An Emerson man was one of the first travellers to try out the new Dempster Highway connecting Canada's North.

The 150 km stretch of road connects Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk.

"That's where the road ends," Bruce Fraser says, noting the hamlet on the Arctic Ocean has no hotels or restaurants.

He explains the scenery is along the newly opened Dempster Highway is breathtaking, "every picture is a postcard," he says.

The people are very welcoming, he adds, "they just open their arms to you."

Before the opening of the highway, the only access to the region was by air. Now, he says the community is preparing for tourists with a number of new developments.

For now, the highway and its destination remains a hidden Canadian gem, but one he hopes more people will experience.