Whitehorse to Dawson

Posted on July 31, 2025 by JoeTourist

July 31, 2025 – Whitehorse to Dawson City, Yukon

2025 Yukon & Northwest Territories

I have a substantial breakfast this morning and grab a muffin for our long road trip to Dawson City on the Klondike Highway 2. We leave at 8:10am without one couple and our tour director. Alastair is staying with the couple until the man who is suffering a medical incident is transported to hospital. He will then fly to Dawson to catch up with the group, so our bus driver Harold will lead the group today. We see new housing developments as we leave Whitehorse: new subdivisions, schools, commercial buildings and roads are being built in Whitehorse.

Points of interest on the road trip

Lake Laberge – I catch a glimpse of this famous lake (The Cremation of Sam McGee – Robert Service) through the bus window
Fox Lake – a long lake parallel to the highway
Braeburn Lodge – our first rest stop, where giant cinnamon buns are sold for $20 each! There is an airstrip on the other side of the highway.
Montague Road House – a rest stop which was part of the overland trail between Whitehorse and Dawson City 
Carmacks – a rest stop with a general store, gas station, hotel and restaurant, where the highway crosses the Yukon River
Five Fingers Rapid – some members of the group hike down the steep stairs and trail to the rapids. I stay at the observation platform to fly my drone, capturing some panoramic photos and video of the river, valley and rapids.
Minto Landing RV – we stop for lunch by the river at this new RV park, which is still being developed. Our driver Harold is conscripted to serve the soup!
Pelly River Crossing – a rest stop with a general store and gas station, and 5G mobile reception! The highway is no longer following the Yukon River.
Stewart Crossing – a rest stop where the highway is now following the Stewart River.
Gravel Lake – rest stop where the highway is on the southern side of a broad valley. The Tintina Fault runs through this area of the Yukon from Circle, Alaska to Watson Lake.

The Tintina Fault runs from Circle, Alaska to Watson Lake, Yukon. The SW corner of Yukon landmass shifted 1,000 km 55 million years ago. Yukon government information sign at Gravel Lake.

We are staying at the Triple J Hotel and Cabins in Dawson City. I join some other tour group members for dinner and a beer in the hotel restaurant. Despite being a modest establishment, the food and service are good. After dinner, I go for a walking tour of historic Dawson City, since it is still daylight at 11PM!

Klondike Highway

12 photos

Whitehorse

Posted on July 30, 2025 by JoeTourist

July 30, 2025 – Local sights in Whitehorse

2025 Yukon & Northwest Territories

Our group have the included breakfast at the hotel before our tour director walks us over to the MacBride Museum, which is only a short distance away. There are the usual stuffed animals and birds, but I find the transportation history and artifacts of the Yukon fascinating, since it includes early sleds, horse-drawn and rail wagons, snowmobiles and more. I discover an old Peerless Magnarc movie projector, which unfortunately our museum guide doesn’t talk about. There is an authentic Miner’s tent showing all the supplies the miners had to haul with them into the gold mining areas. The Telegraph office is the oldest building still standing in Whitehorse, and includes original telegraph and telephone equipment, as well as a 1970s radio station.

Our bus shows up outside the museum to take us on a locally guided tour of Whitehorse. First stop is the SS Klondike sternwheeler, which is currently being restored by Parks Canada. We learn about the critical role these boats played in moving freight in the summer months between Whitehorse, Dawson City, and other mining towns. We visit a Hydro dam and fish ladder on the Yukon River, and spot a black bear cub as it crosses the road and climbs up the nearby hill. Our final stop before returning to the hotel is Miles Canyon on the Yukon River, where there is a pedestrian bridge to cross the river. It’s hard to believe the sternwheelers made it through this narrow passage lined with basalt columns! (see banner image above)

The Klondike paddlewheeler - under repair

After we return to Whitehorse, I have a late lunch at the Java Connection (TripAdvisor) since it is near the hotel. The chicken and pesto sourdough panini is very tasty, and I have a cappuccino before returning to the hotel. Late this afternoon, we visit the Beringia Centre, which features skulls and dioramas of Ice Age animals, and stories and artifacts of First peoples in the area. Our guide talks about the Blue Fish Caves (pdf) where many of these artifacts were found, and Dry Tundra grasslands, which were prevalent in the Yukon during the Ice Age, and where many of the animals on display lived.

Diorama: Giant Short-faced Bear defending a kill from wolves

I have a nice halibut and fish dinner at the nearby Klondike Rib & Salmon after we return to the city before walking along the Yukon River waterfront. There is a Trolley rail line operating along a section of the tracks, but the railway shed with the historic engine is closed. Despite it being late evening, there is lots of light since the Sun doesn’t set for several hours yet. When I return to the hotel, I make use of the blackout curtains to ensure I get to sleep.

Train shed and rail detris on the Yukon river shoreline

Victoria to Whitehorse

Posted on July 29, 2025 by JoeTourist

July 29, 2025 – Flight from Victoria to Vancouver and onward to Whitehorse

2025 Yukon & Northwest Territories

Flight map - Victoria to Vancouver — Flight map – Victoria to Vancouver

This morning, a Lincoln Navigator from LA Limousine takes me and two others who live nearby to Victoria airport. We meet our tour director Alistair and then check in at the Air North counter. Our flight to Whitehorse is delayed by 1.5 hours due to air traffic controller staffing issues in Vancouver, where we need to stop to board more passengers before flying to Whitehorse. The aircraft is at the gate, but here we sit in the waiting area.

Once loaded, there are about 50 passengers are on this Boeing 737-400, so there’s lots of space in the cabin! We takeoff from YYJ at 1:32pm and land at YVR at 1:47pm – a 15 minute flight. It is clear and sunny as we fly over the southern Gulf Islands and Fraser River delta before landing in Vancouver.

Flight map - Vancouver to Whitehorse — Flight map – Vancouver to Whitehorse

Once we’re at the gate in Vancouver, some passengers disembark and others embark, completely filling the cabin. We take off at 2:15pm, after a very slow taxi from the gate to the runway. It is a 2 hour and 5 minute flight to Whitehorse according to the captain. A meal is served mid-flight: a choice of 3 sandwiches, beverage and Air North’s signature warm chocolate chip cookie. There are some beautiful views of the Coast Mountain range on our flight north (see twin glaciers in banner image above).

We land in Whitehorse at 4:40PM, and there is a bus waiting to transfer our group of 22 to the Sternwheeler Hotel for two nights. We meet downstairs an hour later for a welcome dinner. Most of us have the Arctic Char, which is a local northern salmon served with a nice cream sauce, veggies and marinara rice. A drink is included, as well as a warm brownie and ice cream for dessert. Our tour director Alistair welcomes everyone, we introduce ourselves, Alistair shares some procedures for the tour and reviews what the tour will look like in the coming days.