Issue link: http://read.canadatravelguides.ca/i/651528
TRAVEL GUIDE TO CANADA SPECIAL EVENTS FEBRUARY • available Light film festival, Whitehorse • Yukon arctic Ultra Marathon, Whitehorse • Yukon Quest international Sled Dog race, fairbanks, alaska to Whitehorse • Yukon Sourdough rendezvous festival, Whitehorse MARCH • Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail race, Dawson City • thaw-Di-Gras Spring Carnival, Dawson City • trek over the top, Dawson City MAY • Dawson City international Gold Show JUNE • Kluane Chilkat international Bike relay, Haines Junction • national aboriginal Day, territory-wide • 24 Hours of Light Mountain Bike festival, Whitehorse JUNE Ÿ JULY • Yukon river Quest Canoe and Kayak race, Whitehorse to Dawson City JULY • adäka Cultural festival, Whitehorse • Dawson City Music festival • tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Moosehide Gathering, Dawson City • Yukon 1000 Canoe and Kayak race, Whitehorse • Yukon Gold Panning Championships, Dawson City AUGUST • Discovery Days festival, Dawson City • Yukon Culinary festival, Dawson City • Yukon river trail Marathon, Whitehorse • Yukon riverside arts festival, Dawson City SEPTEMBER • Klondike trail of '98 international road relay, Skagway, alaska to Whitehorse www.travelyukon.com/explore/events 5,959 m (19,551 ft.). Go heli-hiking or heli-skiing, kayak, canoe or raft part of the 3,185-km (1,979-mi.) Yukon River— Canada's second longest. The Yukon—home to some of the most renowned rivers in Canada—is a paddler's dreamscape. In addition to the Yukon and Klondike rivers, the territory has four Canadian Heritage rivers—the Alsek, Thirty Mile, Tatshenshini and Bonnet Plume. These ribbons of water offer challenging whitewater to calm waters, with outstanding opportunities to spy wildlife. The winter months are a special time of colours bursting across the sky. Spectators cheer on mushers in the famous 1,609-km (1,000-mi.) Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race ( www.yukon quest.com). Visitors can mush their own team on one-hour to multi-day dog sledding adventures just minutes from Whitehorse (www.skyhighwilderness. com ). Yukon Wild, a group of professional adventure travel companies, holds year-round trips with experienced local guides and equipment. Activities range from fi shing, hiking, canoeing, mountain biking, horseback riding or rafting, to dogsledding, snowshoeing, skiing and snowmobiling ( yukon wild.com ). HERITAGE AND CULTURE When the news of "Gold!" echoed from the Klondike, tens of thousands of gold seekers set off, lured by dreams of riches. The history of the Gold Rush is still at the hub of many Yukon experiences. The Dawson City Museum is the perfect spot to learn about the town at the heart of the Gold Rush ( www.dawson museum.ca ). Watch the award-winning fi lm, City of Gold, narrated by Yukon-native Pierre Berton. Visitors can join a guided hike at the Robert Service Cabin in Dawson City where they'll be treated to readings of his poems and some insights into the more idiosyncratic aspects of the author's personality ( www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/ yt/klondike/activ/robservice.aspx ). At the MacBride Museum of Yukon History in Whitehorse, pretend you're a prospector panning on the Klondike creeks or peer into prospector Sam McGee's cabin (www.macbridemuseum.com ). Every summer musicians and music lovers from across Canada come to the Yukon for the Dawson City Music Festival, a world-class showcase of North American talent ( www.dcmf.com ). Explore the heritage of the First Nations people at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse (www. kwanlindunculturalcentre.com ) or the Da Kų Cultural Centre at Haines Junction (www.cafn.ca ). MUST SEE, MUST DO Visit in winter for guaranteed snow. Mush a dog team, snowshoe or snowmobile through silent forests, then end the day with a soak in the hot springs. QUICK FACT THE YUKON IS ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS CALIFORNIA BUT IT HAS A POPULATION OF ¢Ž,šš WHILE ¢Œ MILLION RESIDE IN CALIFORNIA. SoUtH KLonDiKe HiGHWaY, eMeraLD LaKe • toUriSM Yt/r. HartMier YUKON TERRITORY