Page 99 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to Canada

REFUEL YOUR WANDERLUST
A summertime road trip through the Yukon
is high on many bucket lists. The famed
Alaska Highway passes through the western
reaches of the Yukon, a vital link to the
smaller areas of Watson Lake, Teslin,
Whitehorse, Haines Junction and Beaver
Creek. On two wheels or four, it’s a road trip
made in heaven!
THE GREAT YUKON GETAWAY—
YEAR-ROUND
Yukoners know how to embrace the guaran-
teed snow of the season and they savour it
with a host of outdoor activities, eccentric
festivals, world-class races and competi-
tions. Bundle up and jump in for sled dog
mushing experiences, snow sculpture
competitions, snowshoeing, cross-country
skiing and snowmobiling. After a long day,
dip into thermal hot springs.
In the warmer months, the “Land of the
Midnight Sun” means light-filled days and
nights of summer, perfect for enjoying the
outdoors. The June solstice sun doesn’t set
at the Arctic Circle, so golfing at midnight or
hiking into the wee hours are both possible.
In Whitehorse, the June sun brings an
average of 269 hours of sunshine.
There are all sorts of ways to connect—
across the territory you’ll find both
accessible experiences and off the beaten
path escapes.
HEAD OUTDOORS—
THE GRAPHICS ARE AMAZING!
The Yukon can lay claim to true wilderness
like nowhere else south of the 60th parallel.
More than 80 percent of the territory is still
pristine forests, tundra and even desert. The
territory is home to the protected lands of
several vast Parks Canada sites, including
wild, uninhabited parks like Kluane, Ivvavik
and Vuntut.
The chance of encountering Yukon
wildlife is excellent. Bears and mountain
sheep create “wildlife jams” as passersby
spot them beside the roadways; caribou,
moose and grizzly bears are found across
the territory.
The wilderness knocks at the back doors of
the Yukon’s few urban areas—the City of
Whitehorse and the historic town of Dawson
City. Dense greenery edges ribbons of
highway and, in summer, brilliant magenta
fireweed—the Yukon’s territorial flower—
lines many roadsides. Mountains, lakes,
rivers and some of the country’s most
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NORTHERN LIGHTS, TOMBSTONE TERRITORIAL PARK • SHUTTERSTOCK/XIU YU PHOTOGRAPHY
majestic glaciers provide a photographer’s
dream. Outfitters offer Arctic Circle nature
photo tours, designed for shutter enthusiasts.
Quick Fact
MOOSE OUTNUMBER YUKONERS 2:1 AND
CARIBOU OUTNUMBER YUKONERS 6:1.
CULTURAL FOOTPRINTS
The territory’s dynamic 1890s Klondike Gold
Rush history is still on display. Museums,
roadside stops and the entire downtown
of Dawson City are lessons of a time
when desperate stampeders surmounted
unimaginable hardships to reach stream beds
they believed were thick with gold nuggets.
Few found these riches and many lost their
lives or their savings in the quest for instant
wealth. Gold is still a vibrant part of the Yukon
economy, but modern machinery has
replaced the gold pan, although visitors can
still pan for gold in the creeksides.
For the Klondike gold seekers, the Yukon’s
many waterways were the highways into the
north. Today’s paddlers trace many of the
same water-borne routes, this time in search
of canoeing and kayaking adventures on the
territory’s many lakes and 70 wilderness
rivers. In winter, the frozen rivers are the
routes of world-class sled dog endurance
races; some commemorate the wintertime
“highway of the north” along the frozen
Yukon River, the traditional route to the
goldfields of the Klondike.
The people long connected to the land are
the members of the First Nations. Across the
Yukon, visitors can observe or immerse
themselves in authentic experiences like
drum making, herbal nature hikes, circle
healing and sweat lodge ceremonies.
WHAT’S NEW?
The upcoming years, 2023 through 2026, are
peak for the solar cycle. With the uptick in
solar activity, it is a particularly good time
for aurora viewing holidays.
The Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre was
fully renovated over the winter. The
renewed displays will be more interactive
and will exhibit more fossils and stories
about the Yukon (www.beringia.com).
Hike through rugged Yukon landscape with
spectacular views of Fish Lake and the
surrounding mountains, accompanied by
an interpretive guide and playful, friendly
husky companions. Spot local wildlife and
taste the wild berries (www.skyhigh
wilderness.com/day-hike-w-huskies).
Take a weekend camping and exploring tour
from Minto Landing to Fort Selkirk, Yukon’s
largest historic site. Immerse yourself in the
Gold Rush, listen to the stories of local
Indigenous Tutchone tour guides and
sample First Nations cuisine while enjoying
breathtaking scenery and wildlife
(www.tutchonetours.com).
Explore the Yukon! Rent a camper van or a
4x4 jeep with camping gear and rooftop
tent—perfect for exploring the Dempster
Highway (www.overlandyukon.com).
The Midnight Sun Hotel in Dawson City is a
new boutique hotel open during summer
only (www.midnightsunhotel.ca).
The Yukon Black Spruce Cabins are four
modern cabins perched in the Boreal forest,
just five minutes from downtown
Whitehorse (www.yukonblackspruce.ca).