Alaska & Yukon Explorer, Canada

Duration: 15 Days | 14 Nights
Destination: Anchorage - Seward - Denali - Glennallen (Alaska, USA) then Dawson City - Whitehorse - Haines Junction - Skagway (Yukon, Canada)
Departure & Return Locations: Anchorage, Alaska / Whitehorse, Yukon (one way)
Group size: 3 - 12 participants | Physical demand: moderate

Departure dates - 2027:
13 Jun - 27 Jun 2027
11 Jul - 25 Jul 2027
08 Aug - 22 Aug 2027
05 Sep - 19 Sep 2027

Alaska is a land of trails - trapper trails, prospectors' trails, mushers' trails, the routes of famous explorers and the trading paths of Indigenous peoples, all of them stitching together an immense landscape of ice-covered mountains, rolling tundra and thick coastal forest. If you are a hiker you will agree the best way to know a place is to walk it. And if you also like a good meal, a hot shower and a bit of local culture at the end of the day, this is the trip for you.

This two-week road trip samples the best walking in Alaska and Canada's Yukon: the Kenai fjords at Seward, the tundra of Denali National Park, the Tombstone Mountains on the Dempster Highway, the front ranges of Kluane, and the Chilkoot Trail where the Klondike stampede began. You travel in a small group with a guide who knows the trails, and you sleep in hotels every night, not tents. Hikes run roughly 2 - 5 hours over 6 - 14 km with 50 - 550 m of ascent, carrying only a light day pack, so a reasonable level of fitness is all that is needed.

Day 1: Anchorage arrival
Welcome to Alaska. Your guide meets you at the airport, transfers you to the hotel where you meet the rest of the group, and runs a short orientation for the trip ahead.
Overnight: Anchorage

Day 2: Anchorage - Seward
Sweeping views of the Chugach Mountains and the Kenai Range as you drive south to the seaside town of Seward. The immense tidal flats of Turnagain Arm, reached by the afternoon, make this one of the most scenic drives in North America. At Moose Pass you pass the start of one of the north's most famous modern trails - the Iditarod, the 1,000-mile sled-dog race across the Alaskan interior.
Overnight: Seward

Day 3: Seward
A morning hike around Seward: the Iditarod Trail, the spectacular Coastal Trail (tide dependent), historic Fort McGilvray or the salmon stream at Tonsina Beach, with your guide choosing on the day for weather and season. In the afternoon you can walk again or take the area's main attraction, the optional six-hour Kenai Fjords marine wildlife cruise, through water full of seals, sea lions, sea otters, orca and humpback whales, with moose and black bear along the shore and the Bear Glacier calving into the sea.
Overnight: Seward

Day 4: Seward - Denali National Park
North again through Turnagain Arm, where some of the highest tides in the world draw beluga whales in to hunt salmon, then past waterfalls and snow-capped peaks onto the George Parks Highway and up to Denali National Park. Weather permitting there is the option of a one-hour flight over Denali itself, at 6,193 m the highest mountain in North America - expensive, and worth it.
Overnight: vicinity of Denali National Park

Day 5: Denali National Park
A National Park shuttle bus takes you deep into one of the great landscapes of North America. In clear weather the road gives close views of Denali and the chance of wolves, Dall sheep, moose, caribou and grizzly bear, with fox, coyote and eagles almost guaranteed. This is classic Alaska at its very best.
Overnight: vicinity of Denali National Park

Day 6: Denali - Glennallen
You leave the park but the mountain stays with you as you drive the Denali Highway, an extraordinary road built along glacial eskers across the floodplain on the park's southern boundary and one of the remotest stretches in the state. Plenty of opportunities to stop and walk.
Overnight: Glennallen

Day 7: Glennallen - Dawson City
Across the high tundra and back into Canada on the Top of the World Highway, over Little Gold Creek - the highest border crossing between the two countries. Down the far side you cross the Yukon River by ferry into Dawson City.
Overnight: Dawson City

Day 8: Dawson City
The gold rush capital of the north, and still full of it. You drive up Bonanza and Eldorado creeks, with the option of visiting a working gold mine, then up the Midnight Dome for the view over the town and the wilderness beyond. Dawson was once the largest city west of Winnipeg and north of Seattle and many of the original false-fronted buildings survive; there is time to walk the restored townsite, and the summer is packed with festivals. The day ends at Diamond Tooth Gertie's Gambling Hall, where the can-can dancers still kick up their skirts like it is 1898.
Overnight: Dawson City

Day 9: Dempster Highway and Tombstone Territorial Park
An early start puts you two hours up the Dempster - Canada's only road to the Arctic coast, 730 km of gravel - and into the rugged Tombstone Mountains. Tombstone Territorial Park sits at the edge of the arctic tundra beneath the dark syenite peaks that give it its name. Ideal hiking country: the day is spent on the ridges above the tundra that great herds of caribou cross each year.
Overnight: Dawson City

Day 10: Dawson City - Whitehorse
The road to the territorial capital follows the Yukon River much of the way. You break at Five Finger Rapids for a walk down to the water and lunch beside it, and stop at the Beringia Centre on the way into town to see the ice-age landscape that shaped everything you have just driven through. The evening is free - the "Wilderness City" runs to vaudeville, theatre and live music as well as quiet forest trails.
Overnight: Whitehorse

Day 11: Whitehorse - Haines Junction
A short drive brings you to Haines Junction in the shadow of the Kluane Ranges. You visit the Da Ku Cultural Centre to get your bearings in the landscape and the living culture of the area's First Nations, then after lunch head out on the Auriol Trail in Kluane National Park - a four-hour climb through mixed boreal forest ringed by mountains, and an excellent introduction to the park.
Overnight: Haines Junction

Day 12: Kluane National Park
A full day walking in Kluane. A day hike on one of the trails towards Sheep Mountain gives views along the 80 km length of Kluane Lake and a glimpse of the enormous peaks hidden behind the front ranges. In the evening there is the option of chartering a flight over the largest non-polar icefields in the world, which fill the interior of the park.
Overnight: Haines Junction

Day 13: Haines Junction - Skagway
South over the Chilkat Pass to Haines, Alaska, then the ferry up the Lynn Canal between the glaciers to Skagway, gateway to the Klondike gold rush. The afternoon and evening are free to explore the historic town - hike out to Yakutania Point, shop, or sit with a coffee and watch the otters in the river.
Overnight: Skagway

Day 14: Skagway - Whitehorse
Back into the Yukon on the South Klondike Highway, hiking the first stretch of the historic Chilkoot Trail on the way. After White Pass and the border at Fraser you stop to explore Montana Mountain outside Carcross, with views over Lake Nares and Lake Bennett, then visit the Tlingit facades in Carcross village and the Carcross Desert - a geographic accident that makes this the smallest desert in the world.
Overnight: Whitehorse

Day 15: Whitehorse departure
The day is free to rest, shop or see more of Whitehorse. A transfer to the airport or to a connecting programme is provided, and tour services end there.

Tour Price
• Price shown is per person, twin share (double room), on the 2027 departure dates listed above.
• Single and triple room options are selectable above.
• Canadian GST of 5% is additional and will be added to your invoice.
• Children 12 - 17 years receive 25% off the adult rate; minimum age 12 years.
• Rates are valid for the 2027 departures, the last of which returns 19 September 2027.
• Departures require a minimum of 3 participants and are capped at 12 - book early.
• Ask us about pre- and post-tour accommodation in Anchorage or Whitehorse at our guests' rates.
• All prices displayed are subject to availability and can be withdrawn or varied without notice.
• Prices are guaranteed once the booking is confirmed by us and paid in full by the due date.
• Itinerary is subject to change.

Inclusions:
• 15-day guided trip from Anchorage to Whitehorse
• 14 nights hotel accommodation in middle-class rooms
• Personal guide with interpretation throughout the trip
• Local hiking and tour guides
• All guided hiking trips
• All overland transportation in an air-conditioned 15-seat maxi van
• Ferry crossing on the Lynn Canal from Haines to Skagway
• Day tour through Denali National Park
• National Park admissions
• Admissions as listed in the itinerary
• Airport transfers

Exclusions:
• International and domestic airfares (into Anchorage, out of Whitehorse)
• 5% Canadian GST
• All meals and beverages
• Optional tours - Kenai Fjords cruise, Denali flightseeing, Kluane icefield charter, gold mine visit
• Travel insurance (required)
• Airport taxes and charges
• Personal expenses such as telephone calls, room service and laundry
• Gratuities for guide and driver
• Anything not specifically mentioned in the itinerary

Please note:
• This tour crosses the Canada - USA border twice. Travellers are responsible for holding the correct visas or electronic travel authorisations for both countries (ESTA for the USA and eTA for Canada, where applicable) - please check well before departure.
• Hiking is on established trails at a moderate pace with a light day pack; no technical experience is needed, but you should be comfortable walking for several hours on uneven ground.
• Due to the nature of this tour, last-minute changes to the itinerary are possible and are at the discretion of the guide.
• Comprehensive travel insurance is strongly recommended.

Please refer to our Standard Booking Conditions for booking terms and conditions.