Welcome to Whitehorse!
It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace.
— Robert W. Service, The Spell of the Yukon
Nov. 17, 2014. Whitehorse is actually a pretty good place for a walking visit. We are surrounded by trails. You can find a wide variety of hikes, many not even needing a car. My Places to walk, guides, maps page has ideas. If you're moving here and like to get out and be healthy, you're in luck!
We're very much a word of mouth community so getting connected with others is important. My Walks with others page should give some ideas. It's only a starting point as things change frequently.
If you're not well versed in the outdoors, my Nature, geology, geography page will point you to some helpful resources.
My community walking page is a start at listing Yukon walking opportunities outside of Whitehorse. One guide to get is the Yukon's free Vacation Planner.
Safety
Whitehorse calls itself the wilderness city and for a good reason. You can easily find yourself well away from people in pretty unsafe conditions. Common sense and learning can make your time out hiking safer. Go with others, let people know where you'll be, look for interpreted outings, are just a few things to do.
- My Safety, help, trail ethics page
- Be bear aware; Conservation Officer twitter
- How you can stay safe in bear country
- Into the Yukon wilderness Traveling safely and gently through the Yukon Wilderness.
- The risk of the lonely distance runner
- getting Lost
- Yukon Government's Travel Smart page has Smart Travel Plan Print out a Yukon Smart Travel Plan, and leave it with a friend, family member, co-worker or other responsible person who will notice if you don't return back on time. It will capture the most pertinent information on your trip, such as where you went, who you went with, what equipment you took with you, and your expected return time.
How can you support sustainable tourism in Yukon?
- Whenever you're talking to locals — at your B&B, the grocery store, at a concert at the Old Fire Hall, buying a piece of art — let them know that you're here to walk our city, or especially, that you moved here because you like to walk!
- Make an effort to reduce your waste
- Use recycling facilities in Whitehorse and other Yukon communities
- Practice Leave No Trace wilderness travel
- Leave historic objects and remains in place for others to enjoy
- Stay on trails to protect fragile environment
- Where available, take cultural and historic tours to find out more about the places you visit
- Be familiar with current fishing regulations
Some Background
Canada has a different situation than places such as Europe in that we have so much free land to use and vast spaces. That said, walking in places like Britain is great in that there are so many well-marked trails and such a large organized walking community. For instance, search 'walking festival.' The responses will generally be European. One of my long-term goals is to have a walking festival here.
With that in mind, whitehorsewalks.com is built with locals in mind, to try to make Whitehorse more of a walkable city. Walking is a very popular thing to do. Walking improvements, trying to build a walking culture here just makes sense. This is the focus of the Building a walking culture section of the site.
My website is also for tourists. I realize the incredible treat in store for a walking visitor to Whitehorse. As a person who likes to walk when travelling, I'm aware of how grateful I am when I stumble upon a walking website that helps mould our trip.
I hope that new residents find a lot of value on this site as well.
Please send feedback to me on ideas that you as a tourist would like to see, Peter.
