Dave'n'Kathy's Vagabond Blog: Biking the Yukon River

Hi Blog!

On Sunday, May 29, 2016, we decided to get an up close and personal look at the mighty Yukon River. After getting bike trail maps at the Visitor's Center, we learned we could bike from our campground on the Alaska Highway all the way to downtown Whitehorse. The trails would take us right along the Yukon River.

The Yukon River is very impressive. It is over 1,980 miles long and, while no one has determined where it originates, it empties into the Bering Sea. The total drainage area is 321,500 square miles of which only 126,300 square miles are in Canada, the rest is in Alaska. By comparison, the total area of the Yukon's drainage is more than 25% larger than Texas. This is big country.

Here is our first look at the Yukon River. The lovely color is from the glacier silt which reflects sunlight.

As we worked our way down to the river, we crossed over the bed of the old White Pass and Yukon Railroad, a narrow gauge railroad that linked the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory. It was an isolated rail line, as it had no direct connection to any other railroad. The railroad began construction in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush as a means of reaching the goldfields. With its completion in 1900, it became the primary route to the interior of the Yukon, supplanting the Chilkoot Trail. The route continued operation until 1982, and in 1988 was partially revived as a heritage railway, but the trains only go as far as Carcross. The rest of the track to Whitehorse has been abandoned.

The first stop along our Yukon River tour was Miles Canyon. Originally referred to as Grand Canyon, noted explorer Fredrick Schwatka renamed it in July 1883 in honor of General Nelson Miles.

After our ride along the Alaska Highway and down part of Miles Canyon Road, we joined the Miles Canyon trail, which was the first of the multi-use trails we rode. We crossed the Miles Canyon Suspension Bridge to access the bike trails on the east side of the river.

The Yukon River is the longest river in Alaska and Yukon, and it was one of the principal means of transportation during the 1896–1903 Klondike Gold Rush. At Lakes Bennett and Lindeman, the prospectors camped to build rafts or boats that would take them the final 500 miles down the Yukon to Dawson City. The river posed a problem. There were several rapids along the Miles Canyon through to the White Horse Rapids. After many boats were wrecked and several hundred people died, the North-West Mounted Police introduced safety rules, vetting the boats carefully and forbidding women and children to travel through the rapids.

The rapids formed where the Yukon River flowed across and cut down through lava flows of the Miles Canyon basalt. These rapids presented a major navigational obstacle on the Yukon River during the Klondike Gold Rush, and lent their name to the nearby town of Whitehorse. The Whitehorse dam, constructed in 1957-1958, submerged the rapids beneath the newly created Schwatka Lake. As we biked along the canyon rim, we spied a group of kayakers enjoying the river in their own special way:

The Schwatka Lake Trail took us right around the edge of the lake - sometimes too close to the edge!

Rather than go out to each point, the trail cuts corners through some lovely wooded single track. At certain points along the trail, it was just wide enough for us to squeeze through the trees.

When we popped out from the woods, we were able to watch this float plane take off from the lake.

We got a really good look at Golden Horn Mountain to the south of Whitehorse. Just the other day, it was covered with snow.

Golden Horn Mountain

As we got closer to Whitehorse, we came to the Whitehorse Dam. The rapids which gave Whitehorse its name have all but disappeared. You can just see a few of the white manes.

In order to help the salmon return to their spawning ground, a fish ladder was installed. At the interpretation centre in the fishway, you can view fish through the underwater window. Since no salmon were spawning at this time, the fishway and underwater viewing stations were closed.

Whitehorse Fishway

We left the Schwatka Lake Trail behind and picked up the Millennium Trail. The Rotary Centennial Bridge is located at the south end of the Millennium Trail Loop.

Further along, we got our first look at the SS Klondike II. The "SS Klondike" was the name of two sternwheelers, the second now a national historic site. Both ran freight between Whitehorse and Dawson City along the Yukon River from 1921-1936 and 1937-1950, respectively.

After crossing over the Robert Campbell bridge, we arrived at the Rotary Peace Park. In the Peace Park is a monument dedicated to Angela Sidney (Ch'oonete Ma Stoow). She lived from 1902 to 1991 in the Yukon Territory. She was a First Nation woman who dedicated her life to preserving her people's dances, cultures and traditions. She received the Order of Canada in 1984. She was quoted as saying, "I have no money to leave my grandchildren. My stories are my wealth." We thought the totem was a lovely tribute.

For the first half of the twentieth century, the sternwheelers of the British Yukon Navigation Company plied the upper Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City. The S.S. Klondike II was the largest of the fleet. As we rode by, we happened to noticed a couple of red chairs. According to Parks Canada, "Whether it’s a place to rest after a leisurely stroll or to cheer your successful completion of a strenuous hike, our red chairs offer a place to slow down, to relax and to truly discover the best that Parks Canada has to offer." We are looking forward to finding more red chairs. If you would like to join in this quest, here is the location of more red chairs.

We completed our loop by following Miles Canyon Road south along the west bank of the river and around the west side of the lake. There were a number of docks dedicated to float planes.