Chilkoot Trail

The Chilkoot Trail is a 53 km (33 mi) hike from the coast of Dyea, Alaska, to Lake Bennett in British Columbia. The Chilkoot Trail is unique in many ways and very challenging due to conditions and weather. Over the course of the hike, the hiker can go from the deep-water tidal ports of the Skagway area to the headwaters of navigation for the Yukon River, while gaining about 1000 m (3500 ft) in elevation. The trail crosses the border between the United States and Canada at Chilkoot Pass, roughly halfway along the route. The Chilkoot Trail is not only historical, but also full of great and diverse scenery. It is important to be fit and prepared for the challenge. Yukon Ho!

The Alaska portion is part of the National Park Service, while the Canadian section is managed by Parks Canada.

The hike starts in coastal temperate rainforest and ends in the interior sub-boreal forest. After crossing up and over the famed Chilkoot Pass, at the border between the United States and Canada, the hiker travels through subalpine and alpine zones. There are backcountry rangers and wardens patrolling the trail during the summer months, and trail crews help maintain the route. In spring, considerable portions of the trail may still be deep in snow, and avalanche conditions can exist.

The Chilkoot Trail is famous as one of the main routes for gold-hungry stampeders during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. People would travel up the Inside Passage to Skagway and Dyea and then carry a required year's supply of food and gear, or a "ton of goods", over Chilkoot Pass. At Lake Bennett, many built boats and floated down the Yukon River for more than 500 miles to the Klondike goldfields in Dawson City.

The trail's history goes back much further as a trading route for Tlingit First Nations people. Tlingit people still inhabit the southeastern Alaska area and have a rich and proud cultural heritage and history.

The Chilkoot is a demanding backcountry hike. Hikers should be physically fit and prepared for snow, rapidly changing weather, steep alpine terrain and remote conditions.

To manage demand, prevent overuse and maintain the remote character of the trail, the U.S. National Park Service and Parks Canada allow no more than 50 backpackers to begin the trail each day through a permit system.

A permit is required and can be reserved in advance, or may be available at the Trail Center in Skagway, Alaska, if the daily number of permitted hikers has not been reached. In Whitehorse, Yukon, there is also a Parks Canada office, about 110 miles north of Skagway along the Klondike Highway.

The Trail Center in Skagway has both Parks Canada and NPS staff to help hikers prepare for the challenge. They can assist with permits, border-crossing logistics, transportation, safety in bear country, minimum-impact practices and Leave No Trace principles. The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center is downtown at 2nd and Broadway, across from the Trail Center.

Both countries have full-time trail maintenance crews and ranger or warden stations, and interpretive signs have been placed next to notable historical sites and objects. Well-designed backcountry campsites are found along the trail.

The hiking season, when rangers are on duty and trail crews are on site, varies but usually begins in late May and ends in early September. Peak demand runs from June through August. Avalanche danger lingers into late May, as do large snowfields that can slow progress, while September is associated with rain and colder weather.

Off-season, there are no fees and no services. Off-season hikers must be self-sufficient and accept full responsibility for their own safety.

The Chilkoot is also a challenging ultra-run. The fastest known time belongs to ultramarathoner Geoff Roes, at 5 hours and 27 minutes.

The trail is accessible from Dyea, Alaska, or Bennett, British Columbia.

• 59.5119-135.346641 Dyea Trailhead. Is part of Skagway municipality. Dyea is 10 miles (16 km) from the center of Skagway along the Dyea Road.  (updated Apr 2023) Skagway is about 9–10 miles from the trailhead by road. There are shuttle vans to help hikers get there, and a long-term hiker parking lot is located in Dyea at a campground near the start of the trail. Skagway has small markets for food, while Dyea does not. The Mountain Shop on 4th Street rents and sells camping gear as well as hiker food.

The most common way to get to Skagway is by boat, either by cruise ship or Alaska Marine Highway ferry. It is also accessible by commuter flight from Juneau. There is daily jet service to Juneau from Anchorage and Seattle.

• 59.84502-134.995292 Bennett Trailhead. Is an abandoned town next to Bennett Lake. There are no roads into Bennett. Bennett is a stop on the White Pass and Yukon Route.  (updated Apr 2023)

• 59.625-135.1383333 White Pass and Yukon Route, ☏ +1-800-343-7373, info@wpyr.com. A train route that operates out of Skagway, Alaska, and stops in Northern British Columbia on its way to Carcross, Yukon. Service operates from May to early October.  (updated Aug 2022) The train is the means of reaching the Canadian trailhead of the Chilkoot Trail at Bennett City, British Columbia. There is a train/bus service for hikers five days a week from Whitehorse, Yukon, to Bennett for US$100 (2020). The bus and train journey takes 6½ hours.

Whitehorse has flights from Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Edmonton and Calgary, and seasonally from Yellowknife, Ottawa, Frankfurt and Juneau.

The Chilkoot Trail features a number of natural and historical sites, as shown on the map. By following the numbers on the map from south to north, the hiker travels along the same general route as the old prospectors. The trip normally takes three to five days, with overnight stays at designated campgrounds. The trail is roughly divided into three climatic zones: coastal rainforest, high alpine above the tree line and boreal forest. At the end, it connects with the historic White Pass railway leading back toward Skagway, the modern port of the trail.

Coastal rainforest zone

 18 km

The trail begins in Dyea, a ghost town and campground, about 15 minutes from 59.4578-135.31321 Skagway. From the trailhead, the route winds through coastal rainforest alongside the Taiya River. The first campsite is 59.5755-135.33481 Finnegan's Point. This stretch of the trail is on flat terrain with no substantial obstacles.

The trail becomes noticeably cooler after Finnegan's Point owing to cool air sinking down from snow and ice fields in the surrounding mountains. Numerous streams also cascade down the mountainsides. This stretch of the trail contains relatively few visible artifacts. The next camp is 59.61389-135.327542 Canyon City. Many hikers, especially those desiring a more modest pace or those who have had a late start, stop at Canyon City on the first night. The shelter at Canyon City houses many gold rush-era artifacts.

Close to the Canyon City campsite are the 59.61427-135.330971 Canyon City ruins. Canyon City was a tent city during the gold rush, and its ruins—building foundations, a large restaurant stove and a large boiler—are still visible. The ruins are accessible by crossing the Taiya River on a suspension footbridge.

After the Canyon City ruins, the trail diverges from the river for the first time as the river disappears into a small canyon, Canyon City's namesake, and the trail climbs the valley wall through subalpine forest. In many sections, old telegraph and tram wires are exposed beside the trail.

For the gold rush prospectors, this was one of the most difficult sections. In winter, when the Taiya River was frozen, stampeders could travel easily up the ice highway. In summer, however, this segment was described as "the worst piece of trail on the road, fairly muddy with many boulders and with some short, steep ascents and descents in and out of small gulches."

The next landmark is Pleasant Camp. There is an informational trail sign at the original site of Pleasant Camp, a quarter mile before the present 59.63807-135.294013 Pleasant Camp campground. Pleasant Camp marks the reunion of the trail with the Taiya River and serves as a lightly used, small campground. From Pleasant Camp, the trail is fairly flat and weaves through forest and over small creeks.

The trail next comes to 59.6591-135.267494 Sheep Camp, the last campground on the American side of the trail and the final resting stop before the trek up 59.69664-135.23822 Chilkoot Pass . It is the largest campsite on the American side of the trail.

After leaving Sheep Camp and before the U.S. ranger station, the trail passes through a large avalanche chute. The slide has wiped out the previous forest and left a young, brushy and alder-dominated landscape. A short distance after the ranger station is a small museum of gold rush-era artifacts in an old cabin.

Soon after leaving the cabin, the subalpine forest slowly gives way to a treeless alpine landscape with a grand view of the rapidly narrowing Taiya River valley. As the trail climbs in altitude, its path becomes more defined, often demarcated by yellow markers planted in snowfields.

High alpine zone

 9 km

Within sight of the pass, at the base of the "Golden Stairs"—the long, difficult incline leading to the pass—are The Scales. The Scales were a weigh station where freight would be reweighed before the final trek to the pass. Often, Native packers would demand higher packing rates.

The Scales also hosted a small tent city, including six restaurants, two hotels, a saloon and many freighting offices and warehouses. The imposing Golden Stairs prompted many would-be prospectors to turn around, often leaving behind their required ton of equipment. Because of this, and the snow's preserving properties, artifacts are prevalent at this altitude, including many remnants of wooden structures.

After The Scales comes the final push up to Chilkoot Pass: the fabled Golden Stairs. The Golden Stairs acquired their name from the steps that prospectors painstakingly carved into the snow and ice of the pass.

At the pass itself, on the Canada–U.S. border, is a warming cabin and part-time Parks Canada warden station. Occasionally, if a party is making poor time, the warden or U.S. ranger may offer the warming cabin as an overnight shelter to avoid the group being caught in the barren and exposed alpine landscape between the pass and Happy Camp.

There are also many artifacts scattered around the Golden Stairs and the ridgelines surrounding the pass, including a cache of intact prefabricated boats made of canvas, wood and other materials on the southeastern side of the pass.

Stone Crib is situated half a mile after the pass. Stone Crib served as the terminus of the Chilkoot Railroad and Transport Company's aerial tramway, with a huge rocky counterbalance for the tram. This function is still apparent today, with the wooden structure well preserved by the snow.

The trail winds past a series of alpine lakes: first 59.7138-135.21773 Crater Lake, then 59.7291-135.19734 Morrow Lake, and finally 59.73756-135.177545 Happy Camp.

Boreal forest zone

 26 km

The trail continues past another couple of lakes—59.758-135.15525 Long Lake and 59.7646-135.13066 Deep Lake—before crossing the tree line. Adjacent to Deep Lake, among the trees, is 59.76496-135.139846 Deep Lake campground.

The Canadian half of the Chilkoot Trail, in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains, is much drier. Pine forest, first appearing around Deep Lake, contrasts strongly with the lush temperate rainforest on the U.S. side before Chilkoot Pass.

After the trail passes Deep Lake, the outlet river runs parallel to the trail for a short distance before entering a small canyon. Many boat and boat-related artifacts are visible in this area. The trail continues on a gentle descent until the turquoise-coloured lake comes into view and reaches 59.78557-135.080297 Lake Lindeman campground, the headquarters of Canadian trail operations.

The trail climbs a steep bluff after 59.7947-135.06987 Lake Lindeman and offers an expansive view of the lake and surrounding forest. After Lake Lindeman, the trail passes 59.7944-135.02948 Bare Loon Lake and the 59.79619-135.036398 Bare Loon Lake campground.

The trail diverges after Bare Loon Lake. One branch continues to Lake Bennett and the tracks of the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad. The other branch, the Log Cabin cut-off, connects with the Klondike Highway, but was closed by Parks Canada in 2010.

Bennett consists of 59.84614-134.999559 Bennett campground, a White Pass and Yukon Route depot, several houses, all private property, belonging to White Pass employees or First Nations citizens, and the only gold rush-era building still standing along the trail today, the renovated St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Pilings from bygone piers dot the lakeshore, and an assortment of cans and other metal artifacts are scattered throughout the woods.

Bears are the primary safety concern in the park, and it is very common for hikers to encounter them. Firearms are not permitted on the Canadian side of Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park. Almost all parties take bear spray and/or bear bangers as repellents, but most importantly both sides of the park mandate smart bear practices. Food must be stored in bear-safe locations.

Weather and terrain also pose a challenge to hikers. There are relatively few risks in the forested sections of the trail, but once the trail climbs into the alpine, weather and exposure become greater concerns. Vertigo can also be an issue.

• Skagway — historic port and southern trailhead.
• Whitehorse — Yukon capital and transportation hub.
• Dawson City — famous Klondike Gold Rush town.