Location: Northwest Canada
Borders: British Columbia, Alaska (U.S.A.)
Rating:
- Outdoors: ***** (Highly Recommended)
- Adventure: ***** (Highly Recommended)
- Families: * (Not Recommended)
- Shopping: * (Not Recommended)
Important Places: Main city is Whitehorse, with the only other notable settlements being Dawson City, Ross River and Watson Lake. There is the infamous Dempster Highway (bring a spare tire) which can take one to the northern-most edges of mainland Canada (Inuvik), and the Silver Trail to Keno (which nearly claimed my life – do not attempt to pass it after a snow storm).
Notable Qualities
Positive
- Friendly and approachable population. It is possible to get into a spontaneous conversation with a stranger and meet them over coffee. The small size of the population makes it so that it is relatively easy to know most of the notable people in the territory. Apparently, it is relatively simple to meet the territorial leaders to discuss matters of importance. Once again, the friendliness of the people can’t be overstated – they don’t have the fake attitude one gets from the denizens of Banff.
- Promising future. The Yukon is rich in natural resources, and with the advent of high speed internet, it is easier than ever to escape the geographic isolation. If you were too late for Calgary’s boom, it still isn’t too late to get into Whitehorse’s inevitable boom. (Yes – it is inevitable)
- Multilingual and multicultural. The Yukon has a lot of francophones, and a lot of people from different places. Most of them are basically adventurers and outdoorsmen, and they tend to relate to each other pretty well. The culture of the Yukon is well preserved as well; Yukon radio plays a lot of local music (and a lot of it is pretty good too, mind you).
Negatives
- Geographic Isolation. It is possible to drive for 5 hours and not see anything except a hamlet of 100 people. The lack of population coupled with large distances between communities means that highway conditions are deplorable – shattered windows are a part of life in the Yukon. Total population is less than 40 thousand souls.
- Native Resentment. I met a young geologist in Mayo who told me she had the feeling that there was some resentment among the natives towards the foreigners who were entering their land. This is the only factor which could prevent the Yukon from gaining incredible wealth in the future.
- Wildlife is everywhere. Insects, especially, are omnipresent. Although I didn’t encounter any during the early spring thaw, they become nearly omnipresent later on. Each community has its own way of dealing with them, but if you are out staking a claim, you are on your own. Recently, a grizzly bear killed an unfortunate naturalist emigrant from Quebec.
Others
- Reqires Pragmatism. Soccer moms who take young Sheraton and Paris to play with their upscale friends will quickly realize that their parasitic kind can’t survive in the Yukon. If you are the kind that can’t tolerate making sacrifices, the Yukon is not a place where you can live.
Where I stayed:
- Whitehorse: The Hyde on Jeckyl Hostel. If you can tolerate being in a hostel, it is good. There is no curfew (not that there is anything to do at night in Whitehorse) and the owners are nice people and the place itself is mostly neat and clean. You would have to deal with weirdos and possible thiefs – don’t ever let your guard down, regardless of a hostel’s environment (no pun intended). It costs 25$ CAD / day to stay.
- Dawson City: The Dawson City B&B. I highly recommend it, as the owners are extremely well-informed and are well-known in town. The food is great (I couldn’t get a meal like that anywhere, and even if I could it would cost more than 30 or 40 dollars on its own), and it is great to be able to talk to people with such a deep understanding of the surrounding area. It costs about 80-100$ to stay in a B&B in the off season, 100-140$ in the peak visitor’s season.
Other Places to stay:
- Whitehorse: There are hotels, but three Americans I met were very put-off by the reception they had. Apparently the hotels in Whitehorse can be dirty and they complained specifically about brown water (!!!) and being charged for clean water.
- Dawson City: There are many other hotels and B&Bs – and they are all expensive. Be careful when looking around, as some of the motels in town look very shady. I’d rather stay at one of the B&Bs than the motels. Some of the campgrounds are very well equipped, even including wireless Internet – I nearly slept in my SUV until I found out it was -10 the night I was there. As an aside, booking in advance is a good idea in Dawson – it gets packed in the summer. I was lucky to be there during a quiet season.
Car Rental: I rented an SUV from the people at National. It isn’t worth renting a car if you just want to go to major cities (Whitehorse -> Dawson, Whitehorse -> Atlin, etc..) as you can find some pretty cheap ways to get around. However, if you want to snoop around, it is an unavoidable problem. It cost me about 480$ to rent an SUV, and about 240$ to keep it topped up with gas. I loathe SUVs, but I don’t think it is safe in some parts of the territory without a 4WD vehicle. All cars have a limit of 1400 kilometers, with 20 cents per additional kilometer.
In Short:
The Yukon is a rugged individualist’s dream. It is entirely possible for someone to build a prosperous future for themselves in Whitehorse and the communities if they spend time looking for work. It is highly recommended to those who get sick of the strictly regimented life in Quebec and Ontario (No cigarettes, no u-turns, no this, no that). I can’t, in conscience, recommend it to anyone with a family. It is a beautiful place, but I would have lost my mind there as a kid.
In Detail:
I’ll write that when I get back to Montreal and have time to think about it 
you would have lost your mind if you lived there as a kid?? arent you already crazy for going to visit the yukon?
hahaha
Comment by Nader — May 9, 2006 @ 4:02 am
Well Drifter, a long cup of coffee in Whitehorse, was it not, and would you believe at Tim Hortons! There are a lot of other great eateries and coffee corners for the coffee crowds..Horton was the closest to quickly get out of the bitting cold for that time of year. Writing a comment is worth the time to all of you that might read this.
Yukon is a family place, having raised three sons here in the Yukon. Where else but in the Yukon with its low population base would youth have the opportunities to travel on exchange programs, be involved in all the arts programs, sport programs, adventure trips, go on trips to different parts of Canada as an exchange student, have access to exchange programs overseas, have your post secondary education paid for by the territory, breath clean air. Growing up in the Yukon might have its limitations but only as a relative perspective of one coming from a large city. One needs to be present here for awhile to scratch beneath the surface of first impressions.
Carcross school in a small community, twenty minutes from Whitehorse, earned national recognition and awards in its innovative approach to media arts within the school system. They host their own radio/TV station and media arts. We have a first nations fellow winning a Juneau award; born and raised in the Yukon. A few years back, the local school band earned awards in national competitions. School programs address the rising importance of the Film Industry, the college system as well. Dawson City opens its doors this fall to the first Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program in the Yukon.
Students in various parts of the Yukon have aspired to Olympic status in cross country skiing, wrestling, to name a few. An Olympic size pool and Canada Games Complex is jammed packed with student programs 5 days a week. Outdoor school recreational programs guide students through survival skills in an outdoor adventure whether it be camping, canoeing, outdoor cooking etc. Where else do you have quick access to outdoor adventures, mountain biking, snowboarding in the mountains, skate board at its own park.
We have First Nation programs through the schools with elders teaching traditional skills and language to the youth. There are a number of youth centers run by youth to provide resources, recreation and awareness programs.
Involvement with a local Just Kidding TV program years ago gave a kick start to one of my sons to aspire and was approved to having his own local radio show at the age of fifteen, go to Ryerson after graduation, win international awards for Broadcast Design, awarded contracts by the major television stations, fly to Italy, Los Angeles, New York to work on contracts. He does music videos for the likes of Rheostats, Rod Sexsmith etc. Ask yourself, would he have had the opportunity to get the kick start in centres with high population base?
The school band programs here in Whitehorse gave a kick start to another son into composing his own music, having two CDs produced and having pieces used in major television program in the States, BC tourism etc. He, along with his wife, are pillars of a small community in setting the stage in providing opportunities for other musicians, writers and children programs. With a touch of reality, we almost lost him to the deep dark side during his youth. In a larger population, I believe we would have.
My youngest son, now 31, got his kick start here as well. Writing programs in the school encouraged his passion along with all the support systems that the schools provided in this and all other disciplines. He became a world traveller, located himself in Asia for a number of years and now finished Journalism in Canada to support his passion of writing and extreme sports.
There is much much more…obviously I am an advocate to the fact that youth are not disadvantages by growing up in the Yukon. It has been a life choice for their father and myself to raise my boys here. I am proud of it and proud of my sons for their own forward movement. Yukon supports young families and we all benefit. There has been a lot of great energetic caring organizations, coaches, mentors, instructors, teachers that have helped carry the dreams of the young into where they are now. It is a matter of going for it whatever it is.
Yukon is truly Larger than Life attracting the adventurers, world class mountain climbers, white water people, outdoor adventurers of all sorts, artists, film industry, all the various types of adventure tourism etc. Yukon has gained international recognition with its 1000 mile Yukon Quest dog mushing race. Economic wise, it is a boom time for construction workers, mining, drillers etc. The energy and progressive movement has been high, noticeably so in the past ten years. Most want to keep the Yukon as a well kept secret because we like it that way…….hold onto our treasure.
I acknowlege and am aware of the negative side to any location but my cup is half full and not half empty.
Comment by Lillian — May 11, 2006 @ 10:55 am
I didn’t want to come off sounding negative – my experiences in the Yukon were profoundly positive.
However, at the same time,l I feel that one needs to be in a particular mental state to enjoy the Yukon – and I don’t feel that most young children that I have met are really at that point in their development. Someone born and raised in the Yukon might be different.
If I could, I’d live in the Yukon. Other than the bugs, it would be a great place to be.
Comment by The Drifter — May 12, 2006 @ 3:05 pm