Yukon blends history, natural beauty
Add a dose of adventure to the mix
Riding along a rough dirt track on fat, knobby mountain bike tires in the White Pass region of the Yukon, it’s impossible not to be captivated by the astounding mountain views, where rolling hills catch the sun in a tapestry of earth tones — browns, rusts, ochres, greens, sands, tans, charcoals, greys and clays.
And there are the blues — deep, clear, shimmering blues of giant lakes stretching along the valley bottoms, winding around the bases of mountains and filling basins behind ridges and distant passes.
Then, perched silently on a broad, rock-strewn summit rests the ideal spot for a well-deserved rest, a weathered wall constructed of stones stacked tightly together, long ago borrowed from the mountain top and now serving as historic ruins from mining days long past.
Like many parts of the Yukon, the Carcross/White Pass region is a place where a colourful and storied past has merged with modernday, multi-dimensional recreational experiences, including hiking and mountain biking on the very same trails worn into the landscape by intrepid prospectors of the legendary Gold Rush days of the late 1890s and early 1900s.
On Montana Mountain (www.montanamountain.ca), recently named the world’s best biking destination by Outside magazine, riders delight in 40 kilometres of world-class singletrack that snakes through pine forests and across windswept rugged alpine terrain on miners’ tracks and mule trails. Devotedly built and maintained by locals, including members of the Tlingit/Tagish First Nations, the region hosts 800 kilometres of trails between Carcross and Whitehorse, just 74 kilometres north.
Experienced backpackers seeking a bucket-list remote wilderness adventure embark on the renowned Chilkoot Trail, established by thousands of fortune seekers who braved harsh and unpredictable mountain weather to cross Chilkoot Pass during the Gold Rush. Co-operatively managed by Parks Canada and the U.S. National Park Service, the 53-kilometre track incorporates official geocaching and waymarking locations on the Canadian side of the trail, as well as the added adventure of an international border crossing (www.parkscanada. pc.ca/chilkoot).
And for those who prefer to experience adventure in leisurely comfort, the White Pass & Yukon Route (www.wpyr.com) narrow gauge railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark that travels the same route the Klondike stampeders did in 1898. Departing from Carcross, the 110-kilometre, eight-hour round-trip travels through exciting rugged mountain terrain, cruising across bridges and trestles over deep gorges and rushing rivers while following cliff-hugging turns and climbing 3,000 feet in just 32 kilometres.
Boaters and fishers will find plenty to enjoy, too, as they explore the interconnected lakes and rivers that form the headwaters of the forceful Yukon River, which are home to plentiful and delectable lake trout, northern pike and arctic grayling.
“We even have a sandy beach at Lake Bennett, it’s a kilometre and a half long,” boasts longtime Carcross resident Dorothy Gibbon. “In the summer, the water at the beach is shallow, so by afternoon it heats up enough you can get right in it. Well, except for the kids — they’re in it all the time.”
With family-friendly roadside access, the nearby 640-acre Carcross Desert, affectionately known as the “world’s smallest desert,” is comprised of a series of hilly sand dunes formed from a dried glacial lake bed where strong prevailing winds prevent any plant life from taking root.
But in a region rife with astounding natural wonders, the village of Carcross itself is a treasured gem. Originally named Caribou Crossing for the herd that swam the narrows between Bennett and Nares lakes, this is the site where the last spike of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad was nailed. With the railroad linking the Alaskan port of Skagway to Whitehorse, Carcross served as a bustling service centre for the mining industry, transporting freight, passengers and ore in an era when thousands of miners lived in the neighbouring valleys, and the aerial tram from a mine on Montana Mountain was the longest in the world.
Home to the Carcross/ Tagish First Nation, the enchanting village provides authentic Yukon hospitality. Housing a cluster of some of the Yukon’s oldest — and best-preserved — heritage buildings that date back to 1898, some of which are used as residences and contemporary businesses, the village harbours the Caribou Hotel Historic Site complete with the remains of the sternwheeler Tutshi, Skookum Jim’s house and a modern new Carcross/Tagish carving facility.
In addition to its hospitable coffee shops, artists’ studios, cross-country ski trails in winter and a yearround population of 430 people, Carcross is home to myriad wildlife, including moose, wolves, caribou and bears. It’s also a northern hub for migratory birds and waterfowl, such as trumpeter swans, geese, sandhill cranes and harlequin ducks.
“This is rustic, rural country,” Gibbon said.
“We don’t have the big malls or the perfectly groomed tree-lined boulevards — and that is the attraction. We’ve got old historic buildings, friendly people and lots and lots of natural beauty.”