Km 539: Peel River Ferry: Loading my motorcoach onto the ferry to cross the Peel River. The gravel loading ramps have to constantly be rebuilt as the river rises and falls, sometimes dramatically over very short periods. Each year the highway closes during the periods when the river is freezing and when the ice is breaking up. This varies year to year, but is roughly the months of May and November - a record of past dates can be found here. After the river freezes you drive across on the ice (which is regularly checked for strength by engineers). The ferries, particularly this one across the Peel, are also often stopped by debris in the water during high runoff periods, so be prepared for lengthy delays (several hours is fairly common, days less so).

This photograph is © 2016 by Murray Lundberg, and is not to be copied without express permission.