The Yukon River brought fame to the region in the 19th century, even the name Yukon comes from the aboriginal language of the region and means ‘big river’.
Every year more than 300,000 travellers set their sights to visit the Yukon Territory. The Yukon is an attractive destination for nature enthusiast visitors worldwide. Tourists around the world are attracted to the wildlife and vast landscape. Travellers are met with forests, glaciers, lakes, glaciers, valleys, mountains, deserts, interactive museums and the local aboriginal indigenous culture. The Yukon Territory has something to offer for all people who visit from around the world, people who have an affinity for wildlife, geography and nature activities like wildlife photography, hiking, camping, fishing and more. Other activities that the towns in Yukon have a lot to offer travellers is the museums, with plenty for tourists to explore.
The Yukon Territory is 482,443 km² around the size of Spain and is home to the highest mountains in Canada, including the world’s largest non-volcanic mountain, Mount Logan. The Yukon Territory is also home to the highest peak in all of Canada, second in North America, and has a total of 3 National Park Reserves.
Yukon is widely known for its history, the famous Yukon River and the gold rush in the late 19th century. Today Yukon may be known more for its ice fields, the largest in Canada, and its desert, the smallest and most western place in Canada along with the vast open landscapes and variety of wildlife. The Yukon Territory is also home to St Elias, which is an icefield, the largest non-polar icefield on planet Earth.
Emerald Lake
In the southern region of the Yukon Territory is Emerald Lake which is known for its intense green and turquoise colours which derives from light reflecting off of the unique properties in the lakebed such as the white deposits of marl, a mixture of clay and calcium carbonate. 14,000 years ago, glaciers of the last ice age eroded nearby mountains and the limestone gravel came from them. The shallow lakebed of Emerald Lake itself was carved out by ancient glaciers.
Travellers can reach this beautiful amazing place of nature on the South Klondike Highway at the 117.5 km mark.
Dempster Highway / South Klondike Highway
The Yukon Territory is a driver’s dream come true with amazing breathtaking scenic driving highway routes such as the South Klondike Highway and Dempster Highway also known as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8. The 700 km long dirt road, Dempster Highway connects Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8 to the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik on the Mackenzie River delta in Northwest Territories, Canada.
Tourists interested in travelling the Dempster Highway should do some planning before the adventure. The journey is a long and isolated one with only one stop at the 400 km mark in a small town called Eagle Plains, which also has a hotel. Because of this isolated road trip, travellers should make sure to pack extra food, water and a spare tire for an emergency. Travellers adventuring through dempster highway may want to spend the night in Eagle Plains at the hotel for a night of rest to reset the next day fresh. Travellers staying at the hotel in Eagle Plains might get lucky in the night to witness a display of Aurora Borealis as the town is right on the Arctic Circle.
Miles Canyon
Over 8.4 million years ago during a pre-glacial landscape, basaltic lava spread over the land. The turquoise water river that bends through the cliffs like a ribbon is all that remains today for visitors to explore. Miles Canyon has a unique offering for nature travellers, with amazing sights of scenery to see while hiking the trails.
Kluane National Park
While being home to 17 of Canada’s 20 highest peaks, and especially known for its mountaineering and hiking, Kluane National Park also has many amazing lakes to visit and sit back and relax or set up a camping trip. Mät’àtäna Män (Kathleen Lake) offers travellers great hiking, boating and camping in the midnight sun. The Kathleen Lake campground camping season goes from late May to early September. Travellers can also experience the exhilarating experience of the Alsek River. The Alsek River is fed by glacial meltwaters from the world’s second-highest coastal mountain range. Tourists who enjoy wilderness travel have an amazing opportunity for many unique experiences in the Kluane National Park and Reserve.
Whitehorse
Tourists visiting the Yukon Territory will want to visit the capital, known as Whitehorse. To the south of Whitehorse is the 8.4 million-year-old basalt cliffs of Miles Canyon which is also a site of a former gold rush town. North of Whitehorse is the Takhini Hot Pools mineral springs. Tourists visiting the mineral springs in winter experience a view of the Aurora Borealis in the night sky, also known as the Northern Lights.
Dawson City
The former site of the gold rush in the 19th century, Dawson city started out as a base for the Klondike Gold Rush. The town of Dawson city still has several preserved frontier-style buildings. Tourists visiting Dawson City can explore the museums offered to learn about the history of the gold rush, original settlers, and geology. The museums offer gold pouring demonstrations and interactive exhibits that are great for children.
Tombstone Territorial Park
Tourists taking the scenic route of Dempster Highway can visit Tombstone Territorial Park along the way. Tombstone Territorial Park stretches from 50.0 km to the 115 km marker of Dempster Highway and is home to a vast amount of wildlife, many of which are protected including grizzly bears, caribou, moose, black bears, and sheep.
Tombstone Territorial Park protects over 2,100 square kilometres of mountain peaks, landforms, wildlife and permafrost. Travellers can enjoy the wilderness and vast breathtaking landscape with scenic hiking trails and much more. The park offers many hiking trails, and the scenic nature of the park has attracted a growing number of visitors worldwide with the tourism operators now offering nature tourist enthusiasts excursions into the park. The park offers several campgrounds and car camping locations. The known features of the park include Tombstone Mountain, Glissade Pass and Mount Monolith.
