YUKON, CANADA

The Yukon is one of North America 's major wilderness attractions: close to 80 per cent remains pristine wilderness. About 10.3 per cent of the territory is fully protected areas. The Yukon has three national parks, six territorial parks and four Canadian Heritage Rivers.

White Pass and Yukon Railway

White Pass & Yukon Route Railway Depot, Lake Bennett
Photo Courtesy of Yukon Government / D Crowe

Yukon Attractions
Whitehorse | Dawson | Communities

Yukon Activities
Adventure | Fishing & Hunting | Golf | Hiking & Cycling | Nature
Parks | Water Sports & Activities | Winter Sports & Activities

Yukon Accommodation
Bed & Breakfast | Cabins, Cottages & Vacation Homes | Campgrounds & RV Parks | Hostels | Hotels & Motels | Resorts

"Spell of the Yukon" by Robert Service
There's a land where the mountains are nameless,
And rivers all run God knows where;
There are lives that are erring and aimless,
And deaths that just hang by a hair.
There are hardships that nobody reckons;
There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There's a land-oh, it beckons and beckons,
And I want to go back-and I will.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
For more Yukon Events
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JANUARY:
Fulda Challenge
FEBRUARY:
Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Festival
Frostbite Music Festival
Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race
The Yukon Arctic Ultra/Whitehorse and Yukon Quest Trail
MARCH:
Trek Over the Top III, Destination Dawson City
Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Race
Thaw-Di-Gras Spring Carnival
MAY:
Yukon International Storytelling Festival

JUNE:
Yukon River Quest Canoe Race
Commissioner's Ball - Dawson
24 Hours of Light Mountain Bike Event
Weekend on the Wing, Birding Festival
Alsek Music Festival and Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival
Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay
The Yukon River Quest Canoe and Kayak Race
JULY:
Dawson City Music Festival
AUGUST:
Annual Yukon Riverside Arts Festival
Annual Yukon International Storytelling Festival
Annual Yukon River Bathtub Race

January Events	February Events	March Events	April Events
May	June Events	July Events	August Events
September	October Events	November Events	December Events
Dawson City Information 1-867-993-1996

For travel information including road reports, car rentals, airlines, trains, ferries, and weather, visit our Yukon Travel Information section.

Carcross - Caribou Hotel, Mattew Watson General Store
Photo by M Berkman
Yukon Government Photo

WHAT'S A "YUKON"?

In the Athapaskan language, the word "Yukon" means "the great river" or "big river." At 3,600 kilometres (2,300 mi.), the Yukon River is the fourth longest river in North America; the fifth largest in water flow and the last major river on the continent to be explored in the 1800s.

THE SOUND OF LIGHT

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are caused by huge explosions on the surface of the sun that send out streams of charged particles that interact with the Earth's upper atmosphere. These reactions occur 96 to 128 kilometres (60 to 80 mi.) above the Earth's surface, so it doesn't make any sense that they can be heard. Still, many people report hearing a crackling or rustling noise when they see the lights. It could be that the sound is created near the ground by electrical phenomena associated with the aurora. It could also be that watchers are being affected by psychological or physical processes that we don't yet understand. Of course, seeing the aurora on a dark, silent night is so exciting it might just be the sound of blood rushing through veins that's being mistaken for the sound of light.