The four wins
1) Yukon Wildlife Preserve — 700 acres, drive-through or walk-through, guaranteed muskox, lynx, moose sightings. $19 adults, $12 kids. 2) SS Klondike sternwheeler and the Millennium Trail walk in Whitehorse — free-ish and hands-on. 3) Panning for gold at Claim 33 or Goldbottom in Dawson — kids find flakes, they get vials to take home, $20. 4) Takhini Hot Springs — 34°C outdoor mineral pool, open year-round, perfect after a cold day. $14 adults, $10 kids.
The four more
5) Carcross Desert — actual sand dunes to run down, 45 minutes from Whitehorse. Free. 6) The MacBride Museum — the woolly mammoth tusks and gold rush exhibits hold kids for 90 minutes, $15. 7) Dog sledding in winter — Muktuk Adventures and Sky High Wilderness offer 1-hour rides for ages 4+, from $120. 8) Kluane flightseeing — pricey ($400/person) but the kids will remember it forever, and Icefield Discovery does short 40-minute options.
What to skip with under-8s
Multi-day canoe trips (river cold, current serious). Anything on the Dempster Highway past km 100 (roads jarring, bathrooms none). Sourtoe Cocktail Club (obviously). Long summer drives without a game plan — Whitehorse to Dawson is 6 hours and there are exactly 3 gas stations. Break it at Carmacks. Bring bug spray and headnets from June to July — mosquitos are the number-one reason a Yukon trip goes sideways with kids. Also: layers. It can be 22°C at noon and 8°C by 8pm.
Questions, answered
Hotels in Yukon
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