Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site Winter Use
03 December 2024 – Klondike Snowmobile Association
We’re looking forward to another great year of sledding at the White Pass this winter. The Klondike Snowmobile Association meets each fall with Parks Canada and stakeholder groups regarding shared use of this area. The intent of the meeting is to voice concerns and formulate solutions to issues that arise from time-to-time with the ultimate goal to continue sharing the area with the fewest possible conflicts.
The Yukon Government maintains the highway on the Canadian side of the White Pass though the road is actually in BC. Maintenance workers report increased numbers of vehicles parked on the shoulder of the road in the past couple of winters. While it’s normally legal to park on the shoulder of a highway, you must not impede traffic. If you must pull over, be sure you’re well off the road – which is difficult given the narrow shoulders in that area, don’t pull over on curves or hills where visibility is reduced, and don’t stop in marked avalanche zones. You’re best to park only in marked and plowed pullouts.
A popular parking area is the Log Cabin parking lot. The parking lot is part of the Chilkoot Trail site managed by Parks Canada. The Yukon government plows the parking lot but, because it’s not a formal highway pullout, it only gets done when the rest of the work is complete. Winter camping is permitted in the parking lot and you may have a fire if it’s contained in a pan. Please don’t make bonfires or burn pallets or other materials that contain nails or other hardware. It makes a mess of the parking lot and a potential hazard for others. Be a good neighbor and keep the footprint of your setup as small as possible so others can enjoy the limited space.
The area adjacent to the parking lot is a material staging spot for the White Pass train. White Pass recently dug a new drainage ditch and they routinely store materials such as railroad ties at the edge of the parking lot. Beware of these and other hazards.
Immediately north of the parking lot is a network of ski trails maintained by the Log Cabin Ski Society folks in Skagway. The area is actually a BC recreation site and the ski trails are designated non-motorized so don’t ride your sled on them. Site info can be found at: https://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/search/search-result.aspx?site=REC168747&type=Trail
Just southwest of the parking lot is Log Cabin Mountain. We ask that you avoid riding on the slope facing the parking lot. It’s extremely popular with the folks who ski and it’s one of the most accessible places for them. There’s much better mountain terrain for sledding on the other side of Fraser.
Shared access to the area in managed by a schedule that reserves every third weekend for non-motorized use in the site managed by Parks Canada. This includes the Log Cabin parking lot and the entire Chilkoot Trail corridor. A map of the site boundaries can be found here: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/chilkoot/visit/cartes-maps. General information about the site is here: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/chilkoot.
The schedule and other helpful info is here: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/chilkoot/securite-safety/bulletins. We have also integrated a copy of this schedule into our Events page for your convenience.
The mountainous terrain of the White Pass is prone to avalanches. Before riding in avalanche terrain, get the required gear and training to keep you and your riding buddies safe. Check out: https://avalanche.ca.