The 13.7-kilometre (8.5 mi) route branches both north and south from Highway 11 to connect with the community of Kashabowie and the ghost town of Burchell Lake, respectively.

The north branch travels 1.0 km (0.62 mi) to the community of Kashabowie, ending at a crossing of the Canadian National Railway (CNR).

[6] Highway 802 follows a road that was originally built in 1901 to link the mineral exploration site at Burchell Lake with the train station at Kashabowie, along the newly-opened CNR (then the Canadian Northern Railway) tracks.

Fluctuations in the price of copper would result in the closure of the Tip Top Mine following World War I.

[3] The new mine began full operations extracting copper and gold in 1960, with Burchell Lake boasting a population of almost 400 at its peak.