Explore Your Own Backyard – Yukon and N.W.T.

Yukon and North West Territories are mixed with a colourful past, and sprinkled with many heritage sites, just waiting for you to explore. Now featuring many different TV shows such as Discovering Gold in the Yukon, it draws your attention and imagination to the possibilities this magnificent landscape can offer.

The Yukon’s original people migrated from Asia. They hunted bison, mammoths, and caribou. The possibilities the land offered allowed some settlers to establish homesteads, some of which still remain today as modern-day towns. Yukon’s first visitors were Russian explorers, who came in search of furs. The fur trade developed into the Hudson Bay Company, which is what we know it as today. The Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896 in a creek called Bonanza Creek near Dawson City. After nearly 95 million dollars had been extracted, the Gold Rush ended in 1903. People to this day continue to search for a golden treasure that may still lay in a creek bed deep in the backcountry.

The famous White Pass and Yukon built railway connected Whitehorse to Skagway on the Alaskan coast. This incredibility engineered railway was built in just over two years. What an amazing feat of manpower and 450 tons of explosives!

 The Alaska Highway forever changed the Yukon. Boats and trains were replaced by the more efficient road-system. This highway is well maintained and opens year-round. The City of Whitehorse is the only city in the Yukon and also the capital. It is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in Canada. The Yukon River runs through the city and is surrounded by rugged mountains and pristine lakes. Weather is milder than Yellowknife as Whitehorse sits in a valley. An interesting point is that Whitehorse is in the Guinness Book of Records, as the city with the least air pollination in the world, not just Canada.

Dawson City is a six to seven hour drive from Whitehorse. Enjoy travelling through scenic valleys and rolling hills along the way. This city began with the arrival of Klondike fever in the late 1800. Thousands of people arrived and staked out every creek on the Klondike River. The description of “a ton of gold” triggered a stampede of prospectors. Today the population is approx. 1,100 people who brag they are unique and very adventurous in nature. It has a thriving Arts scene that is an inspiration among the First Nations people.
Expect the unexpected while looking for a restaurant or bar in Dawson City.

SIGA

SIGA and Northern Lights Casino main sponsors of the 31st PAGC Fine Arts Festival

7h ago

Workplace incident

City of Prince Albert pleads guilty to workplace safety violation, handed fines

9h ago

Lighting it up

P.A.'s Zablocki leads Regina to victory on Day 4 at Esso Cup

Apr 24, 2024

This city boosts some of the greatest diversity of choices to eat and drink in the Yukon, all while under the midnight sun. Of course, you have to go to the Eldorado Hotel on Main Street. This is home to the famous “Sour Toe Cocktail”. For those who don’t know what that is, it is a mummified human toe put into a shot glass, so when you drink you must touch the toe. A certificate is issued for your bravery! If you swallow the toe the fine has increased to an incredible $2500cad. There is a backup toe in waiting! This tradition began in the early seventies. Since then a total of eight toes have been donated to the bar. 

This is just one of the many fascinating and unusual stories Dawson City was built on over the years. Now there are great TV shows like Yukon Gold and Gold Rush, that show the hard work and dedication of the miners and their struggle to make a living during the different seasons. There is always the dream of hitting the mother-load and a lifetime of financial security for the miners and their families.

N.W.T is a place of tranquility and a photographer’s dream. Once you’re had your detox from your phone, it becomes rejuvenating to just look around and take in the incredible options that this region offers.  Reconnect with nature and the “tweets” that come from birds and not your cellphone. Every season is unforgettable in the N.W.T. Summer brings open water, hot temperatures and of course the midnight sun.

The fall has all the incredible changes as the leaves change colour and the northern lights begin to light up the sky. In the winter months the northern lights become much clearer, crisper and more spectacular. The cold months of winter are the top tourist months in the N.W.T. Springtime brings more sun and brilliant days of skiing, dog-sledding and snowmobiling.  The capital city is Yellowknife. 

It is the hub for the economic, cultural and government service centre for the territory.  Up here the work- life balance truly exists! Yellowknife is a young community and very active in all the sports activities and recreation adventures, that this area offers to residents and tourists alike.

There are three operating diamond mines within short flights of Yellowknife. This city is thriving on its mining roots, tourism, transportation and communications strengths.

 If you have not put the Yukon and N.W.T on your “bucket list” then do so now. You will be pleasantly surprised when you visit this incredibly interesting and scenic part of Canada.  Remember it is passport-free and with our low Canadian dollar, now is the time to take advantage and visit these Canadian destinations.

Lynda Spriggs
Lobstick Travel and Tours/ Prince Albert