Whitehorse to Dawson, YT

Thursday, July 12th

Whitehorse to Moose Creek Campground


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We departed Whitehorse at 8:15am and arrived at Moose Creek Campground (about 15 miles north of Stewart Crossing) about 2 pm. We traveled 239 miles with several stops for pictures and lunch. When we woke up this morning the temperature was in the low to mid 40s. By afternoon at Moose Creek it was in the upper 60s. We are about 90 miles from Dawson and will arrive there tomorrow.

The Klondike Highway was a pretty smooth ride with very few frost heaves or potholes until we passed Pelly Crossing (a small community where a bridge crosses the Pelly River). From that point on there were several dips but only one that gave us a real bounce. The rest were only slight and by slowing down they didn’t affect us much. For some we merely moved into the oncoming lane (providing no one was coming!) and went around them. Nothing in the truck or trailer seemed the worse for wear, including ourselves, when we arrived at Moose Creek.

The only animal we saw along the road today was a coyote. I will call it an Arctic Coyote just to differentiate from the coyotes at home. This one was a lot heftier than those we see at home.

There were many lakes and rivers of considerable size to view along the way. What is known as a creek here would be classified as a river at home.

Fox Lake

One of the lakes we passed.

Bicyclist on road

Carmacks Welcome Sign

Although there was not much to see at Carmacks, I found this sign intriguing. It was designed by three local artists and is a mosaic with a loon at the center.

Five Finger Rapids

Pelly Crossing

View North of Pelly Crossing

Our Moose Creek Campsite

Ptarmigan calling her chick

On our evening hike to Moose Creek Glen spotted this adult ptarmigan. She was making low clucking sound. Then next picture shows she was concerned for the safety of her chick.

Ptarmigan with her chick

Safe at last.

Trail along Moose Creek

This was a very pleasant walk along the creek. Lots of mosses, willows, spruce and those pesky insects that just won’t leave you alone. So far they are the one thing you can count on.

Friday, July 13th

Moose Creek Campground to Dawson


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We departed Moose Creek at 8:10am and arrived at Dawson at 11am. The temperature was in the low 50s when we woke up and high 50s to about 60⁰ when we arrived at Dawson. We stopped a few times and were delayed at a bridge crossing for one way traffic control as the bridge was being refurbished. The pilot car would inch forward at the slowest pace possible and then stop for a few seconds (seemed like minutes) and then inch forward again. It was only a short stretch but took a while.
The road was similar to what we experienced yesterday with many frost heaves and pot holes, none too bad, along with some sections of gravel road. All in all it was better than we expected from having read the Yukon Highway Condition report published by the Transportation Dept.

Gravel Lake

An important wetland for migratory birds in spring and fall.

Tintina Trench

This trench extends hundreds of miles across Yukon and Alaska. It is the largest fault in North America and one of two major bird migration corridors in the Yukon.
We are located at the Bonanza Gold RV Park just before you enter Dawson. It is only slightly better than a gravel parking lot and spaces are fairly close together. There are a few trees scattered around and an attempt to spruce up the area with barrels of flowers. Our “neighbor” here at the RV park told us they checked all three RV parks in Dawson and they are all pretty much the same.

There are nice Yukon Government campgrounds on each side of Dawson. The Klondike River YG Campground is a few miles before Dawson and the Yukon River YG Campground is across the river after Dawson. It is necessary to access the Yukon River Campground via the George Black Ferry (free). Nice sites are provided with table, fire ring, free firewood, vault toilets, but no hookups.

Bonanza Gold RV Park

Our Site

We will go into Dawson this afternoon and check out things and decide what we want to do.