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travel / great places / explorer / jf06
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Visiting Dawson is a musical adventure
Overland Trail
Before 1902, Dawson City was almost completely isolated
from the rest of the world for eight months of the year. Travel
in the Yukon was ruled by the weather and the viability of
the route between Dawson and Whitehorse was governed by whether
the river was frozen or not. In the fall and early winter
the only forms of transportation were snowshoes, horses and
dog sleds. Once the river froze only the most experienced
dog teams and mushers would brave the journey.
In 1902, a road was built to offer winter transportation
between the two communities ― it was 112 kilometres
shorter than the river route. The route eventually came to
be known as the Overland Trail.
Building the road was no easy task as it is not a single,
uninterrupted route. The road is in five sections and crosses
four rivers. The builders followed traditional First Nations
trails where possible, built culverts where necessary and
reinforced embankments. As mining camps popped up over the
years the road twisted, turned and diverted to offer the new
communities access to the route.
Today, the Overland Trail is a deteriorated, overgrown and
difficult route, offering travellers challenging hiking. The
complete journey is now impossible without water transport,
but the trails are used by snowmobiles, mushers and skiers
in the winter and hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders
in the summer.
Learn more about the Overland Trail
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