Additional resources Keep urban wildlife wild and alive At some of these locations a site map can be found at the entrance describing the trails. However it Wildlife in is the wilderness city and it’s not is easy to get turned around, even close to town. uncommon to have large animals wandering Consider purchasing an additional trail map to help through. Animals that become habituated to Whitehorse orientate you. and reliant on humans for food can be dangerous. Many animals lose their lives each year due to the A Guide To Our Natural Areas Whitehorse, The Wilderness City: actions of humans. A guide to the popular trails of Whitehorse Produced by the City of Whitehorse, you can Here are some tips on how you can download the PDF from their website for free, stay safe and help keep our wildlife or purchase the booklet from a local bookstore. healthy and wild: www.whitehorse.ca/trails è Maintain a respectful distance – use binoculars for a close look. Whitehorsewalks.com è Never approach, harass, or feed Made by a local volunteer keen to get people excited wildlife (including birds). about walking, you can view maps and tips for safe and healthy exploring around Whitehorse. è Keep dogs on a leash and under control, and pick up after them to prevent the spread of diseases. Whitehorse Recreation Trail Guide App è Pick up and carry out any litter so that animals don’t eat it. Purchase and download this locally made guide. è Always practice bear safety, even Wildlife Viewing Program It shows the variety of trails in Whitehorse, and in urban greenspaces. Bears are Government of their difficulty rating, and is GPS enabled so as to not uncommon in Whitehorse P.O. Box 2703 (V5N) pinpoint your present location. neighbourhoods, and you should Whitehorse, YT carry bear spray on your walks. Y1A 2C6 Yukonhiking.ca and yukonbiking.ca è Leave flowers for all to enjoy. Take [email protected] These grassroots websites offer trail descriptions a picture or draw a sketch so others Find us on Facebook at and maps for popular mountain biking routes and can see them too. “Yukon Wildlife Viewing” longer hiking routes surrounding Whitehorse. è If you find a young animal, move ISBN 978-1-55362-819-4 istock/S. Hachey away quickly. The parent is likely Revised 2018 nearby and waiting for you to leave.

1 Lower McIntyre/Point Park 7 Millennium Trail 13 Schwatka Lake This greenspace completes a wildlife corridor from This 5-km paved trail makes the outdoors accessible Schwatka Lake was created by the Whitehorse dam in Fish Lake to the . As a result, you can to many people. The trail follows the banks of the the 1950’s which flooded the ‘white horse’ rapids. During spot a variety of animals passing through. Watch for Yukon River from downtown to the Rotary Centennial spring migration, you can see many different waterbirds songbirds and waterbirds around the wetlands. The footbridge just below the dam and back to the Robert here, including grebes, loons, and swans. The 15-km lucky wanderer might spot a caribou, moose, or bear Campbell Bridge from Riverdale. Watch for Bald Eagles Yukon River Loop Trail is a great way to explore this lake. heading down to the river. fishing in the river or building a nest by the nearby clay cliffs. On the east side you can see evidence of a local 14 Chadburn Lake 2 beaver working on his lodge. Middle McIntyre Creek Chadburn Lake day-use area has a large parking area, This popular urban greenspace provides a great 8 boat launch, hiking trails, and picnic gazebo for spending introduction to Yukon’s wildlife. Explore trails that Bert Law Park the day outside. Explore the many sheltered bays of the wander through a variety of habitats including a still This small island in the Yukon River is teaming with lake to look for loons and mergansers. The water is so pond, a swift creek, and dense spruce and pine forest. remarkable plant diversity. Enjoy the berries but beware: clear that you can see fish below. At dusk, watch for The different trails allow you to go for a quick run or bright red clusters of Baneberry are abundant on the Little Brown Bats feeding on insects in the forest and spend hours exploring. Interpretive panels introduce island — and poisonous. over the lake. you to the plants and animals of the boreal forest. 9 Paddy’s Pond 15 Wolf Creek 3 Fish Lake Many trails wind through this greenspace. Visit the Nestled in an old growth spruce forest, Wolf Creek The trails around Fish Lake are popular for hikers and pond and surrounding marsh for a chance to spot features a territorial campground and day-use area. At hunters. Follow the main trail on your right to hike up 4 wetland creatures. Wood Frogs can be heard singing the entrance, visit a small and viewing deck into the alpine. Be sure to practice bear safety; you are McIntyre Marsh in the early spring, even when ice is still on the water. to learn about that return to the creek further from the city and more likely to run into wildlife This is a great place for a quiet lunch and bird watching. Moose wander, muskrats feed, and ducks make their to spawn in August. Explore the short trails surrounding such as bear, Moose, Dall’s Sheep, and caribou. A gazebo with interpretive panels will tell you about the home on the pond. the campground for excellent views of the Yukon River wetland and its residents. In the spring, visit in the early and surrounding forests. morning to witness bird banding demonstrations and to 10 learn about migration. Whitehorse Fishway The world’s longest wooden fish ladder was built here 5 in the late 1950s. Chinook Salmon use the ladder to Mount McIntyre ski trails get around the power dam on their way to spawning This is a haven for small forest animals and an grounds. An interpretive centre is open all summer, important travel corridor for larger animals such as along with a viewing platform and interpretive panels. Moose, Coyote, lynx, and bear. The extensive trail network will lead you through a variety of terrain, from 11 old burns to low valleys. Pick up a map or download it Hidden Lakes from www.xcskiwhitehorse.ca. A trail pass is required These kettle lakes are a popular walking and fishing during the ski season. hotspot for locals. The small, quiet lakes are great for spotting waterbirds and shorebirds. Wildflowers can be found on the 6 Quartz Road Wetlands open slopes, and foxes and Coyotes in the sheltered forests.

This series of gravel bars and shallow river channels 12 is home to numerous fish and bird species. Scan the Grey Mountain islands for nesting gulls and watch for ducks and swans Overlooking the city, Grey Mountain provides easy during migration. Interpretive panels describe the wildlife access to alpine trails. Explore the mountaintop to see and history around this important urban wildlife area. alpine flowers and song birds, and watch along the edges for Golden Eagles. Sheep and caribou have been spotted by the adventurous hiker.

Wildlife in Whitehorse: A Guide To Our Natural Areas T Hwy ak 1 Lower McIntyre/Point Park hi McPherson ni Follow Range Road past Mountainview Place. When Rive r e the road bends to the left, take the right fork to an ik d Sewage unmaintained gravel road. Follow the road as long n Y lo Treatment as you would like and then get out and explore. u K Caution h t k ALASKA r o Exploring urban greenspaces is a great way o Cousins Whitehorse City Limits n N Airstrip to simply and safely enjoy Yukon’s wilderness. 2 Middle McIntyre Creek Only a few steps out your door and you can feel R Drive up Yukon College Drive until the unmarked dirt i immersed in the boreal forest. v road on the left. Follow the road to the pumphouse for e r Be cautious when hiking the trails on the edge parking. RVs should continue up College Drive and park of the city. Many ATV tracks, old mining roads, in the student parking lot at Yukon College, where an and unofficial trails can head off into Yukon’s interpretive panel will get you oriented. vast wilderness. It’s easy to get turned around, and it could be a long time before someone HIGHWAY 3 Fish Lake finds you. Walk with someone who is familiar Crestview with the trails or bring a GPS to ensure you Follow the 15-km Fish Lake Road, past city limits can find your way back to town. to the end.

4 McIntyre Marsh 0 2 4 Whistlebend Follow the Fish Lake Road for 3.4 km to the junction with Porter the Copper Haul Road. On the left, there is a wide parking kilometres Lower McIntyre Creek area and gazebo overlooking the wetlands. 1 Point Park

5 Mount McIntyre Ski Trails Haeckel Take Hamilton Boulevard to Sumanik Drive. Follow it to Hill Yukon College the large parking lot. Middle McIntyre 2 Creek Legend: 6 Quartz Road Wetlands Park at Walmart and cross Quartz Road to access Easy Marwell the riverbank. The trail connects to the paved riverfront Quartz Road Long Lake Intermediate and Millennium Trail to the south. The wetlands are a two-minute walk from the end of the trolley line at 6 Wetland Challenging Valleyview Based on ruggedness, Spook Creek Station. Fish Lake Rd accessibility, and Mt McIntyre Long Lk Rd risk of getting lost Whitehorse City Limits Ski Trails 5 City 7 Millenium Trail 4 McIntyre Centre Trail is accessible Free public parking at Rotary Park or the S.S. Klondike. C Marsh McIntyre by public transit o p You can also access the trail from the Whitehorse p e Parking and turnaround Fishway in Riverdale. r Whitehorse 7 Millennium Trail H Hillcrest possible for large vehicles a International u

l Airport 3 Fish R Paddy’s Pond 9 8 Bert Law Park o Bert Law a Neighbourhoods Lake d Granger 8 Park Riverdale Access the island via a short footbridge from the Copper Millennium Trail. Quickest access is from Robert Service Ridge Robert Service Grey Mountain Rd Campground, following the trails to the island. Campground Whitehorse Fishway 10 Hidden Lakes 9 Paddy’s Pond

11 Hidden Lakes Follow Hillcrest Drive until the end and park at the gate. City Schwatka Head left and downhill as you enter the greenspace to Centre 0 2 Lake find the pond. kilometres 12 Grey Mountain 13 Schwatka Lake 10 Whitehorse Fishway In Riverdale, follow Nisutlin Drive to the parking area Whitehorse G C by the fish ladder. International re h y ad Airport Millennium M bur o n L 7 u Miles k R n d 11 Hidden Lakes Trail ta Canyon 14 Chadburn Lake in Bert Law Riverdale R Y Grey From Riverdale, follow the Chadburn Lake Road for 8 o ALASKA Chadburn a u Mountain 1.8 km to a rough, unmarked road on your left. This Park d k Lake 300 m access road takes to you to the parking area Robert Service o Campground n for Hidden Lakes. R iv 12 Grey Mountain e 10 Whitehorse Fishway r From Riverdale, follow the unpaved Grey Mountain Road Road ALASKA C Hidden Mount for 6 km to a small view point where the maintained road

h Way S ends. You can continue up the road by foot or mountain a Sima

d c Lakes a HIGHWAY

h b bike to better explore the trails.

m M u i e w r

i S

n c l . i e 11 t v a

r s L

e M S a ert t 13 Schwatka Lake k

Rob k Hidden Lakes e

a

R You can access the lake from many points, C Pine HIGHWAY L

a o but the most popular point is from the boat launch a Wolf

n a Ridge d

y k 3.6 km down the Chadburn Lake Road. There are o Creek

n e Wolf Creek 15 Wolf Creek many unmarked picnic areas close to the lake on Ear Campground the way to the boat launch. Lake

R 14 Chadburn Lake

o d oa a R S d e From Riverdale, follow the 8-km long Chadburn Lake k o a u L Road until it ends at the boat launch and parking lot. 13 t Schwatka Lake l h a Mary Lake K o lo C n d ik 15 Wolf Creek e

H w Leave downtown via Robert Service Way and take y the Alaska Hwy south for 11 km. The campground is on your left with day-use parking at the entrance.

Environment Yukon Map ID: ENV.480.EN