Arctic Winter Explorer | Dempster Highway to Arctic Circle

1 Day

Arrive Whitehorse

Meet and greet and transfer to your downtown hotel. You’ll meet your fellow travellers and your guide will review the itinerary and your equipment at our group meeting this afternoon. The remainder of the afternoon and evening is free to explore the city and do any last minute shopping. Accommodation: Whitehorse Optional: Aurora Viewing evening tour at the AuroraCentre.

2 Day

WHITEHORSE – WILDLIFE VIEWING AND A BIRDS-EYE-VIEW

We start the day with a flight above the spectacular winter scenery 20 minutes in the air with a bushplane. During the flight we can enjoy the Yukon winter from an angle only few people ever will. Back in Whitehorse we will discover the history of the north on a city-sightseeing tour. Whitehorse has a lot to offer and is home to famous sights like the historic Paddlewheeler SS Klondike or a “Skyscraper” completely made out of logs. Later we drive to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve where we can see up close inhabitant of the arctic north like the Muskox, Caribou, and Arctic Fox. It's a photographer's and naturalist's dream to see Arctic's wildlife up close and you will be in the front-row to learn about wildlife living year-round in the True North. Accommodation: Whitehorse Optional: Aurora Viewing evening tour at the AuroraCentre

3 Day

WHITEHORSE TO DAWSON CITY

Prior to the late 1950’s, the only way to travel to Dawson City in summer was on a majestic paddlewheeler like the SS Klondike. Today, we’ll cover the 550km distance in just a few hours. Our route today takes us through the heart of the Yukon interior more or less along the Yukon River valley. We’ll stop for a coffee in the morning at Braeburn Lodge, famous for its massive cinnamon buns, then continue northbound on the Klondike Highway passing through several small native villages and settlements including, Carmacks, Pelly Crossing and Stewart Crossing. Near Carmacks, the road offers great views of famous Five Finger Rapids and about an hour outside of Dawson, we’ll stop at the Tintina Trench overlook for views of the expansive Yukon interior with the Ogilvie Mountains beyond that we’ll pass through the day after tomorrow. After check-in, we’ll have a bite to eat, and then we’ll keep an eye out for the Northern Lights, which can often be seen right over the town. Accommodation: Dawson City

4 Day

DAWSON CITY – GOLD RUSH

Home to the world’s greatest Gold Rush, some 50,000 gold seekers arrived here in 1898 making Dawson City the largest town west of Winnipeg and North of Seattle (USA) at that time. The entire community is now a national historic site, and the romance of the Old West can be felt on every corner. Dawson’s unpaved streets and wooden boardwalks are still roamed by miners, hunters and trappers. Parks Canada has restored many of the original buildings including the Palace Grand Theatre, the Commissioner’s Residence and the cabins of Jack London and Robert Service’s cabin, among many others. We’ll travel up Bonanza Creek road to the actual claim where gold was discovered in 1896. Discovery Claim is located near the impressive Dredge #4 National Historic Site and we’ll stop for a photo here as well. In the evening you will have the chance to discover Dawson City’s small but authentic bar scene and you will find many long-time residence who can tell you more tales of the far north. Accommodation: Dawson City

5 Day

DAWSON CITY TO EAGLE PLAINS

We’ll get an early start today. The Dempster is one of the truly great Canadian roadways. Completed only in the late 1970’s, the Dempster is still the only fully public road in North America to cross the Arctic Circle. Today’s drive is considered most scenic; Tombstone Territorial Park encompasses the jagged peaks to the West that give the park its name and further along, the Ogilvie Mountains offer superb scenery and stunning vistas. Wildlife is often spotted along the roadsides, so keep a good watch for foxes, the occasional wolf and caribou. As we arrive at Eagle Plains in the late afternoon/early evening, the modest hotel, fuel station, and highway maintenance station – the only civilization for approximately 300km in either direction - feels like an oasis! Accommodation: Eagle Plains

6 Day

EAGLE PLAINS – ARCTIC CIRCLE

Today we’ll venture to the most northern point of this tour, the Arctic Circle crossing, where we’ll enjoy a celebratory glass of champagne to commemorate this special occasion. With the North Pole at its centre, the Arctic Circle runs around the earth in the northern hemisphere at 66°33’N. Some 9,900 miles long, this line of latitude embraces the Arctic region surrounding the North Pole. North of this line, there are days when the sun doesn’t set at all in summer (midnight sun) and doesn’t rise in winter (polar nights). The exact location of the Arctic Circle varies each time you travel past it. Over the course of a full year, the virtual line shifts by almost 15 metres – while the Arctic Circle Sign remain firmly in place. The exact position of the line depends on the angle of the earth’s axis compared to the plane of its orbit at the time. In the area in and around the Arctic Circle and you will greatly boost your chances of seeing the northern lights. Accommodation: Eagle Plains

7 Day

EAGLE PLAINS TO DAWSON CITY

Once more we are able to enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the snow-covered tundra alongside the Dempster Highway. Leaving the Arctic Circle behind we are making our way back south in the morning so we can enjoy the picturesque scenery in new light settings for memorable photography. The route of the Dempster Highway roughly follows the route of Jack Dempster’s original trail. He learned it from the Gwitchin First Nation of the region, and they learned it from their ancestors. It was their main transportation link between the Yukon and Peel river systems. The Gwitchin floated triangular rafts down these rivers, carrying goods to barter and trade with Loucheux Indians, and later with white traders. Accommodation: Dawson City

8 Day

DAWSON CITY - WHITEHORSE

Transfer to Dawson City Airport, check in, board southbound aircraft. Tour services end on arrival at Whitehorse Airport. Optional evening in Whitehorse or connecting flights.