Miles Canyon: a Smartphone Audio Nature Tour

The following are highlights from the Miles Canyon Walking Tour. In total, you’ll enjoy 19 audio points of interest in this immersive, self-guided experience—including the Robert Lowe Suspension Bridge, Canyon City, The Yukon River, and much more!

Welcome to Miles Canyon! This is one of the most popular places to visit in Whitehorse. This tour will take you on the Lower Canyon City Trail to a historic settlement site called Canyon City.

FIREWEED. If you are hiking around Miles Canyon in summer, you will likely see lots of wildflowers on your hike.

ROBERT LOWE SUSPENSION BRIDGE. Welcome to the Robert Lowe suspension bridge! Built in 1922, the bridge stretches 85 feet across the narrowest part of Miles Canyon.

THE YUKON RIVER: Look down at the water. This is the mighty Yukon River. At 3,190 kilometers, it's the third-longest river in North America and one of the...

AQUATIC BIRDS & OTHER WILDLIFE: Here Miles Canyon opens into a wider, bowl shaped area. The water slows down and pools here, making it a good spot to see water birds.
Many different kinds of waterfowl, such as...

EVIDENCE OF BEAVER ACTIVITY: If you stop for a second and take a good look around, see if you can spot any evidence of beavers in this area. Do you see any tree stumps that have been...

LOCAL BIRDS: As you can tell, you are walking in a very wild place! Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife.
One of the most common birds you may see is the raven. Ravens are huge, entirely black birds that can be huge! They can be...

YUKON TREES: If you stop and take a good look around, you'll notice just a few trees. You may notice that most of the trees you see are evergreens, meaning they are the type of tree that...

GREY MOUNTAIN: Looking straight ahead, you can now get a good view of Grey Mountain. This mountain is an important landmark for the city of Whitehorse, as it is the closest mountain to...

CANYON CITY: Welcome to Canyon City! Believe it or not, during the Klondike Gold Rush, this was once a bustling settlement.

In 1897, a young entrepreneur named Norman Macaulay realized there was...

REMNANTS OF THE CITY: As you can see, not much is left of Canyon City today. In 1900, the White Pass Railway was finished, ending at Whitehorse.

The rail company purchased Macaulay's tramway, wanting to have ...

FIRST NATIONS: Miles Canyon and the Whitehorse area is part of the traditional lands of the Ta’an Kwäch’än and Kwanlin Dun First Nations. Many of these people speak the Southern Tutchone language.
“Kwanlin” is the...

END OF THE GOLD RUSH & BEYOND: The discovery of gold in Bonanza Creek in 1896 led to the Klondike Gold Rush, which greatly shaped the history of the Yukon.

The town of Dawson, established soon after the discovery of gold, grew to...

STERNWHEELERS: If you've visited downtown Whitehorse, you've probably noticed the large boat resting on the banks of the Yukon river. This type of boat is called a sternwheeler, which...

FAMOUS YUKONERS: In 1897, 21-year-old Californian Jack London decided to try to strike it rich in the Klondike. Wanting to save time on his route up, he chose to navigate through the dangerous Miles Canyon and White Horse Rapids, instead of....

PLANTS YOU MAY FIND: Fireweed isn't the only plant you may find on your hike. The Yukon is home to many beautiful wildflowers.
If you are hiking this trail in late April or early May, some of the first flowers to appear are...

LAVA FLOW: If you look to the walls of the canyon, you'll notice the dark colour. The walls are made of basalt, which is a type of igneous rock. Igneous means that the rock was formed from hardened lava.
An ancient lava flow from...

YUKON RIVER BOATING: Since the Yukon now has roads all throughout the territory, it is no longer necessary to travel by boat. However, tourists and locals still enjoy paddling the Yukon river for its adventure and scenery.
A canoe and kayak race, called...

AVIATION: You may have noticed airplanes flying overhead during your hike. Miles Canyon is on the flight path for both the Whitehorse International Airport and the Schwatka Lake float plane base.
The Yukon has a....