Most of the Northern Yukon is wilderness. Certain land uses are difficult to quantify due to a lack of records.

In 1996 the Yukon State of the Environment Report presented a first-cut estimate of wilderness and developed land areas in the Yukon as a whole. The report estimated that 80% of the Yukon remains as wilderness, 13% as natural areas (limited evidence of development impacts) and 7% is developed or near developed areas.

The developed areas identified were mainly associated with roads in central and southern Yukon. Most road development in the Yukon has occurred since 1945.

The only road in the Northern Yukon is the Dempster Highway, completed in 1979 to link Inuvik to the North Klondike Highway near Dawson City.