Yukon posts up to 100 km/h on part of the Alaska Highway, with 90 km/h standard on most of the paved network including the Klondike Highway. Communities default to 50 km/h, and Whitehorse lowered its residential streets to 40 km/h in 2025. Gravel surfaces and abundant wildlife mean the posted number often exceeds the sensible speed.
Yukon speed limits at a glance
| Road type | Limit |
|---|---|
| Cities and towns (default) | 50 kph (31 mph) |
| School / playground zones | 50 kph (31 mph) |
| Rural two-lane highways | 90 kph (56 mph) |
| Major highways / freeways | 100 kph (62 mph) |
About speed limits in Yukon
Yukon sets highway limits by order under section 111 of the Motor Vehicles Act rather than through a single statutory default. The Alaska Highway carries 100 km/h from the British Columbia border south of Watson Lake to the junction with the South Klondike Highway, then 90 km/h onward through Whitehorse toward the Alaska border. The North Klondike Highway to Dawson City is generally 90 km/h, as is the Haines Road, with slower zones through communities and on curves and bridges flagged individually in the Highways Speed Limits Order. Nothing in the territory is posted above 100 km/h, and long sections that look like wide-open road still carry 90 km/h signs, a distinction the RCMP enforces on summer tourist and RV traffic.
Posted limits overstate safe speeds on much of the network. The Dempster Highway, the roughly 740 km gravel route toward Inuvik, technically allows highway speeds, but washboard, sharp shale, and calcium-chloride mud keep sensible travel far lower; experienced drivers run 60 to 80 km/h on good sections and carry a second spare tire. Wildlife is the other constant. Moose and caribou cross everywhere, wood bison graze highway shoulders near the British Columbia border, and hitting an animal that size is frequently fatal at 90 km/h. Dusk and darkness multiply the risk, and cell coverage disappears minutes outside communities, so a crash can mean hours before help arrives. Territorial advice is blunt: drive to conditions and treat the posted limit as a fair-weather ceiling.
Whitehorse, home to roughly three quarters of Yukon's population, rewrote its speed limits in June 2025 when city council approved a 40 km/h default for residential streets, keeping existing 30 km/h zones and school zones. Downtown streets are 40 km/h, and only arterials such as Two Mile Hill, Hamilton Boulevard, and Robert Service Way keep 60 km/h. The change followed years of council debate over pedestrian safety. Outside Whitehorse, the territorial default in communities remains 50 km/h unless posted, and school zones in places like Dawson City and Watson Lake are commonly 30 km/h during school hours. Expect abrupt drops from 90 to 50 km/h at community boundaries; those transitions are favourite patrol locations.
The RCMP is Yukon's only police force, working from detachments in Whitehorse, Dawson City, Watson Lake, Haines Junction, and smaller communities. There is no photo radar and there are no speed cameras, so every ticket comes from a patrol stop, and coverage on the long empty highways is necessarily thin. Fines follow set tiers under the Motor Vehicles Act: $50 and two demerit points for up to 15 km/h over, $150 and four points for more than 15 up to 30 over, and $200 and six points for more than 30 up to 50 over. The territory raised these amounts to the maximum the Act permits as a deterrent, and margins beyond 50 km/h over can bring a court summons instead of a roadside ticket.
Enforcement
All enforcement is by RCMP patrol using radar and laser; Yukon has no automated cameras of any kind. Coverage concentrates around Whitehorse, community speed-limit transitions, and summer campaigns on the Alaska and Klondike Highways when tourist and RV traffic peaks. In winter, attention shifts to condition-based charges, since sustained high speed is rarely possible on snow and ice.
Tolerance
The first fine tier covers any speed up to 15 km/h over, and officers use discretion within it, so a few km/h over on the open highway rarely draws a stop. Whitehorse's new 40 km/h residential streets, 30 km/h school zones, and the community entry points where 90 drops to 50 are watched far more closely and enforced with little slack.
Speeding fines in Yukon
Yukon speeding fines are tiered: $50 and two demerit points for up to 15 km/h over the limit, $150 and four points for more than 15 up to 30 over, and $200 and six points for more than 30 up to 50 over. The territory raised fines to the maximum allowed under the Motor Vehicles Act in recent years, and speeds beyond 50 km/h over can mean a summons with the fine set by the court, plus possible licence suspension for novice drivers who accumulate points quickly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the speed limit on the Alaska Highway in Yukon?
100 km/h from the British Columbia border south of Watson Lake to the South Klondike Highway junction, and 90 km/h on the rest of the route through Whitehorse toward Alaska. Community zones and flagged curves are posted lower.
What is the speed limit in Whitehorse?
40 km/h on residential and downtown streets since city council approved the new default in June 2025, with 30 km/h zones retained where they existed. Arterials such as Two Mile Hill, Hamilton Boulevard, and Robert Service Way stay at 60 km/h.
How fast can you drive on the Dempster Highway?
The gravel Dempster is signed for open-highway speeds, but the practical answer is 60 to 80 km/h on good sections and much less in mud or after rain. Sharp shale eats tires, so carrying one or two spares is standard advice for the roughly 740 km run.
Does Yukon use speed cameras?
No. There is no photo radar and there are no automated speed cameras anywhere in the territory. The RCMP, Yukon's only police force, does all speed enforcement with radar and laser from marked patrols.
Speed limits in nearby provinces
- British Columbia speed limit — highway, rural, and city limits.
- Northwest Territories speed limit — highway, rural, and city limits.
Related tools
- Convert KPH to MPH — convert any speed reading between units.
- Car speed test — verify your speedometer accuracy.
- Live GPS speedometer — see your actual speed in the browser.
- Stopping distance calculator — how far you need to brake from each speed.
- Canada speed limits overview — national background and how provinces differ.