The Yukon travel guide

Introduction

The Yukon’s landscapes are wide, magnificent and utterly unspoilt. Canada’s highest mountains, most extensive non-polar ice fields and greatest concentration of grizzly bears are protected by Kluane National Park, famed for wonderful, uncrowded hiking trails and sensational white- water rafting. The territory, whose name means ‘great river’ in the native Loucheux language, is criss-crossed with rivers made for canoeing, while numerous circuits on backcountry roads lead through pristine wilderness to sleepy villages like the unfeasibly picturesque Atlin. The Dempster Highway, Canada’s ultimate frontier road, passes desolate mountain ranges on its way to the frozen north. The laid-back capital, Whitehorse, is the place to plan excursions and then to relax afterwards.

The greatest Gold Rush of all time led thousands of treasure seekers to the goldfields of the Klondike. You can retrace their steps by hiking the Chilkoot Pass, panning for gold and visiting the renovated but still-living Wild West town of Dawson City, where clapboard houses, boardwalks and saloons line the dirt streets. Thriving First Nations culture and extensive wildlife are two more trump cards, but what keeps visitors coming back is the character and overwhelming friendliness of the Yukon people.