Tombstone Territorial Park – Sometimes you have to work with the what Mother Nature gives you!
There were a few places in the Yukon that had been near the top of our wish list: Dawson City, Top of the World and Tombstone Territorial Park.
After spending a few days exploring Dawson City and taking a side trip over the Top of the World Highway to Chicken, Alaska, we packed up our truck camper and headed north on the legendary Dempster Highway, wondering if the stories we'd heard about the road were true. We would not have taken the big RV there but our truck was ready to be challenged.
The Dempster Highway Was Better Than We Expected
If you spend much time reading travel forums, it's easy to convince yourself that driving the Dempster Highway is going to be one of the roughest road experiences of your life.
Flat tires.
Deep mud.
Endless washboard.
People love to tell Dempster stories.
Mother Nature certainly gave us an authentic welcome.
The drive north began in pouring rain with visibility dropping lower and lower as we climbed into Tombstone Territorial Park. The gravel highway quickly turned our Raptor into something that looked as though it had just completed an off-road race.
By the time we reached the campground, the truck was absolutely plastered with mud.
We actually stood there laughing because there wasn't a clean place left to grab the door handle without getting filthy.
Despite the weather, the road itself surprised us.
The road was muddy, rain obscured visibility and there were many sections that have , rough spots, ruts, bumps and rolls all which required slowing down, but overall the drive was far better than we had anticipated. Granted we had only gone about 65 miles and we knew from talking to people at Tombstone Campground who had just returned, that the road does get worse and for many miles.
However, Manny and I both agreed that the drive to Tombstone was actually in better condition than several stretches of the Klondike Highway between Whitehorse and Dawson City, where we encountered more potholes, frost heaves, construction, and rough pavement than we did on the Dempster.
Of course, road conditions can change dramatically depending on recent weather and maintenance, so our experience won't necessarily be everyone's.
Finding a Campsite
One thing that did surprise us was just how busy Tombstone was.
Most of the campground operates on a first-come, first-served basis, and by the time we arrived there were vehicles slowly circling through the campground hoping someone was about to leave.
It became obvious that timing matters.
Fortunately, we had arrived early enough to secure a campsite before the afternoon rush. If you're planning a summer visit, arriving earlier in the day will greatly improve your chances of finding a spot.
After settling into camp and enjoying lunch, something unexpected happened.
The rain stopped.
The clouds began to lift.
It was time to explore.
Klondike North River Trail
An Easy Hike That Turned Into One of Our Favorite Discoveries
With the weather finally cooperating, we headed out on the North Klondike River Trail.
After the challenging drive, it was exactly what we needed.
The trail gently wanders in and out of the trees while following the North Klondike River. We spent nearly three miles simply enjoying the peaceful surroundings.
The recent rains had transformed the river into a powerful torrent. Water rushed downstream with an energy that made it impossible not to stop and watch.
Then came one of the biggest surprises of our Yukon adventure.
Along the riverbanks we began noticing enormous shelves of snow stretching over portions of the rocky shoreline.
But these weren't ordinary snowbanks.
Beneath the white surface were brilliant bands of deep glacier blue—the same incredible color we've admired inside glaciers and floating icebergs throughout our travels.
Naturally, we had to investigate.
We climbed down into the riverbed and carefully explored around the frozen shelves, amazed that they had survived well into July.
At first we assumed we had somehow stumbled across glacier ice.
Later we learned these were actually remnants of the previous winter's snowpack. Months of melting, refreezing, and compression had transformed ordinary snow into dense ice, producing the same brilliant blue color seen in glaciers.
Neither Manny nor I had ever seen anything quite like it.
Sometimes the best travel memories are the ones you never knew existed until you stumble upon them.
Nature wasn't finished surprising us.
During the hike we spotted a beautiful Trumpeter Swan swimming with her cygnet, watched a Bald Eagle perched high in a tree overlooking the river, and later encountered a Willow Ptarmigan carefully protecting her chicks along the trail.
Considering we had commented only days earlier about how little wildlife we'd seen between Whitehorse and Dawson, Tombstone more than made up for it.
Goldensides Mountain – A View Hidden by Smoke
The following day brought the hike we had been most looking forward to.
Goldensides Mountain.
It turned out to be exactly the kind of hike we enjoy—challenging enough to feel rewarding without ever becoming overwhelming.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature had one more surprise waiting.
Wildfire smoke had settled over Tombstone.
The frustrating part wasn't that we couldn't see anything.
It was that we could see just enough.
Every so often another mountain ridge would emerge through the haze before disappearing again. We caught glimpses of sweeping valleys and rugged peaks, making it obvious that on a clear day this trail must offer absolutely spectacular views.
In some ways, that made it even harder.
We knew exactly what we were missing.
Even so, we never regretted making the hike. The alpine landscape, wildflowers, rugged terrain, and the simple joy of being out on the trail made it well worth the effort.
Travel doesn't always hand you postcard conditions.
Sometimes you simply experience a place exactly as nature chooses to present it.
Knowing When to Turn Around
Like many travelers, we briefly considered continuing farther north on the Dempster Highway.
As we visited the campground, scenic pullouts, and the Tombstone Interpretive Centre, we spent time talking with people who had driven all the way to the Arctic Ocean.
They had some incredible stories.
Flat tires.
Deep mud.
Long stretches of rough road.
Construction delays.
Road conditions that changed dramatically from one day to the next.
More than one traveler smiled and said something like,
"It gets a whole lot more interesting after Tombstone."
Those conversations reinforced what we had already been thinking.
Our goal for this trip wasn't simply to drive as many miles as possible.
It was to experience Tombstone Territorial Park.
We had done exactly that.
Rather than pushing our luck, we turned around at the northern boundary of the park and headed back toward Dawson City feeling satisfied with our decision - our cats were back in the "mother ship" in Dawson City so we couldn't go any further but we are keeping the Dempster Highway to the Artic Ocean - in the back of our mind for future trips!
Comments