Yukon Territory

If you didn't know its history, Dawson City would be an atmospheric place to pause for a while, with a seductive, funky vibe. That it's one of the most historic and evocative towns in Canada is like gold dust on a cake: unnecessary but damn nice.

Set on a narrow shelf at the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers, a mere 240km south of the Arctic Circle, Dawson was the center of the Klondike Gold Rush. Today, you can wander the dirt streets of town, passing old buildings with dubious permafrost foundations, and discover Dawson’s rich cultural life (that person passing by may be a dancer, filmmaker, painter or miner).

Dawson can be busy in the summer, especially during its festivals. But by September the days are getting short, the seasonal workers have fled south and the 1400 year-round residents are settling in for another long, dark winter.

The capital city of the Yukon Territory (since 1953, to the continuing regret of much smaller and isolated Dawson City), Whitehorse will likely have a prominent role in your journey. The territory's two great highways, the Alaska and the Klondike, cross here; it's a hub for transportation (it was a terminus for the White Pass & Yukon Route railway from Skagway in the early 1900s, and during WWII was a major center for work on the Alaska Hwy). You'll find all manner of outfitters and services for explorations across the territory.

Not immediately appealing, Whitehorse rewards the curious. It has a well-funded arts community (with an especially vibrant visual arts community), good restaurants and a range of motels. Exploring the sights within earshot of the rushing Yukon River can easily take a day or more. Look past the bland commercial buildings and you'll see many heritage ones awaiting discovery.

Beginning seaside in Skagway, AK, the 714km Klondike Hwy climbs high to the forbidding Chilkoot Pass before crossing into stunning alpine scenery on the way to Carcross. For much of its length, the road generally follows the Gold Rush Trail, the route of the Klondike prospectors. You'll have a much easier time of it than they did.

North of Whitehorse, the road passes through often-gentle terrain that has been scorched by wildfires through the years. Signs showing the dates let you chart nature's recovery.

Whitehorse is the starting place for popular canoeing and kayaking trips from half-day trips on the Yukon River to full-on expeditions to Carmacks or on to Dawson City. It takes an average of eight days to the former and 16 days to the latter. Outfitters offer gear of all kinds (canoes and kayaks are about $40 to $50 per day), guides, tours, lessons and planning services, and can arrange transportation back to Whitehorse. Most paddlers use the map The Yukon River: Marsh Lake to Dawson City; available at www.yukonbooks.com.

Tombstone Territorial Park, which lies along Dempster Hwy for about 50km, is an easy day trip from Dawson City. Shades of green and charcoal color the wide valleys here, and steep ridges are dotted with small glaciers and alpine lakes. Summer feels tentative but makes its statement with a burst of purple wildflowers in July. Clouds sweep across the tundra, bringing squalls punctuated by brilliant sun. Stand amid this and you'll know the meaning of the sound of silence.

Unesco-recognized as an 'empire of mountains and ice,' Kluane National Park and Reserve looms south of the Alaska Hwy much of the way to the Alaska border. This rugged and magnificent wilderness covers 22,015 sq km of the southwest corner of the territory. Kluane (kloo-wah-neee) gets its far-too-modest name from the Southern Tutchone word for 'Lake with Many Fish.'

With British Columbia's Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park to the south and Alaska's Wrangell-St Elias National Park to the west, this is one of the largest protected wilderness areas in the world. Deep beyond the mountains you see from the Alaska Hwy are over 100 named glaciers and as many unnamed ones.

Winters are long and harsh. Summers are short, making mid-June to early September the best time to visit. Note that wintery conditions can occur at any time, especially in the backcountry.

Offers a jaw-droppingly scenic daily 10-hour rail and bus connection to/from Skagway, AK, via Fraser, BC, in season. On some days, the bus meets the train in Carcross, which maximizes the beautiful train ride (this is the preferred option).

From Dawson City, the George Black free car ferry crosses the Yukon River from the end of Front St to the scenic Top of the World Hwy (Hwy 9). Only open in summer, the mostly gravel 107km-long road to the US border has superb vistas across the region.

You'll continue to feel on top of the world as you cross at the most northerly US–Canada border crossing. The land is barren alpine meadows with jutting rocks and often grazing caribou. The border crossing at Poker Creek (open 9am to 9pm Yukon time, 8am to 8pm Alaska time 15 May to 15 September) has strict hours – if you're late you'll have to wait until the next day.

On the US side, Alaska shows its xenophobic side, as the first 19km connection to the intersection with the Taylor Hwy (Hwy 5) is newly sealed and gives the impression that the easy road may last forever. The old gold-mining town of Eagle on the Yukon River is 105km north from the intersection.

It's time to go back to the gravel! Some further 48km south from the intersection, over unsealed roads, you encounter Chicken, a delightful place of free thinkers happy to sell you a stupid T-shirt at one of the gas-station cafes or offer their views regarding government bureaucrats. The town was going to be called Ptarmigan, but locals didn't trust their spelling and pronunciation skills so went for Chicken instead.

Another 119km south and you reach the Alaska Hwy, where a turn east takes you to the Yukon. Just a tick west, Tok has services and motels. Alaska time is one hour earlier than the Yukon. The only place between Dawson City and the Alaska Hwy to get fuel or food is in Chicken, so prepare well.