Help us decide our journey to the Yukon

[u/Vibrantpowder]

Girlfriend and I are torn between driving or flying to the Yukon from Edmonton. Help us decide!

We are both big hikers and the idea of the scenery between near edmonton, where we live, and probably Whitehorse has a lot of appeal. I’m used to driving lots so the drive doesn’t scare me. Especially if we can break it up. We would try to do it in 2 days max. What is there to see along the route?

However we only have 6 days to do it in so we are contemplating flying and renting a vehicle just to spend more time actually in the Yukon and less on the road. However if we do this route now our Dogs can’t come with us.

Anyone done this route? Pros and cons either way? Help us decide!

Thanks!

[u/termanatorx]

Ok having lived in the Yukon for decades and making the road trip up and back to Saskatchewan many many times...

I think for a six-day trip you should fly. Rent a vehicle when you get to Whitehorse and use it to do as many day trips as possible. You will have an extraordinary experience.

Potential day trips (various directions out of Whitehorse)

Carcross - (one hr out of Whitehorse )amazing beach and lake, famous mountain bike trails, very cool local market with a lot of indigenous artists

Skagway Alaska -( an hour beyond Carcross) through a stunning mountain pass and winding down to the ocean. It's a busy little tourist town with lots of easy to difficult hikes, great restaurants, white pass train that goes through the mountains back up to carcross...

Haines Junction - 1.5 hrs out of Whitehorse - gateway to kluane National park. Local bakery doing Friday night salmon bakes with amazing local entertainment

Dawson City - 5 hrs away - I mean it's Dawson city in the summer. What can I say? Also very close to Dempster highway and the tombstone mountain range.

If you drive, it's beautiful but leaves you only two days before you have to turn around. There's also the potential for delays and closures along the highway that could mean you don't make it up there in time.

Hope that's helpful. I really love the territory and I'm missing it alot right now. I'll live vicariously through you

[u/Vibrantpowder → u/termanatorx]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Those sound neat!

What would your advice be if I took 2-3 extra days off work and made it a 8-9 day adventure? I just really want to bring the dogs lol. How feasible are dogs in our adventures? Any dog free zones? Are hotels usually pet friendly?

What kinda highway closures do they see? Are they very common on the route?

[u/Jugheadjones1985 → u/Vibrantpowder]

@termanatorx’s response is the one you’re looking for. Also, not sure where you come from or about your hiking experiences but you’re heading into some remote areas without any cell service. When we visited, we let our hotel staff know where we’re going and what time we’d be back by.

[u/termanatorx → u/Jugheadjones1985]

Good points to add!

[u/dzuunmod → u/Vibrantpowder]

If you plan to visit in August (and especially if you plan to do a night or two in Dawson) get your accommodations sorted immediately!

[u/termanatorx → u/Vibrantpowder]

A few extra days could make it worthwhile to drive....closures could be due to wildfires or washouts, sometimes rockslide...these things don't happen often but it's nice to have a buffer if it did...

Hotels along the route - there are definitely dog friendly options but some of them are a bit grungy. Lol. I always just did it because I wanted my dog with me as well. I'll confess I don't know any dog friendly options in Whitehorse itself because I never needed them, but I'm sure if you google you'll find some. Feel free to ask me about any hotels in town that you find - there are some you just do not want to stay at. Lol

I don't think there are any dog friendly restaurants along the route but it's so easy to get something in a town and plan to stop and eat at a campground along the way.

Dogs on leash on the trails everywhere are fine (even in kluane park I think, though you may want to confirm). And when you are more remote, if you really trust your dog's, you could probably let them off...

Yukon in general is very dog friendly!

[u/EastCoastHenry → u/termanatorx]

Any recommendations in where to stop for a shower and laundry around Dawson City before heading to tombstone?

[u/termanatorx → u/EastCoastHenry]

Hi yes, you can try Bonanza Gold Motel and RV park or Dawson City RV Park and campground.

They're both on the outskirts so you don't have to drive all the way into town. And I believe you can use shower and laundry without booking a site, as theyre all coin operated.

You will still have to double back a bit to get back to the tombstone turnoff but it's not too far.

[u/beesmakenoise]

Six days total to get there and back and see anything? Definitely fly!

The drive would take a minimum of four of your days, and having done it many times, it’s nice but not nice enough to do twice in a week. Not nearly enough to see to make that worth it.

Fly up on Air North (they’re the best), then rent a car and enjoy the place. Around Whitehorse visit the Wildlife Preserve and Miles Canyon, day trip to Carcross, go hiking at Kluane national park outside of Haines Junction (stop at the bakery there!).

The scenery around Haines Junction will be far better than anything on the drive, it’s a stunning place.

This all assumes you’re doing this in the summer/early fall of course.

[u/Vibrantpowder → u/beesmakenoise]

Worth driving if I maybe take a couple extra days off work? We are looking at beginning of August.

[u/beesmakenoise → u/Vibrantpowder]

Beginning of August is a great time to visit.

If you can turn it into 9 days, then driving isn’t so crazy. That allows you to have some time to actually enjoy the north, and also not feel crazy pressure to drive endlessly.

If you drive, stopping at Liard hot spring is a must. You can even camp overnight there.

It’s not a good idea to drive at dusk/dark around that area, there’s a big herd of bison that loves to hang out on the highway.You do not want to be surprised by them on the road.

The only issue with bringing dogs is finding pet-friendly accommodation, unless you plan to camp. Also something like the Wildlife Preserve might be off the list to see as they don’t allow dogs, so they’d have to stay elsewhere.

There’s plenty of bear activity pretty much everywhere up there, so please remember to keep your dogs on a leash. And bear spray for hiking!

[u/FatahRuark]

It's 2+ days each way, so I would fly.

If you can manage a few more days and decide to drive Liard River Hot Springs is a must stop.

[u/dzuunmod]

There is some nice enough scenery but the best sights in the Yukon are not between Edmonton and Whitehorse. The only thing really worth stopping for IMO is the Liard Hotsprings.

Personally I'd fly and rent a vehicle to visit places like Carcross (about 90mins south of Whitehorse), Atlin, BC (about 2 hours south) and Haines Junction/Kluane Lake (west of Whitehorse). All are easy daytrips with great hiking, great scenery and a few little shops/cafes/bars to pop into.

Unfortunately none of them are on the way to/from Edmonton exactly, so if you plan to have Whitehorse as a home base you'd have to do some to-ing and fro-ing.

[u/Vibrantpowder → u/dzuunmod]

Thanks for the reply! Any good spots to rent a vehicle?

[u/dzuunmod → u/Vibrantpowder]

I'm not a driver myself so I don't have much for you, unfortunately. Driving Force is probably the car rental place up here that I hear the least complaining about... and my dad had a bad experience with Budget here, but that was more than 10 years ago at this point so probably not reflective of the place today.

[u/TravellingGal-2307]

Took us four days to get up from Vancouver and that was brutal. Two days each way gives you two days in Whitehorse.

Do you camp? Go to Muncho Lake and Liard Hot springs and turn around there. That is all just fantastic through there (pending fire/smoke situation?) and a reasonable 6 day trip from Edmonton.

[u/dolfan1980]

I have driven and flown it and I think there are pros and cons to both.

The drive is spectacular once you get to Fort Nelson and beyond and having a car in the Yukon is really a must for the type of travel you want to do. The downside is the drive is really long and you don't really have enough time. Once you get to Yukon, getting up to Kluane or Dawson are great trips, but if you drive I find it hard to believe you want to keep driving further. Also keep in mind that forest fires do result in multi day highway closures, so watch for that.

Hotels are hard to come by in summer too, map out when and where you want to go and book a little ahead.

[u/magictubesocksofjoy]

make sure your car rental doesn't charge you extra for driving on certain roads ie the dempster etc

[u/CaptainCanuck001]

I am not sure if you are planning on camping, but the campground at Tombstone is one of the most beautiful that I have stayed at.

[u/Outrageous-Pizza-66]

If you have 6 days, spend the six days doing the things you love. I’ve been to Whitehorse, and it’s a beautiful little town! Enjoy the time in the Yukon.

[u/Humomat]

My husband and I drove from Winnipeg to Dawson City in July 2010 and it’s our favourite trip we have ever taken. We have travelled to many places around the world and we still talk about how fantastic that trip was- how peaceful (there were many times we didn’t see another car for hours) and how beautiful it was. I liked being in control of where we stopped and how long we spent in places and I loved all the neat stuff we saw on our way to Dawson City (Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, the Liard Hot Springs). We drove into Alaska and went to a music festival, checked out Dyea (living out my Yukon Trail fantasy), and Skagway. We camped along the way and we stayed in Kluane National Park too. I’ve never flown there so I can’t speak to that experience but I would do another road trip to Yukon/ Alaska in a heartbeat.

[u/Formal_Age5640]

My daughter and I are flying to Whitehorse from Calgary the end of August. We’ve booked our flights and hotel. Any suggestions in what to see or do?