Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
Wilderness drive
Best for: Wildlife, national parks, true wilderness, gold-rush history and heritage
ROUTE: Whitehorse • Haines Junction for Kluane National Park • Dawson City
WHY GO? The Yukon region’s identity and, in truth, its main appeal are inseparable from its most famous era, back in 1896 when the discovery of gold drew some 100,000 men and women to the region to seek their fortunes. But there are also spectacular stretches of highway linking the region’s highlights.
From the majestic sternwheeler SS Klondike in Whitehorse, to Dawson City’s well-restored 1899 Palace Grand Theatre, where the Gaslight Follies perform a gold-rush-themed vaudeville act, Yukon’s towns often echo to the sound of its heyday.
Linking them are also some of the world’s most dramatic highways and backcountry roads, skirting Kluane National Park and its icefields. Along the way are glaciers where guided hikes can be made, and endless forest and mountain landscapes to drive through. Expect to spot bald eagles, peregrine falcons, moose, musk-oxen, dall and stone sheep, and even grizzly, brown and black bears.
If you’re tired of driving, a good day trip from Whitehorse is to take a coach up to a section of the White Pass & Yukon Railroad (wpyr.com), a scenic narrow-gauge railroad built in 1898. The 45km train route to the sea at Skagway in Alaska (US) is a great way of continuing your trip, or simply extend your drive over the border. The road to Anchorage via Tok/fairbanks is strewn with national parks (Denali, Wrangell St Elias), soaring peaks and wild expanses.