Yukon Road Trip 2026
Our Epic RV Road Trip From Vancouver to the Yukon and back
For a few unforgettable weeks, our compact motorhome was our moving home on the open road, endless forests, mountains and sky. We drove from Vancouver north through Quesnel, Chetwynd and Dawson Creek, on the Alaska Highway up to Whitehorse and Kluane National Park and onto Dawson City. Then back down south on Highway 37 (The Stewart-Cassiar) via Carcross, Meziadin, Hyder in Alaska before finishing along the beautiful Highway 99 to Whistler and rounding off in Vancouver and Victoria on Vancouver Island. Along the way we kayaked on still lakes, hiked wild trails, watched whales, flew over glaciers to Mount Logan, took a float plane and even added our own sign to the famous Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, our first stop crossing over into the Yukon. And then there was the wildlife: black bears, grizzly bears, moose and bison appearing by the roadside, especially in northern British Columbia, turning ordinary stretches of highway into unforgettable encounters.
Leaving Vancouver in an RV
Our adventure started in Vancouver, picking up the C21 Compact RV and getting used to the idea that this compact little motorhome would be home for the next few weeks.
Driving out of the city, skyscrapers gave way to trees and mountains surprisingly quickly.
Just 40 minutes from Vancouver we stopped at the beautiful town of Fort Langley to grab some breakfast. You could easily spend a couple of nights here, a beautiful town right on the river.
Quesnel, Chetwynd and Dawson Creek: First Taste of the North
Our first notable stop was Quesnel in the Cariboo. It has a relaxed, small‑town feel that made it a perfect early pause. We stretched our legs on a walk along the river, saw the largest Gold Pan in the World and also visited the old western town of Barkerville.
From there we headed to Chetwynd, which really took us by surprise. The town is filled with incredible chainsaw carvings, we spent time just wandering and, stopping every few metres to admire another sculpture. It was a quirky and a memorable stop.
Next came Dawson Creek: a real milestone on our journey because it is home to Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway. Standing by the Mile Zero marker felt surprisingly special. It is one of those places you read about when planning and then suddenly you are actually there with the RV parked up nearby, about to head into the true north. We took the obligatory photos, soaked up the sense of history and adventure, and the following morning we set off onto one of the world’s great drives.
As we drove further into northern British Columbia, the wildlife sightings really began. We spotted black bears and grizzly bears ambling along the roadside, bison grazing in ditches as if the highway belonged to them and moose appearing from the treeline.
Each sighting brought the same mix of excitement and respect and reminded us just how wild this part of the world is.
Into the Yukon: Whitehorse and the Sign Post Forest
As we pushed further north, the roads felt emptier and the landscape grew bigger. Crossing into the Yukon brought an immediate shift: fewer people, huge skies and a real sense of remoteness.
One of the most fun and unexpectedly emotional moments of the journey was stopping at the legendary Sign Post Forest. Surrounded by thousands of signs from all over the world, we found a spot and put up our own. Hammering our sign into place felt like quietly saying, “We were here. We did this.” It turned a famous roadside stop into a little personal milestone.
Our next stop was Whitehorse and it has a friendly, frontier vibe and everything we needed to reset: fuel, food and a good camp ground. We did some tourist shopping in the town and kayaked on the Yukon river – this was special, spotting Bald Eagles from the water’s edge and just being on that river will be a memory to last forever.
Kluane National Park & A Glacier Flight to Mount Logan
From Whitehorse, we drove to Kluane National Park, which turned out to be one of the absolute highlights of the trip. The scenery is vast and dramatic: mountains layered one behind another, huge valleys and a feeling that the land just goes on forever.
We spent time walking some of the local trails, enjoying everything from easier lakeside paths to more challenging routes with big views. Being out there on foot, surrounded by mountains and almost no other people, was exactly the kind of wilderness experience we had both been hoping for.
The most unforgettable moment in Kluane was taking a glacier flight over the icefields to Mount Logan. Sitting in a small aircraft, lifting off over those rivers of ice and seeing the cracks and crevasses from above was utterly breath‑taking. Flying past Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak, with nothing but snow and rock in every direction, was when it really hit us just how remote we were, we landed on the glacier right by Mount Logan and was given plenty of time to soak it all in.
Dawson City and Tombstone National Park
From Kluane, we continued north towards Dawson City. This was a designated driving day with long stretches of road with barely any traffic and endless trees and mountains.
Dawson City was very different, with its wooden boardwalks and colourful old buildings, it genuinely feels like stepping back into the gold rush era. We loved wandering the streets, popping into historic bars and learning more about the Klondike history. We did the ‘Sourtoe Joe’, which is a shot of honey whiskey with a real mummified toe in it! Which must touch your lips – one of those traditions that came out of an old story.
We took a tour to the nearby Tombstone Territorial Park. The road there takes you onto the Dempster Highway, a rough road which you would not want to take a rented RV on. The landscapes there are extraordinary: jagged peaks, sweeping valleys and tundra that shifts in colour with the season.
We took a tour of one of the Old Dredge's and nearby is a lovely little spot, where you can pan for gold - just pick up your free pan from the Dawson City Tourist Centre.
Turning South: Carcross, Meziadin and Hyder
We made our way back south to Carcross, a small community that really charmed us. With its blend of First Nations culture, historic buildings and striking surrounding scenery, past Emerald Lake and the Carcross desert. We wandered around the old town, with the White Pass Mountain Railway from Alaska ending here, the small beach, the railway bridge and the Watson General Store, we soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed the sense of stepping briefly into another layer of Yukon life before continuing our journey south.
Meziadin was a great place to stop, we had a visit from a grizzly bear in the campsite and spotted grizzly bears on the roadside and saw a shooting star in the dark, starry nights.
From Meziadin we briefly dipped into Alaska, through the town of Stewart and onto Hyder. The road is spectacular: waterfalls, glacial streams and steep mountainsides closing in around you. Stewart and Hyder is small and has a wonderfully off‑beat, end‑of‑the‑road feeling. Standing there, in this little pocket of Alaska reached by such an incredible drive, felt like another small triumph in our journey. Our aim was to hopefully see bears at a viewing platform in Hyder but unfortunately no bears turned up at the time we were there but as we drove out of the car park, there was one at the side of the road!
After Meziadin we stopped off at a couple of campgrounds to break the journey up on our way down to Lillooet.
Highway 99 and Whistler: A Beautiful Drive Back South
As we began to loop back towards the south of British Columbia, Highway 99 became a real highlight of the whole trip. It is one of the most beautiful roads, twisting through mountains, with sweeping views, lakes, forests and huge valleys unfolding around nearly every bend. It was one of those rare drives where you are genuinely torn between wanting to keep going and wanting to stop at every single viewpoint.
Lillooet broke the journey once more so we could stop overnight, visit the town and visit the old bridge – which is a must see!
The next morning was back onto the 99 for more spectacular views and onto Whistler. This was a shock to the system to see so many people in one place but was the perfect place to pause after all the wilderness. Swapping remote campgrounds for a lively mountain resort felt like a real treat. We wandered the pedestrian village, browsed the shops and enjoyed the contrast between the polished, alpine feel of Whistler and the ruggedness of the Yukon and Northern BC.
Vancouver & Victoria: Kayaking, Trails, Whale Watching and a Float Plane
After dropping the RV back at Vancouver, we stayed on in Vancouver for 6 nights.
You can read more about our time in Vancouver on my other blog on this website.
I have tried to summarise what we did but there was so much more, it was a journey that challenged us (we learned a lot about RV life) and inspired us and one we will be talking about for many years to come.
I have a ready made itinerary which we thought worked really well in the time we had (although I would recommend about 5 weeks really to slow the pace down a little), we travelled 4750 miles in 3.5 weeks so if this is your kind of adventure I would be happy to chat this through if this on your bucket list.
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#canadaroadtrip
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