Discover the magic of a Yukon winter, where adventure meets breathtaking landscapes. From dogsledding through snowy trails to chasing the Northern Lights, this guide from Mark Stevens explores the best ways to experience the beauty and thrill of winter in the Yukon.
I’m shivering in a stand of lodgepole pines beside the snow-swept expanse of Fish Lake, a frozen body of water snugged down in the hills high above the city of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. The morning air is crisp – so cold that sounds seem to carry for kilometres. Those sounds include the whisper of the wind in this pine forest and the howling of sled dogs.
My wife Sharon and I are getting a pre-adventure “mushing” (aka dog sledding) lesson at Sky High Wilderness Ranch, and the dogs – judging by those raucous calls – are ready. We’re about to experience the Yukon the old-fashioned way: by dogsled. And I’m driving our sled.
This is when I find myself wondering what I was thinking. My beard is rimed with frost, and my extremities – despite the assistance of the hot chocolate served up in a nearby yurt – seem to have lost all feeling.
I’ve visited the Yukon several times before, seduced by both the sheer grandeur of its landscape and the territory’s fascinating history. As a proud Canadian, I’ve always been drawn to the allure of the North, and I’m convinced that the Yukon is part of my Canadian birthright. The reason I’m here right now, in the dead of winter, is less clear in my head.
The thermometer this morning reads minus 37 degrees Celsius (I don’t want to even think about the wind chill); I am admittedly rethinking my decision. Even so, I’ve determined to bond with the Yukon fully, to acquaint myself with all facets of her being.
I’m determined to warm up to a Yukon winter. Here are seven ways you can, too.
Go Mushing
After learning the most important things (like the location and use of the brake) and the commands (yell “mush” to take off; “gee” to turn right; “haw” to turn left, though I’ve forgotten the command to stop!), we’re introduced to our teams.
And now we mush, roaring along serpentine trails and gradually cutting through backcountry to Mt. McIntyre, where we stop for more hot chocolate and panoramic views of the lake and those ubiquitous hills, barren and rocky, all above the tree line.
Now, the wind in our faces, dogs howling in glee and wrestling at every pause, we descend those slopes. It’s a great way to bond with nature and a very cool adrenaline-inspiring adventure.
Really into this? Want to push the envelope? Sign up for the “4-Day Taste of Mushing Tour,” based out of Sky High Wilderness Ranch. Or get a dose of humility: visit in February and cheer on real mushers.
Cheer on the Real Mushers
Visit in February and meet some real mushers in Whitehorse for the ceremonial start of the Yukon Quest (February 1st for the 2025 race). If you are really taken with this sport, invest the time to head east for two hours to Teslin to cheer this admittedly hardy crew on for the actual race start.
For the first year, this dog sled race, nearly seven hundred kilometres long, traces the original route taken when the race first began, back in 1984.
Do the math: one musher; one dog team; nearly seven hundred kilometres through the dead of winter. Not for the faint of heart.
The last time I was there for the start (back when it began in Whitehorse itself), I had the chance to chat pre-race with a couple of mushers. Their relationship with their teams stood out as much as their tales of travail on the trail.
“My dogs are wonderful people,” said one musher. Another one, voice breaking, told me, “I let my dogs down last year.”
Meet the dogs, meet the mushers, follow the race online or even go backcountry and cheer them on en route. If nothing else, you’ll get a heaping helping of humility.
Really Warm Up to Winter in Hot Springs
In the event your idea of winter sports is less ambitious, head a few kilometres out of Whitehorse on the Takhini Hot Springs Road and sign up for the frozen hair contest.
Rules are straightforward: Soak in the hot springs-fed pools at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs, dip your head beneath the surface on any day when the temperature falls below minus twenty (Celsius) then let nature take its course. Take a selfie of your now popsicle-worthy hair and send it in, or just soothe those muscles you’d overworked while sledding.
Things were pretty rudimentary first time I visited years ago when it was simply known as Takhini Hot Springs. A lot fancier these days.
One of their four outdoor pools just not doing it for you? Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs offers a variety of saunas and steam rooms as well as relaxation areas like the amenities offered at other Scandinave-style resorts. If you can’t warm up to winter here, you’re not trying hard enough.
Check Out The Northern Lights
A big item on my travel bucket list the first time I visited the Yukon was the chance to book a ringside seat for Aurora Borealis – AKA the Northern Lights.
So much for that idea, that visit took place early one July and that’s when I got a reality check.
Just for example, during one summer visit, we crawled out of an infamous Dawson City bar called “The Pit” sometime around midnight. The sun had just set.
Looking to ensure your Aurora-watching is a success? Try it mid-winter, when Whitehorse itself only gets sun for eight hours.
We sign up for a one-night tour with Northern Tales. They transfer us to a site sufficiently far out of Whitehorse that light pollution isn’t a factor.
Once there, I look skyward from my vantage point near an outdoor campfire. The crackle of flames and the aroma of woodsmoke are downright soothing, though I’m filled with a sense of anticipation. Behind me is a lantern-lit prospectors’ half-wall tent where the less hardy of us warm up to one more dose of hot chocolate.
I gaze across open fields before me and look skyward once more. The sky is black as coal but for a smattering of twinkling stars. And now it begins: lazy, sensuous, seductive at first, pink hues rise from the northern horizon, joined in a heavenly dance by five shades of green, by subtle shades of purple and violet. Sarabande morphs into tango, crisscrossing the night sky.
I am transformed; I am overwhelmed. Already, I am considering another option: book one of their three-night Aurora tours. But then I think again: still a few more ways to warm up to a Yukon winter.
Discover How Other Species Warm Up To Winter
Snugly bundled up though I have been, warmed by the soothing ministrations of those nearby hot springs, I couldn’t help but wonder how more local Yukon denizens make out in these conditions. Think arctic fox, elk, muskox. Think Yukon Wildlife Preserve.
Originally a game farm, the site was purchased by the Yukon government in 2004, and it’s now administered as a non-profit tourism must-do and a true refuge, incorporating an on-site Rehabilitation Centre dedicated to returning some residents to the wild.
Trudge through the snow at this 350-acre refuge and bond with more than twelve different species, from the iconic muskox to caribou, from mule deer to mountain goats.
Want to warm up to winter and give yourself a workout? You can bring your skis or snowshoes to explore here. Want to try something different? Rent a fat bike or kick sled right onsite.
Go Sledding
Another morning, back out at Sky High Wilderness Ranch. Today, your soundtrack consists more of mechanical roars than the excited yipping of dogs. Toda, those adrenaline-infused trails pass by more quickly.
Velocity made good today is something like forty- or fifty-kilometres an hour. That’s because your trusty steeds don’t need feeding and don’t need to stop for the call of nature.
Today, my wife and I climbed aboard one of ten snow machines. Today, our sledding adventure is a horse (or machine or dog) of a different colour.
We’re going snowmobiling. We’ve opted for the half-day tour, which loops around Fish Lake, but the options are many and varied: even combine sledding with your Aurora must-do by booking a guided night-time snowmobile tour in search of this nocturnal spectacle.
Sign up for a guided tour or just rent a machine. Follow the Chilkoot Trail for some history with your sledding. Experience the solitude of Kluane National Park, cruising trails in a wilderness expanse bigger than New Jersey.
Back in the yurt at Sky High, I chat with one of our snowmobile guides about riding options up here.
“Hundreds of kilometres of trails here,” he said. “Go groomed or go backcountry. Really get away from it all.”
Make the trek by road and bring your own machine (if sledding is your primary passion). Check out the trail guide offered by the Klondike Snowmobile Association.
Consider this – just one route – along the Trans-Canada Trail itself – offers sledders more than a thousand kilometres of riding.
So, gentlemen (and every other brave soul), start your engines.
Strap on the Boards or Snowshoes
No surprise, the Yukon’s the ultimate X-country and snowshoeing destination. You barely have to leave Whitehorse to experience the territory’s allure for skiers. The Whitehorse Nordic Centre boasts seventy-five kilometres of trails – ranked in degree of difficulty so you can go exploring whatever your skill level. You can even sign up for a private or semi-private lesson.
Alltrails.com, the definitive digital outdoors guide, identifies thirty-six distinct ski and/ or snowshoe routes.
If you’d rather try snowshoeing, consider a half-day Up North Adventures guided excursion outside Whitehorse.
If X-country skiing tops your Yukon winter must-do list, sign up for the multi-day Yukon Cross-Country Ski Tour/Backcountry Trails, which includes trails in Kluane National Park, home to the world’s biggest non-polar icefields and some of Canada’s most majestic mountains.
Warming Up To Winter
It’s true that a winter trip to the Yukon may not be everyone’s cup of tea (or hot chocolate), but such an adventure will reward you with fascinating new experiences, the chance to mingle with truly extraordinary people with hearts as big as the territory itself, and even the chance for some exercise.
Despite my own initial trepidation, by the end of my brief Yukon sojourn, one thing was certain. I’d warmed right up to a Yukon winter.
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Though best known for their Caribbean content, photographer Sharon Matthews-Stevens and writer Mark Stevens love Canada with a passion and have covered our country for publications ranging from Toronto Star to Explore magazine. Recognition for this multiple-award-winning team’s Canadian stories and photography include Travel Media Association of Canada, Destination Canada, and Ottawa Tourism Awards. Most recently, they were both selected as finalists in the 2024 Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence, and Sharon was the winner in the photography category.