Yukon River
Yukon River
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
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4.5
19 reviews
Excellent
14
Very good
5
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Andreadeg1955
Montreal, Canada20 contributions
Aug 2014 • Solo
Amazing canoe trip along the Yukon River from Minto to Dawson City. We had our first meeting in Whitehorse and then the next day we left in a van to Minto where we loaded up and launched our canoes to set off on a 10 day trip following in the steps of the Klondike Gold rush. Our guides were Mark Waldbillig, the owner of Sea to Sky Expeditions (who is also a guide) and Tom (the same guide I had on the Chilkoot Pass the previous week). I am not a seasoned canoer, in fact I have canoed only briefly in my distant youth, so Tom (a qualified canoe instructor) gave me a quick canoeing 101 lesson on the spot. Mark knows all the best camp sites and we even had time to explore and hike along the way. Food was fabulous, campsites picturesque and varied, equipment modern and in excellent condition. All in all a spectacular trip.
Thank-you Sea to sky Expeditions for making my trip to the Yukon so awesome!
Thank-you Sea to sky Expeditions for making my trip to the Yukon so awesome!
Written September 2, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Monica B
1 contribution
Jun 2017 • Couples
We just finished the most amazing trip, paddling down the Yukon river for about 8 days with Mark and his team. I fell in love with these people on day 1. They are fun, extremely professional, caring and organized. You feel safe 24/7. From amazing story telling, to good food (Freshly baked goods in the middle of nowhere, really!!), breath taking views and quality time, I highly recommend traveling with Sea To Sky Expedition if you love the outdoors. Can't wait for the next trip with you guys!
Written July 4, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pilotesdfg
Murten, Switzerland24 contributions
Aug 2013 • Solo
Awesome canoe trip from Carmacks to Dawson City. It is a good way to experience the northern wilderness. On that trip you will experience Nature through the wildlife as well as through astonishing landscapes. In addition it is also a great history lesson (gold rush).
Written January 18, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Linda H
Santa Clarita, CA19 contributions
Jul 2013
Took this trip 30 years ago from Whitehorse to Dawson ; river used to flow 15mph now high water has caused river to overflow its banks and average flow is only 5mph so lots of hard paddling to do trip on two weeks. There are established camp sites now with outhouses n tables n fire rings but they are all in tree line so lots of Mosquitos. Still a great trip. Be sure to boil water 10 mins before drinking; can't drink at all after white river joins. Be sure to get route book in Whitehorse.
Written August 11, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa Southwick
North Wales, UK177 contributions
Jun 2019 • Family
We stared out trip from Whitehorse useing up north Adventures to hire the canoes and
Some other bits there very good
Day 1 27th May 2019
started the trip the river is excellent all going well there’s a private trapper cabin
But worth a look this is a short part of the river before getting on Lake Laberge
We camped at the camp on the map we brought mike rouke excellent map book Defo worth getting
Day 2 28th May 2019
Lake Laberge stunning lake this is its 30miles so we planned to do it over 2 days
It’s quite a tiring lake so we made sails to get us threw it abit quicker
We seen some amazing things on this lake
A lovely bear on the shore line we come
Across an old camp
Ground with a stunning rusty car some shelters and toilets which come in handy
This camp is perfect it has fire pits with griddles on benches and an old cabin you can sleep in
Day 3 29th May 2019
still on Lake Laberge the wether today was wet and windy and Laberge isn’t a good place to be in this weather but we carried on threw it coming to the end and back
On the Yukon River
Day 4 30th May 2019
Yukon river here is ok flowing around 5mph
There’s a stunning camp here we didn’t want to leave the SS Evelyn docked upon the island of hootalinqua
This is a must see and stunning it’s amazing it made my trip seeing this
Here we met 2 guys 1 from France going to Dawson and another going to the ocean
Both great guys
The camp
Had loo again so great-for my 8-10 year old girls
Day 5 31st May 2019
Cyrs Dredge excellent camp
Again we panned for gold here and found it only small flakes but we found some
Again a stunning camp
With loo :) the riverboat this stretch is long with 7 and 5 mile bends the waters slow flowing so takes along time we did around 20 miles in 3hrs
Day 6 1st June
Rivers flowing nice here got to camp
In good time and all was well
Day 7 2nd June the rain was very bad and we decided with the kids to get the last 45miles done to stay in the cabins at the colemine site
This part of the river is lovely it all is Realy
The whole trip has been amazing
From Whitehorse to carmacks
The views are outstanding I carnt complain at all
We seen bears and lots of bear prints also
Wolfs swans eagles
Beavers swimming alongside us
There’s been so much to see all marked in the map book
The wethers been up and down but didn’t stop us enjoying our time there
We did do some fishing fishing on little Samom didn’t catch tho
We also tock bear spray which is a must out there
We had stunning views from each camp
And even washed in the river which is very cold
We used
Canadian tire
Canadian superstore
And up north Adventures for the canoe we tock our own camping equipment which was ok but hard work on the plain with 2 kids and 4 big 125lt dry bags
I’d say 100%get the map it’s excellent
And at the end of the trip the coal mine camp has showers food and wash facilities
Which are Realy good
I give this trip a 10/10 hands down the best adventure to date It’s actually sad leaving if 100% stay :)
Some other bits there very good
Day 1 27th May 2019
started the trip the river is excellent all going well there’s a private trapper cabin
But worth a look this is a short part of the river before getting on Lake Laberge
We camped at the camp on the map we brought mike rouke excellent map book Defo worth getting
Day 2 28th May 2019
Lake Laberge stunning lake this is its 30miles so we planned to do it over 2 days
It’s quite a tiring lake so we made sails to get us threw it abit quicker
We seen some amazing things on this lake
A lovely bear on the shore line we come
Across an old camp
Ground with a stunning rusty car some shelters and toilets which come in handy
This camp is perfect it has fire pits with griddles on benches and an old cabin you can sleep in
Day 3 29th May 2019
still on Lake Laberge the wether today was wet and windy and Laberge isn’t a good place to be in this weather but we carried on threw it coming to the end and back
On the Yukon River
Day 4 30th May 2019
Yukon river here is ok flowing around 5mph
There’s a stunning camp here we didn’t want to leave the SS Evelyn docked upon the island of hootalinqua
This is a must see and stunning it’s amazing it made my trip seeing this
Here we met 2 guys 1 from France going to Dawson and another going to the ocean
Both great guys
The camp
Had loo again so great-for my 8-10 year old girls
Day 5 31st May 2019
Cyrs Dredge excellent camp
Again we panned for gold here and found it only small flakes but we found some
Again a stunning camp
With loo :) the riverboat this stretch is long with 7 and 5 mile bends the waters slow flowing so takes along time we did around 20 miles in 3hrs
Day 6 1st June
Rivers flowing nice here got to camp
In good time and all was well
Day 7 2nd June the rain was very bad and we decided with the kids to get the last 45miles done to stay in the cabins at the colemine site
This part of the river is lovely it all is Realy
The whole trip has been amazing
From Whitehorse to carmacks
The views are outstanding I carnt complain at all
We seen bears and lots of bear prints also
Wolfs swans eagles
Beavers swimming alongside us
There’s been so much to see all marked in the map book
The wethers been up and down but didn’t stop us enjoying our time there
We did do some fishing fishing on little Samom didn’t catch tho
We also tock bear spray which is a must out there
We had stunning views from each camp
And even washed in the river which is very cold
We used
Canadian tire
Canadian superstore
And up north Adventures for the canoe we tock our own camping equipment which was ok but hard work on the plain with 2 kids and 4 big 125lt dry bags
I’d say 100%get the map it’s excellent
And at the end of the trip the coal mine camp has showers food and wash facilities
Which are Realy good
I give this trip a 10/10 hands down the best adventure to date It’s actually sad leaving if 100% stay :)
Written June 5, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DMAC
Edson, Canada91 contributions
Jun 2016 • Couples
We completed the trip in 10 days averaging approx. 70 kilometers a day. We had a time constraint but it would have been nice to have had another 2 days to spend on the river. Definitely any less time and you would be missing some spectacular sites. So much to see...from spectacular views, wildlife and historic sites. The five finger rapids were easily navigated if you stay far right. Over-all you don't need to be an expert canoeist but some experience is appropriate with at least someone who's more competent.
Written May 13, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
half-Brit
Oregon Coast49,572 contributions
Jun 2012 • Friends
As you drive northward on the Alaska Highway, just before you cross the Yukon River there is a large parking area on your right. There is plenty of room for RVs. There is also a boat launch, and the Sunday we were there it was very busy with locals launching their boats.
This is a good place to easily view the Yukon River. This is very near to the accepted "beginning" of the Yukon River and I found it hard to comprehend that this river keeps flowing north and west for nearly 2,000 more miles.
At the parking area, there are some informational signs about the river. Looking downriver, you can see the Lewes Dam, which was the first dam on the Yukon, although it has been replaced several times since it was originally built in 1922!
If you want, you can walk down to the river's edge and dip your toe in, although we opted not to since we didn't want to look like ridiculous tourists :-) There is also a handsome blue bridge here which is a popular subject for photographers.
In Whitehorse, you can arrange for boat tours and/or rentals as well as canoe rentals on the Yukon. For those who don't have the time or inclination to be out on the water, this parking area by the bridge provides a way of getting up close to the river for a few minutes - then back out on the road again.
This is a good place to easily view the Yukon River. This is very near to the accepted "beginning" of the Yukon River and I found it hard to comprehend that this river keeps flowing north and west for nearly 2,000 more miles.
At the parking area, there are some informational signs about the river. Looking downriver, you can see the Lewes Dam, which was the first dam on the Yukon, although it has been replaced several times since it was originally built in 1922!
If you want, you can walk down to the river's edge and dip your toe in, although we opted not to since we didn't want to look like ridiculous tourists :-) There is also a handsome blue bridge here which is a popular subject for photographers.
In Whitehorse, you can arrange for boat tours and/or rentals as well as canoe rentals on the Yukon. For those who don't have the time or inclination to be out on the water, this parking area by the bridge provides a way of getting up close to the river for a few minutes - then back out on the road again.
Written July 22, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
StevenC75
207 contributions
The Yukon has all the beauty and majesty to match any other part of Canada but has the added feature of being uncrowded by tourists and in most areas natural and untouched as when explorers did the journey over 100 years ago.
After a short trip on a river in Whistler, we took our first ever Canoe trip on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Lake Laberge (about 30-35km? by river) and loved it. I'm sure we would have seen more with a guide but we saw at least 6 eagles (mostly Golden Eagles, I believe) and quickly taught ourselves how to navigate the Canoe on the River's moderately fast but technically unchallenging waters. There were a few Mosquitos but nothing like some of the reported horror stories. We only saw one other Canoe and one motorboat during the 5 hours on the water.
Based on our day on the River, I'd love to come back and do a much longer trip on the River.
We rented our Canoe, life jackets, river maps and dry bags from Kanoe People in Whitehorse who also provided a pick up service from Lake Laberge back to Whitehorse and would strongly recommend them for short and longer trips.
Like any self-guided trips away from populated areas, you need to be self dependent but this trip is as good an introduction as you can get.
After a short trip on a river in Whistler, we took our first ever Canoe trip on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Lake Laberge (about 30-35km? by river) and loved it. I'm sure we would have seen more with a guide but we saw at least 6 eagles (mostly Golden Eagles, I believe) and quickly taught ourselves how to navigate the Canoe on the River's moderately fast but technically unchallenging waters. There were a few Mosquitos but nothing like some of the reported horror stories. We only saw one other Canoe and one motorboat during the 5 hours on the water.
Based on our day on the River, I'd love to come back and do a much longer trip on the River.
We rented our Canoe, life jackets, river maps and dry bags from Kanoe People in Whitehorse who also provided a pick up service from Lake Laberge back to Whitehorse and would strongly recommend them for short and longer trips.
Like any self-guided trips away from populated areas, you need to be self dependent but this trip is as good an introduction as you can get.
Written June 30, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TexasCatBird
Gatesville, TX2,455 contributions
Aug 2018 • Couples
The mighty Yukon River is a major watercourse through northwest North America. During our Holland America Yukon/Alaska land tour we followed a large portion of the Yukon River. The river had a huge impact on transporting Klondike gold stampeders, tourists, Indian tribes, supplies and animals on boats, water source for many northwest cities, and of course providing fish for food. We saw the river from the air, buses, town hiking trails, a paddle wheeler boat and highway overlooks. We had well over 3 hours worth of visitations due to the various activities centered around this historic river.
Written October 7, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RandyRoss
Ridgetown, Canada12,749 contributions
Jul 2018 • Couples
We followed this river from Dawson City to Whitehorse, cruised it on a paddleboat in Dawson City and enjoyed it's beauty at many stops. The history of this river as a transportation system for Klondike gold miners back in 1898 is fascinating and we heard many stories of hardship and triump,
Written July 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is there a way to rent a power boat for a day trip to Ft. Selkirk? Perhaps around Minto? If we were to rent a canoe, how would we get both ways?
Written December 17, 2014
It's a bit tricky to rent power boats in the Yukon (especially for a day). There used to be an outfitter offer day tours to Fort Selkirk from Minto but they don't offer those anymore as far as we know.
Maybe you want to go down the river by canoe? It's a lot of fun and a great way to see the real Yukon.
Written December 17, 2014
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