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Cycling tour along the roads of Yukon and Alaska
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Cycle the scenic highways of Yukon and Alaska on this road bike tour. This cycling loop will take you through some of the most breathtaking wilderness highway terrain you have every cycled. You will experience a land rich in geographical beauty, First Nation history, gold rush history, and wildlife diversity. The first section of the trip is on the Alaska Highway and follows the valley of the majestic Yukon River. This vast valley floor provides views of the distant mountains, sweeping landscapes, and the aqua blue Yukon River. The Alaska Highway then turns and follows the Valley of the Takhini River to the Community of Haines Junction. Haines Junction is known as the gateway to Kluane National Park. After Haines Junction you leave the Alaska Highway and follow the Haines Road. This section of Highway parallels Kluane National Park. While cycling the border of Kluane, world famous for having the largest non-polar ice cap in the world, you will see the youthful and jagged mountains that guard a world of snow and ice millions of years old, that lay just behind their impressive faces. At approx 20km (12miles) you will reach the overlook for Kathleen Lake, a beautiful body of water nestled in the mountains. After Kathleen Lake you will pass another stunning mountain-lined lake called Dezadeash. Klukshu Village is a First Nation fishing village just past Dezadeash Lake. On the way towards the community of Haines, Alaska, the route will take up through the Haines Pass. As you climb into the pass, small lakes, rocks, mountains, and streams dot the landscape. This area, because of its proximity to the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers and their rich salmon run, is home to the Yukon’s densest grizzly population. At the summit of this pass you will be at 1067m (3500ft) in elevation.
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After descending from the Haines Pass you will notice a quickly changing landscape. The barrenness of the pass is contrasted to the lush deciduous cottonwoods and gigantic Sitka spruce tress of this northern temperate rain forest. On completion of your descent to the Chilkat Valley you will travel through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. From Haines you will board a ferry for a short trip along Alaska’s Inside Passage to the community of Skagway. On this short ferry ride the scenery is impressive. Hanging glaciers are visible as they spill out of the Juneau Ice Field. Their melt waters form cascading waterfalls that fall thousands of feet below into the Lynn Canal. From Skagway we climb up and over the Skagway Pass towards the community of Carcross. While climbing up to the pass you will be able to view sections of the White Pass and Yukon Route Rail line making it’s way up the other side of the valley. This is the steepest narrow gauge rail line in the world, reaching 1003 m (3292 ft). The climb up to the summit is dramatically different than the feel and look of the Haines Pass. Here the highway winds its way upwards, carved into the sides of steep gorges. After the summit the rail line is visible at various locations. The Highway weaves its way through this rocky pass with beautiful alpine views, bordering a number of aqua-blue alpine lakes for some time. These lakes form the headwaters of the Tutshi River. The Highway then follows the Tutshi River as it quickly drops elevation. Before you reach Carcross you will notice the landscape has returned to the semi-arid boreal forest of the interior Yukon. On your way out of Carcross look for the Carcross desert. This desert is affectionately known by locals as the smallest desert in the world. You will continue to follow the Klondike Highway through Carcross, past the Carcross Desert, and finally return to the Alaska Highway just southeast of Whitehorse.
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| Season: May to September |
| Requirements: Road bike, helmet, handlebar bag/pannier, spare tubes and other parts as necessary, personal repair kit and tools as necessary for your road bike, sleeping bag rated to -7 degree Celsius and sleeping pad, 3 season tent, flashlight or head lamp, passport. Tent and sleeping bag can be rented. |
| Suggested Items: Camera, daypack, sunglasses, sunscreen, water bottle. |
| Suggested Clothing: Cycling shorts, cycling pants, cold weather cycling clothes, cycling gloves, cycling shoes, rain gear, fleece shirts and pants, quick dry pants, warm socks, hat. |
| Difficulty: Intermediate |
| Restrictions: This is an intermediate-advanced level tour. Participants must have previous experience with multi-day cycle touring trips of more than 10 days in length, cycled through wind and foul weather and has cycled at least 150 km (90 miles) before in a single day, have good camping skills (able to set a tent, manage their gear and clothing effectively), have a good understanding of bike mechanics - Regularly maintains their bike themselves and is familiar with all basic maintenance procedures, have logged a minimum of 1500 km (800 miles) training mileage prior to the trip that season and is in good general health and be comfortable traveling through remote settings with little to no access to facilities during the course of the day (the road surface is great, but there is only mountains and wilderness for long sections). |
| Equipment Provided: Transportation of your personal gear to each day’s camp-site while you cycle, hotels in Haines and Skagway, campsite fees and group camping equipment, rain shelter, bug shelter, washroom tent and latrine, shower tent (at the two wilderness campsites). Access to a small selection of basic bicycle mechanical tools and a bike stand and access in the evenings to our traveling wilderness Yukon/Alaska library. |
| Transportation: Trips begin and end in Whitehorse, Yukon. |
| Accommodations: Accommodations are campsites along the route and in hotels in Haines and Skagway. A hotel in Whitehorse before and after the trip will be required but is not included in the package price. |
| Meal Information: Daily breakfasts, starting on the second day, are prepared by your guides. Daily lunches are prepared by you from the gourmet sandwich-making bar in the morning of each day and packed for road lunches. Daily dinners prepared by your guides while camping. Please note you will be responsible for your own dinner on nights while staying in hotel accommodations. This is to accommodate different interests while in Haines and Skagway. Both of these towns offer a variety of options for dinner. You will also be responsible for you dinner on the last day of the trip upon returning to Whitehorse. |
| Guide Information: Two guides per trip. |
| Weather Information: Average summer tempertures are between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius, with temperatures in the fall usually in the 5 to 15 degree Celsius range. |
| Comments: Custom dates available for group sizes of 3 or more. |
| Trip Duration |
Price |
10 days
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$3445.00* per person
Based on double occupancy. |
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*Please add 5% Goods and Services Tax
If you have any questions or would like more information about a particular adventure, please email us.
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