THE YUKON - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 687

CARMACKS
A little more than 180 kilometers (120 miles) from Whitehorse, Highway 2 cross the Yukon
River at Carmacks (population 420). Named for George Carmack, who was credited with
the Bonanza Creek strike that triggered the famous Klondike Gold Rush, Carmack estab-
lished a trading post here in 1899.
Get the lay of town by driving down Three Gold Road (at the Carmacks Hotel) to the
Yukon River. A two-kilometer (1.2 miles) boardwalk runs along the river from here to
a park, complete with a gazebo. Tage Cho Hudan Interpretive Centre (867/863-5831,
9am-6pm daily mid-May-mid-Sept., donation) exhibits archaeological displays, a dugout
canoe, a moose skin boat, and a diorama of a mammoth snare.
Facing Highway 2 as it passes through town, Hotel Carmacks (867/863-5221,
www.hotelcarmacks.com , from $95 s or d) rents decent rooms (some with river views) and
a few basic cabins. Here you'll find a large lounge sporting a couple of pool tables and
an interesting brass railing along the bar, perfect for bellying up to. Occupying a 1903 log
roadhouse, the hotel's Goldpanner Restaurant (6am-10pm daily, $13-22) is a cozy din-
ing room lined with Northern memorabilia. The dinner menu includes halibut and chips, a
bison burger, and a couple of pastas.
FIVE FINGER RAPIDS
North of Carmacks 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) is a pullout overlooking Five Finger Rapids,
where four rock towers here choke the river, dividing it into five channels through which
the current rips. Beside the highway, a wooden platform overlooks the river from afar, and
stairs lead down to the river. Allow 20 minutes to reach the end of the trail, but longer to
return, as there are a lot of stairs.
PELLY CROSSING
In another 108 kilometers (67 miles) you come to Pelly Crossing, roughly halfway between
Whitehorse and Dawson. Beside the highway, interpretive panels describe how the settle-
ment came to be and the story of its First Nations residents, who moved here from remote
Fort Selkirk after the highway was completed in the 1950s.
SILVER TRAIL
The first settlement north of Pelly River is Stewart Crossing, the site of an 1883 trading
post and the last gas stop before Dawson City, another 181 kilometers (112 miles) north.