2013 VACATION PLANNER - Travel Yukon

Top: Ride the rail at Whitehorse’s downhill ski and snowboard facility – YG, D. Crowe
Above: In the Yukon, you can walk on water, and wearing snowshoes makes it easy – YG, F. Mueller
Winter Escape
Yukon’s exhilarating wintertime
adventures are just a few hours’ flight
from Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton.
Flight schedules and business hours vary
in winter; please check schedules with
Air North—Yukon’s Airline, Air Canada,
and Yukon tour operators.
Winter temperatures can range from above
freezing to -40°C. If you choose a guided
adventure, your hosts will provide you
with a detailed list of clothing and outer
gear to bring or rent. Refer to the chart
on page 113 to guide your packing, or you
can always call a Tourism Yukon travel
counsellor at 1-800-661-0494 or visit
travelyukon.com for planning assistance.
Dog Mushing
The Yukon has a strong dog mushing
heritage and an endless wilderness
awaiting exploration. Dogsledding is
the purest form of winter travel—there’s
you, your dogs and the jingle of their
harnesses against the profoundly
peaceful silence of the trail. Yukon tour
operators offer a range of experiences
from day-long, overnight and weeklong
packages to longer, more
challenging excursions. Join us in
downtown Whitehorse in February to
cheer the competitors as they begin
the 30 th running of the Yukon Quest
1,000-mile (1,600-km) International
Sled Dog Race.
Fall in Love with Winter
Yukoners embrace the snowy season with
all sorts of festivals and outdoor activities,
including many world-class winter events.
Join us for dogsled races, snowmobile
rallies and human-powered extreme
competitions. Enjoy local and national
talent at the Frostbite Music Festival,
and delight in the antics of the Yukon
Sourdough Rendezvous. Attend one of
many theatrical or musical productions.
Participate in a cross-country ski loppet,
or try your hand at ice fishing. Be sure
to check the Calendar of Events on
pages 16–17.
Aurora Borealis
From September to April, the aurora
borealis are visible in our northern skies.
Depending on weather conditions, you
can spend hours transfixed by a heavenly
display of shimmering and dancing colours
shifting overhead. Yukon operators offer
a wide variety of northern lights tour
packages.
Snowmobiling
Have a need for speed? Superb trails,
unbeatable alpine terrain and an endless
supply of powder lure the adventurous
rider. Bring your own sled if you want,
but everything you need is right here,
including experienced guides who can
organize every aspect of your Yukon
snowmobile vacation.
Snowmobiling adventure – YG, C. Archbould
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