Runs

CANADIAN TRAILS: The Yukon River Trail

October 7, 2009
By Denise McHale

The Yukon River Trail

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Yukon Territory has everything the hard-core trail runner can ask for: breathtaking scenery, challenging and rugged terrain, and best of all, on any given day, you have most of it all to yourself.

The Yukon River Trail marathon course is one of my favourite places to run. Hosted by the Trail Marathon Association in the first weekend in August, it’s been called the toughest marathon in North America. While this is a subjective measure, I’ll offer three words of advice: train for hills. Whether you’re coming for the marathon or just visiting Whitehorse and want to run some great trails, this course has something for you. The official race course is divided into four sections ranging from 7.6K to 13.6K. The race begins in Rotary Park and runs the first several kilometres along the Millennium Trail, along Schwatka Lake for a couple of kilometres and then hits the trail.

Leg 1 - 7.6K

The first section of the marathon course is the shortest, and I often start my training runs at the end of Leg 1 in the Miles Canyon parking lot. After crossing the Miles Canyon Bridge, take a sharp left and follow the newly placed River Trail signs.

Leg 2 - 10K

The second leg of the race begins by edging along the shore of Miles Canyon and runs through Canyons City, which has a few historic remnants left over from the Gold Rush in 1898. Keep your eyes on the terrain, not the scenery (which is difficult to do), as there are some steep drops to the river. From here, the first of the climbs start, and you follow the ridgeline for several more kilometres before taking a sharp left onto the trailhead. Miss the corner and you’ll follow a very long trail out to the Marsh Lake Bridge (this is another great running option, but you’ll need to plan for a really long run to do it). From the left turn, follow the trail markers through several more kilometres of singletrack and a climb to the end of Leg 2 at the Chadburn Lake Parking Lot.

Leg 3 - 10.9K

Leg 3 begins in the parking lot and continues following trail markers along Chadburn Lake and over to Chadden Lake. Follow the low-lying trail along Chadden Lake until trail markers direct you right up a hill. Continue along rolling hills to the end of the lake where there is a really big hill leading to a lookout above the lake. Take the undulating trail for a couple of kilometres before making a sharp left turn up a steep trail to the Chadburn Lake Blue ski trail. Follow the Blue ski trail and cross Chadburn Lake Road. Run through the ski trail parking lot and back to the Miles Canyon Suspension Bridge and the start of Leg 4, the final 13.6K (this is also the start of Leg 2).

Leg 4 - 13.6K

From the Miles Canyon footbridge, the course turns north and follows the eastern shore of Schwatka Lake past the boat launch and up a short path to the right. The trail continues above the lake and returns to lake level after a few kilometres. Continue through the picnic area to a short trail that takes you to Chadburn Lake Road. The trail continues across the road, and loops around Hidden Lakes. From there, the trail climbs the appropriately named Heartbreak Hill. At the top of Heartbreak, the trail descends to Chadburn Lake Road to the final climb, which locals call “Pee Wee,” to a lookout point above the Whitehorse Rapids Dam. The trail descends to the river to the Millennium Trail. Cross the Rotary Centennial Bridge, and continues along the paved trail, running under the Robert Campbell Bridge to the marathon finish line in Rotary Park.

Whether you have the time or energy to run the entire course, running a section or two is a great challenge and won’t take up your entire day. If you get lost and miss a sign or two, not to worry, there are many trails to discover that can lead to some of the best adventures.

For more details on the Yukon River trail marathon, visit: www.yukonmarathon.com.

Denise McHale won the 2009 Canadian 50-Mile Championships in Victoria, B.C. in a course-record time of 6:41.