Whitehorse

A sternwheeler, Miles Canyon and a hot-spring soak in two days

The gold-rush story and the Yukon River fill two days in Whitehorse. Start at the MacBride Museum on Front Street, walk the riverside path to the 1930s sternwheeler SS Klondike, then see Miles Canyon. Finish with a soak at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs, formerly Takhini Hot Springs, outside town.

Day one, morning. Start at the MacBride Museum on Front Street, housed partly in the old telegraph office, for the gold rush, the paddlewheelers and the building of the Alaska Highway. Pan for gold in its yard if you are visiting in summer. Then follow the riverside path south to the SS Klondike, a 1930s sternwheeler that hauled ore and freight to Dawson, and walk its decks, galley and wheelhouse.

Day one, afternoon. After lunch at Alpine Bakery, drive the few minutes south to Miles Canyon. Cross the suspension footbridge over the green river, walk along the basalt rim towards Canyon City, the gold-rush tent town site, and picture the stampeders running these rapids in homemade boats. Return for an evening pint at Woodcutter's Blanket; in June it will still be light at midnight.

Day two, morning. Head up to the Beringia Interpretive Centre beside the airport, where woolly mammoth and giant beaver skeletons explain the Ice Age land bridge to Siberia. Next door, the Yukon Transportation Museum covers bush planes and the highway.

Day two, afternoon and evening. Continue northwest about 30 minutes to Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs (the former Takhini Hot Springs) for a long soak. In winter, swap the afternoon for a dog-sled ride and book a night tour to a lodge outside town to watch for aurora.

Sourdough, Arctic char and Yukon Brewing beer in Whitehorse

Whitehorse has frontier staples and a good café scene for a town of 30,000. Order sourdough bread or pancakes, named for the gold-rush prospectors who carried their starter, Arctic char, a milder northern fish than salmon, and bison burgers, and drink beers from Yukon Brewing, the local brewery.

Eating here mixes frontier staples with a surprisingly good café scene for a town of 30,000. Gold-rush prospectors were nicknamed sourdoughs for the starter they carried, and sourdough bread and pancakes are still a local point of pride. On menus, look for arctic char, a pink-fleshed northern fish milder than salmon, and bison burgers, leaner and richer than beef.

Alpine Bakery on Alexander Street is the anchor, with organic bread, hand-made chocolates and a hearty hot lunch. Burnt Toast on Second Avenue does the town's best-known breakfast. Big Bear Eatery and Taphouse on Fourth Avenue pairs comfort food with Yukon beers, Giorgio's on Jarvis Street covers Italian, and Tokyo Sushi on Main Street is the dependable Japanese option.

Beer punches above its weight. Yukon Brewing on Copper Road, whose bottles you see across the North, has a tasting room and a large shop; Winterlong Brewing out on Mount Sima Road is smaller and loved by locals; and Woodcutter's Blanket downtown brews its own and serves tacos on Wednesdays. On Thursdays from 3pm to 7pm, roughly late May to September, the Fireweed Community Market sets up at Shipyards Park by the river, with local vegetables, baking and crafts, a good place to graze an early dinner.

Road trips from Whitehorse over the White Pass and north to Dawson City

Almost every Yukon road trip starts in Whitehorse. Drive south on the Klondike Highway to Carcross, about an hour away, then over the White Pass into Alaska to Skagway, or head north to the gold-rush town of Dawson City. Carry a passport for the US border and plan fuel stops, because distances are long.

The classic loop runs south on the Klondike Highway. Carcross, about an hour away, has the tiny Carcross Desert dunes and a gold-rush railway station; beyond it the road climbs over the White Pass into Alaska and drops to Skagway, about 175 km and two and a half hours from town. Carry a passport and allow for the US border post.

West on the Alaska Highway, Haines Junction and Kluane National Park lie about 160 km away, with the St. Elias Mountains rising straight off the valley floor. Kathleen Lake makes a good picnic and short-hike stop. North, the Klondike Highway runs through Carmacks to Dawson City, about 530 km and six hours, where the gold rush boardwalks and saloons still stand; Husky Bus covers the route in summer, and Air North flies there year round.

Season decides everything. June to August brings highs of about 19C to 21C and light until near midnight, so long drives feel easy. From October to April, with January averaging -11C by day and -19C at night, carry a winter kit, check road reports before setting out and expect long gaps with no phone signal. Top up the fuel tank in every community you pass, whatever the season.