The Chilkoot Trail

The Chilkoot Trail, known also as the Klondike Gold Rush Trail, was opened in 1960s as a summer trail. It runs for 53 km in the Coast Mountains between the ghost town of Dyea in Alaska and Bennett in British Columbia, and it crosses the border between Canada and the United States at the summit of the trail.

Originally Chilkoot Pass was used by the Tlingit people, who traded with Nahani tribes along the Yukon River and later with Hudson Bay Company employees.

The pass has 1,067 meters of elevation and is situated on British Columbia – Alaska border. The Chilkoot trail is one of the most legendary trails in the Americas. It crosses gorgeous Coast Range with lush forests, expansive valleys, crystal-clear lakes, and barren tundra that stretches up to a famous snow-covered mountain pass. It is also considered the biggest open-air museum in the world. As one of the main routes for miners during the gold rush, it passes a series of places of great historic importance.

The discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1896 led many gold seekers to the Klondike region.

This stampede resulted in the creation of Dawson City in 1896 and Yukon Territory in 1898. During the Klondike Gold Rush approximately 25,000 people crossed the Chilkoot trail. Canadian authorities quickly realized that they would have a huge problem if tens of thousands of people turned up in the wilderness with no supplies. The Canadian police established a post on top of the pass to weight everyone’s belongings and ensure that each person had enough food for one year in the Klondike region. Every gold seeker was required to carry approximately one ton of goods.

During the peak of the gold rush several tramways were built to pull heavy bags over the pass for a hefty fee.

One of the tramways had been built in Canyon City and ran to the foot of the rapids across from the preset site of Whitehorse downtown. The tram was 8-kilometer long and was hauling goods on horse-drawn cars for 3 cents per pound. Canyon City thrived for a short period of time and lost its reason for existence in 1900, when the White Pass railway to Whitehorse was completed. Today it is a ghost town and a Yukon Government Heritage Site.

It takes 3 to 6 days to hike the Chilkoot Trail, although daily distances between the camps are short the trail itself is challenging with sections of mud, rock and ice and snow even in the summer months. The trail provides hikers with breathtaking views and an amazing sense of accomplishment at the end.