Fast, wild, and beautiful – a road trip on Yukon’s iconic highways.
Get behind the wheel and get ready for a road trip of a lifetime, driving the Yukon highways.
There is no better feeling than driving the northern highways and having the roads to yourself. Forget about traffic jams, busy roads, and driving stress. Enjoy the fantastic scenery from desert and sand dunes to glaciated mountains and historic rivers. And finally, see wild animals in real-time. Enjoy the midnight sun during summer when the days stretch to almost 24 hours.
When planning your trip, consider the fact that Yukon Highways are mostly taking you through wilderness areas. Service stations and services are far apart and often you won’t have cell phone reception. You most probably will come across road construction sights. It’s important to follow posted speed limits and directions. Always watch for wildlife on Yukon Highways.
The Yukon portion of the Alaska Highway is winding in and winding out its way northwestward through wild river valleys and along tree-lined crystal clear lakes. The highway crosses many streams and rivers that are part of two great watersheds. The MacKenzie River drains to the Arctic Ocean and the Yukon River runs nearly 3,220 km to the Bering Sea.
In the west, the Alaska Highway parallels Kluane National Park and St. Elias Range, Canada’s tallest mountains.
Highlights Alaska Highway:
The Klondike Highway connects Skagway, Alaska and Dawson City, Yukon, the heart of the Klondike. From Skagway, Alaska the road climbs to the 1003 m summit near the Alaska/Canada border.
Between Skagway and the border the road roughly parallels the old White Pass Trail, an alternative to the Chilkoot Trail. The Chilcoot was the shorter route for the gold seekers and therefore the more popular one.
The only community between Skagway and Whitehorse is the small hamlet of Carcross.
Highlights Klondike Highway:
Highway 3 takes you from Haines Junction, Yukon, a small community at km 1635 on the Alaska Highway to the coastal town of Heines, Alaska. Enjoy spectacular views of mountains and glaciers, changing to forests and alpine tundra along the way. The road climbs up to an elevation of 1,070 m at Chilkat Pass.
Although the highway is maintained year-round if you plan on travelling the route between September 1st and June 1st be sure to check weather conditions.
Check on the Canadian and US customs opening hours before the trip and bring your passport. Note the different time zones between Canada and the US.
Highlights Haines Highway:
The Robert Campbell highway connects Watson Lake (km 1022 on the Alaska Highway) with Carmacks (km 356 on the Klondike Highway). This is mostly a narrow, windy gravel road is an alternative route to Dawson City.
At Ross River, you can choose to take the Canol Road 210 km which rejoins the Alaska Highway at km 1345 (Canol Road Junction). Make sure to check for road conditions on Canol Road, especially if you are driving a large vehicle.
Highlights Robert Campbell Highway:
The Dempster Highway (Yukon Route 5 / Northwest Territories Route 8) was completed in 1979. This is a gravel and crushed stone highway which extends to Inuvik, an Inuit village 325 km above the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories.
This wilderness route takes you to extremely remote regions of the Yukon cutting through the rugged mountain ranges of the Ogilvie and Richardson Mountains.
During rain, the road from Eagle Plains to Inuvik can be pretty treacherous.
Highlights Dempster Highway:
The Canol Road leaves the Alaska Highway at kilometre 1345 and cuts through the wilderness to Ross River, where it intersects with the Robert Campbell Highway.
The seasonal road takes you above the treeline with scenic views of south-central Yukon’s wilderness. You will be travelling through the traditional territory of the Kaska and interior Tlingit First Nations.
The South Canol Road turns into North Canol Road past Ross River across the river and ends at the border of the Northwest Territories.
This north section of the Canol Highway is a summer road only with no services or facilities beyond Ross River. It provides access to the wilderness of eastern central Yukon and the Canol Road Heritage Trail.
The road parallels the famed and short-lived Canol, or Canadian Oil pipeline. Until the end of the war, it carried oil from Camp Canol near Norman Wells, Northwest Territories to Johnsons Crossing, Yukon.
The North Canol Road is steep and narrow in places and can be extremely slippery when it rains.
Highlights Canol Road:
The Atlin Road turns south from the Alaska Highway (Yukon Highway 1), at 1.6 km from the junction with the Alaska Highway at Jake’s Corner, km 1393. The road parallels the eastern shore of Atlin Lake, the largest natural lake in British Columbia.
The road ends at the community of Atlin, located in the extreme northwest corner of British Columbia. Like other northern towns, Atlin was born during the great gold rush of 1898 when gold was discovered in nearby Pine Creek. Many historic buildings are still standing. To this day, there are active mining operations in the area.
Highlights Atlin Road:
Top of the World is one of the Yukon Highways you don’t want to miss. As the name reveals, for most of the journey you drive along the peaks and crests of mountains and hills, leaving the valleys below. These mountains are rich with minerals and gold rush history and are the home to moose, caribou, and bear.
This gravel highway is winding and narrow in many places. Give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination. The road is maintained only during late spring to early fall, depending on the ferry service at Dawson City. Border crossings are only allowed when customs offices are open (9 am to 9 pm Pacific time).
Highlights Top of the World Highway:
Shortly after leaving the Campbell Highway, the road winds through a pass between 2,100 m mountains, and then the road parallels the Hyland and Little Hyland rivers towards the Northwest Territories border at Km 188.
The town of Tungsten (Cantung) is not accessible to the public and there are no services along the road. There are places to camp along the way as well as the small government campground at Km 84.
Highlights Nahanni Highway:
The Silver Trail to Mayo follows the Stewart River through an area that once was the richest silver-mining region in Canada. Pick up a Mayo Historical Buildings Walking Tour booklet at the Binnet House to have a peek into the history of the settlement.
After Mayo, the road turns to gravel and can be rough after a couple of days of rain. The road takes you to the old mining town of Elsa and ends at Keno City, the most unique frontier town in the Yukon.
Highlights Silver Trail:
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Yrene lives in the Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada, and is the founder of BackcountryCanadaTravel.com. She was born in Switzerland, lived and worked on different continents and has travelled the world. Yes, that's me, an Entrepreneur, wilderness nut and animal lover who prefers off-the-beaten-track places. I write about things I love. Mostely.
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