Whitehorse, the capital of Canada’s Yukon Territory, is a major stopover point along the Alaska Highway. From historical sites, to live entertainment and beautiful scenery, Whitehorse is a must stop on
your vacation. The 20 hours of daily summer sunshine allow you plenty of time to enjoy yourself.
Whitehorse is laid out on a level river shelf of land bordering a wide bend in the Yukon River. The town is 1471 kilometres/914 miles northwest of Dawson Creek, British Columbia; 980 kilometres/609
miles from Fairbanks; and 1165 kilometres/724 miles from Anchorage. Over half of the Yukon’s residents live in Whitehorse. The town has a year-round population of approximately 23,000.
A library, theatres, two newspapers, and one television
station serve the city. CBC live color television is received via
satellite in Whitehorse as well as in most Yukon communities. There
are four radio stations CBC (CFWH), dial 570. CKRW, 610, a local
radio station, CHON, 98.1 on FM and CIAY New Life 100.7 FM, a community
Christian radio station.
Special Note: RCMP, in cooperation with the Yukon Territorial Government, has started a voluntary registration system for people venturing into Yukon wilderness areas. While there is no legal requirement for you to register, the system could mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. Registration forms are available at the RCMP 4100 4th Avenue, Whitehorse, YT. 867-667-5555.
History Whitehorse’s role as a transportation center is as new as the jet age and as old as the Gold Rush of ’98. Founded in 1900 with the arrival of the
White Pass & Yukon Railway from tidewater at Skagway, the sparsely populated tent-and-cabin city became the terminal for freight being transferred from railway to riverboat for shipment to Dawson City.
Before the railway was pushed through to provide an easier mode of transportation, the bulk of the early-day stampeders came by ocean steamer to Skagway or Dyea and toiled over the White Pass (the route presently
paralleled by the railroad) or Chilkoot Pass to the head of Lake Bennett. Here they whipsawed native lumber and built crude boats and scows to travel the 550-mile Yukon River water route to the gold fields.
The greatest hazards in river navigation were found in Miles Canyon and Whitehorse Rapids. To bypass these once-treacherous waters, wooden rail tramways were constructed on both sides of the canyon. On
the east side of the river the wilderness gave way to two settlements of cabins. Closeleigh was near the present site of Whitehorse and Canyon City was five miles upriver, where the portage around the rapids of
Miles Canyon began.
With the completion of the railway on the west side of the river on June 8, 1900, Closeleigh was moved to the present town-site and became Whitehorse. For years Whitehorse continued in its role of
connecting railhead and riverboat navigation to Dawson City and the Klondike.
The second great period of development and population surge followed the agreement to build the Alaska Highway during the Second World War. During the nine-month construction period of 1942, area
population swelled from 500 to 8000 (construction bought more than 30,000 to the entire territory. With building space at a premium, one entrepreneur of the construction trade began building small two and
three-story log cabins, or “Log skyscrapers”.
After the war, Whitehorse maintained its importance as a transportation and communications center. On April 1, 1953, the capital of the Yukon was officially transferred from Dawson City to
Whitehorse.
Today, mining, government and tourism have enabled Whitehorse to grow and prosper. Whitehorse is a frontier city with all the amenities.
