Page 85 - 2024-2025 Travel Guide to Canada

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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!
Quick Fact
MOOSE OUTNUMBER YUKONERS 2:1 AND
CARIBOU OUTNUMBER YUKONERS 6:1.
TRONKEK HWECHIN DANCER • TRAVEL YUKON/ENVIRO FOTO
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 in
Dawson City or at the Arctic Circle, so golfing
at midnight or hiking into the wee hours are
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