Page 88 - 2024-25 Travel Guide to Canada

HERITAGE AND CULTURE
When the news of “Gold!” echoed from the
Klondike, tens of thousands of gold seekers
set off, lured by dreams of riches. The
history of the Gold Rush is still at the hub of
many Yukon experiences. In 2023 the
territory celebrated the 125th anniversary of
the Klondike Gold Rush!
The Dawson City Museum is the perfect
spot to learn about the town at the heart of
the Gold Rush (www.dawsonmuseum.ca).
Watch the award-winning film, City of Gold,
narrated by Yukon-native Pierre Berton.
Dawson City likes to show off a rich
literary heritage. Along Writers’ Block
(Eighth Street), stop at the Robert Service
Cabin where visitors are treated to readings
of his poems and some insights into the
more idiosyncratic aspects of the author’s
personality. Next door is the log cabin that
was once home to storyteller Jack London,
author of Yukon classics such as White Fang
and Call of the Wild (www.dawsoncity.ca).
At the expanded MacBride Museum in
Whitehorse, learn how stampeders once
panned on the Klondike creeks and peer into
prospector Sam McGee’s cabin
(www.macbridemuseum.com).
Many communities have First Nations
cultural centres—Kwanlin Dün Cultural
Centre in Whitehorse, Dänojà Zho
Cultural Centre in Dawson City and Big
Jonathan House at Pelly Crossing are just
a few spots where visitors can learn about
the traditions, crafts and history of the
First Nations.
The Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre
transports visitors to the unforgiving prehis-
toric landscape of Beringia—the dry,
unglaciated land bridge that once linked
Alaska and Siberia. Multimedia displays and
dioramas tell the story of a time when
woolly mammoths and gigantic mastodons
roamed the region (www.beringia.com).
Every summer musicians and music
lovers come to the Yukon for the Dawson City
Music Festival, a world-class showcase of
North American talent (www.dcmf.com).
MUST SEE, MUST DO
Rent an RV and take the ultimate road trip
along iconic northern roadways like the
Dempster Highway across the Arctic Circle
or the winding Silver Trail to historic
frontier mining towns.
Explore Dawson City, the “heart of the
Klondike Gold Rush,” that bustles with the
history of a wild era when prospectors
rushed to follow dreams of riches.
At Montana Mountain in Carcross, about
40 km (25 mi.) of trail have been built for
the enjoyment of hikers, mountain bikers,
snowshoers and skiers (www.destination
carcross.ca).
Winter or summer, take a sightseeing flight
by small plane or helicopter over the spectac-
ular Kluane National Park Icefield Ranges,
one of the world’s largest non-polar icefields
(www.kluaneglacierairtours.com).
Try a traditional First Nations adventure tour
or cultural experience, outside Whitehorse
with traditional Southern Tutchone First
Nations culture operator, Long Ago Peoples
Place (www.longagopeoplesplace.ca).
Learn from the experts about stargazing and
viewing the aurora colours of the night sky
at Northern Nights: Kluane’s Dark Sky
Festival (www.parkscanada.gc.ca/kluane),
or through one of the northern lights
packages offered with Yukon Tours by
Klondike Travel (www.yukontours.ca).
SCENIC DRIVES
The Golden Circle Route’s 600-km (373-mi.)
begins in Whitehorse and circles to include
Skagway, Alaska and Kluane National Park,
showcasing spectacular alpine scenery.
The secluded Top of the World Highway,
open seasonally only, hugs the top of
mountains for outstanding scenery. At the
east end of the unpaved drive, hop on the
free car ferry and cross the Yukon River to
Dawson City. Bring your passport—the
crossing from Alaska to the Yukon is the
most northern international border crossing
in all of North America.
The breathtaking and bumpy Dempster
Highway, a wilderness route, is best travelled
in summertime. The 740-km (460-mi.)
gravel roadway is Canada’s only all-weather
road across the Arctic Circle.
The paved Alaska Highway is one of the
continent’s great wilderness drives. In 1942,
a workforce of thousands of U.S. soldiers
and Canadian and U.S. civilians built the
lengthy highway in record time. It winds
through eight communities, Kluane National
Park and major attractions including the
Sign Post Forest, the Northern Lights Centre
and the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre.
FAMILY FUN
All kids brighten up at the chance to spy some
wildlife. The Yukon Wildlife Preserve features
12+ species of northern Canadian mammals in
their natural environment—including
woodland caribou, lynx, moose, mountain
goats, wood bison and foxes. Open year-round,
the preserve can be explored on self-guided
walking/biking/skiing trails or by interpretive
bus tour (www.yukonwildlife.ca).
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EMERALD LAKE • TRAVEL YUKON/ARCHBOULD PHOTOGRAPHY