Itinerary

Arrive in Whitehorse and pick up your hire car from the airport.
Welcome to the “Land of the Midnight Sun”. After checking in to your hotel, take some time to explore Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory and with 22,000 people, the largest city in the region. A main attraction is SS Klondike, one of only two surviving paddle steamers from the 1930s.
Other highlights of the town include The Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, gathering place for First Nations culture and MacBride Museum, the best place to learn the Yukon’s history with some 40,000 objects.

A recommended excursion from Whitehorse is the Yukon Gold experience in the Southern Lakes, visiting beautiful Emerald Lake, the world’s smallest desert, the First Nations community of Carcross and Caribou Crossing Wildlife Museum.

Today you visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve (entrance included in your tour), featuring 10 species of northern Canadian mammals in their natural environment over 700 acres, including elk, moose, bison, lynx, deer and arctic foxes.
Another recommended excursion is the guided Eagle tour on the Yukon River by kayak or canoe, leaving from downtown Whitehorse to the confluence with the Takhini River. The region has a significant population of majestic bald eagles, promising unforgettable sightings.
Another option to visit nearby is Long Ago People’s Place, an authentic recreation of a First Nations village, an hour west of Whitehorse.

Travel north along the Klondike Highway to explore a sensational landscape in this remote part of the Yukon.
It’s worth breaking up the six-hour road trip by stopping at Tagé Cho Hudän Interpretive Centre, which showcases the culture and history of the Northern Tutchone with fascinating exhibits. Highlights include a moose skin boat, a rare collection of stone and bone tools, and traditional outfits. There is also a walking trail through First Nations displays.
On this scenic drive, you’ll enter the region of the Klondike Gold Rush to reach Dawson City. This authentic gold rush town is bursting with historic sites including SS Keno, the last paddle steamer to run the Yukon River from Whitehorse, the Jack London Interpretive Center with the poet’s original cabin, the Palace Grand Theatre and Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Casino.
The Dawson City Museum (not included) is the place to learn the history of Dawson, the gold rush and Yukon’s First People and explorers.
· Whitehorse to Dawson 532km

Continue to explore Dawson City. A Klondike Goldrush tour is recommended, including a visit to Dredge No. 4, built in 1912, where you can learn to pan gold on the famous Bonanza Creek.

A recommended evening excursion is on the Ridge Road to the Top of the Midnight Dome with excellent views over Dawson, the Ogilvie Mountains and the Yukon and Klondike Rivers.

Today you will join the Dempster Highway and travel through the spectacular wilderness of Tombstone Provincial Park.
It’s worth stopping in the park and exploring its landscapes of arctic tundra, alpine lakes, meadows and granite mountains. The park is home to grizzlies, black bears, moose, caribou and wolves, and lies within Tr’ondek Hwech’in territory with an interesting Interpretation Centre.

Continue out onto the Eagle Plains, fringed by the Ogilvie and Richardson Mountains.
Your accommodation tonight is the remote Eagle Plains Hotel, located just 35km south of the Arctic Circle (please note: The Dempster Highway is unpaved).

· Dawson City to Eagle Plains 408km

Continue north today, crossing the Arctic Circle and passing through the Richardson Mountains as you leave the Yukon and enter the Northwest Territories.
You may wish to take a short detour to Fort McPherson. Visit the Chii Tsal Dik Gwizheh Tourism and Heritage Centre, which hosts a range of cultural activities. Just outside Fort McPherson is Nataiinlaii Territorial Park, perched on a cliff overlooking the Peel River and surrounded by white birch and white spruce trees. Spend time in the visitor centre for a fascinating glimpse of the life of the Gwich’in Dene people.
You reach the end of the Dempster Highway upon arrival in Inuvik.

· Eagle Plains to Inuvik 366km

Today is at leisure to explore this remote Arctic settlement and its surroundings. The Western Arctic Regional Visitors Centre in Inuvik is a great place to start, and don’t miss the iconic Igloo Church and the Midnight Sun Mosque.
Day tours are available to the labyrinthine MacKenzie Delta, Tuktoyaktuk or Herschel Island, or you could take a sightseeing flight to view the Arctic Ocean from above (optional, not included).

Today, drive back down the Dempster Highway south to Eagle Plains. Again you cross the Mackenzie and Peel Rivers by state ferries (free of charge). You could stop again at Fort McPherson en route.

· Inuvik to Eagle Plains 366km

Continue south on the Dempster Highway to Dawson City. If you didn’t stop at Tombstone Territorial Park, make time to explore its spectacular wilderness, wildlife and Interpretation Centre (further details on day 5).

Arrive in Dawson City and visit some Gold Rush attractions you may have missed earlier in your trip.

· Eagle Plains to Dawson City 408km

Drive the Klondike Highway east, accompanied by scenic mountain landscape. At the intersection with the Silver Trail Highway continue towards Mayo.

The area around the Silver Trail Highway was once the richest silver mining area of Canada. Mayo is situated on the banks of the majestic Stewart River within the Traditional Territory of the Na-cho Nyäk Dun First Nation.

Learn more about the town’s history at the Keno City Mining Museum, and the history of the area at Binet House Museum. Mayo is a good destination for fly-fishing and rafting.

· Dawson City to Mayo 230km

Going south, enjoy the raw beauty of the surrounding landscape. Stopover at the Five Finger Rapids and hike down to the shore of the Yukon River.
In late afternoon, arrive back in Yukon’s capital city, Whitehorse. A good stop on the way is Nordic Hot Springs for a soak in the Yukon’s only thermal baths, half an hour north-west of the city.

· Mayo to Whitehorse 406km

After checking out of your hotel, drive to the airport and drop off your hire car as your Yukon Arctic self-drive adventure comes to an end.