Hamilton Boulevard Multi-Use Trail Update
05 March 2025 – Klondike Snowmobile Association
During the late 1980s and early 1990s several new neighborhoods were springing up in the Hamilton Boulevard area, and the Klondike Snowmobile Association determined there would soon be a need for a multi-use trail to connect these neighborhoods to the existing trail network in and around Whitehorse.
With approval and assistance from the City of Whitehorse, Klondike Snowmobile Association volunteers got to work building, signing and maintaining what is now known as the Hamilton Boulevard Motorized Multi-Use Trail (HBT).
Recently the Whitehorse City Council has decided to take over the maintenance of the HBT as a two year pilot study starting next winter. The intent is to provide reliable daily active transportation while still keeping it a motorized multi use trail.
We have advocated long and hard to keep snowmobiles and other motorized activities on the trail that we built, and have been successful in that to date. Work will now begin to help and encourage the City of Whitehorse to provide both a proper active transportation route AND a motorized multi-use option for the HBT corridor, or alternatively, develop an equivalent trail somewhere else that also connects all of the effected neighborhoods to the motorized multi-use trail network.
“Out and Away trails” is a method of designating trails in which each neighborhood has one or two safe and convenient routes to funnel motorized trail users from their residences to trail networks outside of the populated areas, leaving the remaining trails in and around the neighborhood available for quieter non-motorized only enjoyment. This system has been used in a number of areas and is now considered a proven method to balance the desires of snowmobilers and non-motorized trail users in a way that is fair to everyone living in the area.
The Klondike Snowmobile Association’s long term vision for the HBT is to encourage and support active transportation in the Yukon, while still maintaining a trail network that allows Yukoners to access snowmobiling and other associated outdoor activities directly from their homes through an out and away trail system.
Feel free to reach out to us any time with questions or comments.