Page 86 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to Canada

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Special Events
FEBRUARY
• AVAILABLE LIGHT FILM FESTIVAL,
WHITEHORSE
• MONTANE YUKON ARCTIC ULTRA, TESLIN
• YUKON QUEST SLED DOG RACE, TESLIN
• YUKON RENDEZ-VOUS FESTIVAL,
WHITEHORSE
MARCH
• PERCY DEWOLFE MEMORIAL MAIL RACE,
DAWSON CITY
• THAW DI GRAS SPRING CARNIVAL,
DAWSON CITY
JUNE
• KLUANE MOUNTAIN BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL,
HAINES JUNCTION
• NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY,
TERRITORY-WIDE
• YUKON RIVER QUEST CANOE AND KAYAK
RACE, WHITEHORSE TO DAWSON CITY
JUNE – JULY
• ADÄKA CULTURAL FESTIVAL, WHITEHORSE
JULY
• DAWSON CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL
• CANADA DAY CELEBRATION
• YUKON GOLD PANNING CHAMPIONSHIPS,
DAWSON CITY
AUGUST
• DISCOVERY DAYS FESTIVAL, DAWSON CITY
• YUKON RIVER TRAIL MARATHON,
WHITEHORSE
SEPTEMBER
• KLONDIKE ROAD RELAY, SKAGWAY,
ALASKA TO WHITEHORSE
• NORTHERN NIGHTS: KLUANE’S DARK SKY
FESTIVAL, HAINES JUNCTION
www.travelyukon.com/en/
things-to-do
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 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
majestic glaciers provide a photographer’s
dream. Operators offer Arctic Circle nature
photo tours, designed for shutter enthusiasts.
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, many visitors can observe or immerse
themselves in authentic experiences like
drum making, herbal nature hikes, circle
healing and sweat lodge ceremonies.
Quick Fact
MOOSE OUTNUMBER YUKONERS 2:1 AND
CARIBOU OUTNUMBER YUKONERS 6:1.
WHAT’S NEW?
Now through 2026 are peak viewing
opportunities for the solar cycle. With the
uptick in solar activity, it is a particularly
good time for aurora viewing holidays.
Experience the northern lights like never
before with Northern Nomad’s Aurora
Capsules, a new winter getaway launching in
2025. These Indigenous-designed, eco-friendly
pods—each named in Cree—offer a king-sized
bed with a panoramic bubble window,
immersing guests in uninterrupted views
of the aurora and surrounding mountains
(www.northernnomadoutdoors.com).
Opening in summer 2025, Hyatt Place
Whitehorse blends modern sophistication
with local Indigenous artistry in the heart of
downtown.
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