Things to do
If you dream of adventures that are larger than life, set a compass course straight for the Yukon. Whatever your interests or experience, there's an adventure here that's right for you.
For hikers and mountaineers, the Yukon's mountain ranges offer limitless challenges.
Kluane regions' lush valleys sweep up to tawny and jagged pinnacles cloaked in ice. In Kluane's heart, the St. Elias Icefield presents many opportunities for ski touring and mountaineering, and giant Mount Logan is a "must" notch on every serious climber's belt.
For those inclined to explore by water, the Yukon's glacier-fed rivers course through canyons and meander through magnificent surroundings. World-class rafting, canoeing and kayaking routes offer thrills, spills, scenery and discovery around every curve.
A top North American mountain biking destination, the Yukon offers cyclists a range of options from a Dempster Highway wilderness trek to a trip along the network of trails surrounding Whitehorse. Other visitors choose to ride into the backcountry on horseback.
Seasons of SNOW and WINTER MAGIC
With high-pressure systems delivering sunshine, milder temperatures, and rich cobalt blue skies, the weather from March to May is sensational. The peope are equally luminous – Yukon residents become animated in spring and their spirit of adventure is strong.
Visitors are discovering the travel benefits of winter and spring in the Yukon too. After all, where else can you see cultural curiosities such as chainsaw chucking contests, or cancan dancing in snowshoes?
There's also snowmobiling on trails that prospectors followed to the Klondike goldfields a hundres years ago, world-class cross-country skiing and snowshoeing through unspoiled wilderness. You can even try dogsledding or skijoring – by strapping on your skis to be pulled along historic mail and trade tours.
Many travellers plan wintertime trips to the Yukon around several major events. The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in mid-February is a 1,600-km journey that lasts 10 to 14 days and runs on trails first used by fur traders, gold seekers and missionaries.
Whitehorse's Sourdough Rendezvous is a fun-packed carnival that celebrates the beginning of the end of winter. Also held in February, the Frostbite Music Festival is an annual ritual in the Yukon. Dozens of North American bands from across the musical spectrum perform on five different stages over a weekend.
Visitors are increasingly attracted by inter snowmobile events such as Dawson's Trek Over the Top rally, Thunder on Ice at Marsh Lake and Tags 200 at Watson Lake.
Light of the Northern Sky
Wintertime visitors to the Yukon are often treated to the magical sight of the undulating ribbons in the night sky – the aurora borealis. Swaying streamers of pale green, pink and blue light arch and dance, fade in and out, and – according to some – even make a crackling noise. Northern lights have inspired many myths and legends.
Picture yourself in a place where no human sound touches your ears, where there's unspoiled wilderness farther than the eyes can see, where for miles the only neighbours you'll find sport fur or feathers. More than 80 percent of the Yukon is wilderness, compared to a North American average of 40 percent.
Ancient landforms, proud First Nations heritage, and dreams of Klondike gold leave visitors with that just-like-yesterday sense of time and place.
A Spellbinding backdrop for a family holiday, a conference, or a personal journey, Yukon's communities offer beautiful surroundings. A land with deep cultural and historic roots, the Yukon is also a sophisticated destination. After all, where else can you dine on divine European cuisine in a wilderness lodge today… and feast on a freshly caught Arctic grayling during a lakeshore lunch tomorrow!
The Yukon experience is also one of the heart, where one finds solitude and nourishment in a magnificent network of parks, atop dramatic ranges of mountains and on an extensive system of lakes and rivers.