journey on Wetum Road. Driving this road at night just added another interesting element to this adventure.

The feeling of isolation certainly increased as darkness fell. I never saw another vehicle for more than an hour-and-a-half. I decided to keep it in 4 Hi most of the way back just as an extra measure of security. However, the night run went really well, other than a really rough section of the road around the half-way point.

Counting down the mileage markers, I knew I was getting close to the end. It felt pretty good completing the winter roads and getting this far without incident, but there was still another 50 km (31 mi) of gravel roads back to the dam at Abitibi Canyon and another 80 km (50 mi) of asphalt back to Smooth Rock Falls.

The 50 km (31 mi) of gravel road back to the dam made for a fun drive. Once in a while, I’d see another truck heading north for a really late run up Wetum Road. The dam was even more impressive being all lit up at night and crossing it pretty much marked the end of my adventure.

It seemed like a long drive down to Hwy 634 back to Smooth Rock Falls, and it was just after 11 pm when I finally settled into the Moose Motel. It was another long day, but so worth it.

Sunday morning, I began the long drive back to London. When I reached home I had done close to 3200 km (1988 mi) in just four days and I had seen some parts of Ontario that many will never see. I travelled on roads that are only accessible two months of the year and had driven across some massive frozen rivers. This was a really big adventure that can be completed a very short time.

I’d definitely recommend this trip.