A GORP Content Partner
Adapted from
Scenic Driving
Alaska and the Yukon
by Erik Molvar
Klondike Connection
Driving the Haines Highway
Official Designation: Yukon Highway 3, British Columbia Highway 4, Alaska Route 7.
Description: Paved highway from Haines Junction to Haines, Alaska; 244 kilometers (152 miles).
Recommended Maximum: Highway speeds.
Distance Markers: Kilometer posts in Canada and mileposts in Alaska count north from Haines.
Information Sources: Kluane National Park, Haines Visitors Bureau.
The Drive
This route was originally one of the famed "grease trails" used by the Chilkat band of the Tlingit Indians to carry rendered candlefish oil, baskets, and seashells inland to trade for caribou hides, moccasins, and birchwood bows made by the interior Athapaskan tribes. Each Tlingit chief had an Athapaskan counterpart with whom he had exclusive trading rights. Trade routes extended as far inland as the site of Fort Selkirk on the Yukon River.
The Tlingits were shrewd businessmen who jealously guarded their monopoly on the interior fur trade. When Robert Campbell established Fort Selkirk on the lands of their trading partners, the Tutchone Indians, the Tlingits organized a raiding party under the warrior chief Koh-Klux and burned the fort to the ground. In 1869, Koh-Klux met with naturalist George Davidson at the chief's home village of Klukwan. Davidson successfully predicted a total eclipse of the sun, and Koh-Klux was so impressed that he drew a map for his guest showing the route across Chilkat Pass and much of the Yukon interior beyond. The map was amazingly accurate.
Before the Klondike gold rush, the old grease trail was developed as a toll road by Jack Dalton, an adventurer and former Indian fighter who first visited this country in 1890 with his partner, E. J. Glave. The Tlingits suspected that these white men had come to take away their land and interfere with their trade monopoly, and so they refused to guide the two adventurers. Nonetheless, Dalton charted a route across Chilkat Pass and through the interior to the Yukon River, and in 1899 he obtained a permit to operate it as a toll road. A single man with a pack had to pay $1 to use the road, while passage for livestock cost $2.50 a head. Although the route never gained popularity with stampeders on their way to the Klondike, it was used for several substantial stock drives. Following the construction of the White Pass and Yukon Railway, the Dalton Trail was abandoned and its proprietor retired as a moderately wealthy man.
In 1903, the Dalton Trail was developed into a one-lane wagon road to the Canadian border. It was upgraded to a gravel highway during World War II and was extended to meet the newly constructed Alaska Highway at Haines Junction in the Yukon. The road also opened a travel corridor for moose and mountain goats to migrate into coastal areas.
The well-paved, modern highway connects the Alaska Highway, in the Yukon, with the tidewater fjords of Haines, Alaska. Along the way, it passes through some of the most stunning mountain scenery in the Far North as it skirts the edge of Kluane National Park, crosses the spine of the Coast Mountains, and descends through theChilkat Bald Eagle Preserve to reach its terminus. From here, travelers can link up with the ferry system that serves the Inside Passage of southeastern Alaska.
From Haines Junction, the road follows the foot of the Kluane Ranges through a boreal forest of lodgepole pine and aspen. The Kluane Ranges form the outer cordillera of the Saint Elias Mountains, and they lie within Kluane National Park. The basin stretching to the east drains toward the Pacific through steep canyons in the Saint Elias Mountains. One of these westward-draining rivers is the Dezadeash, which the highway crosses as it leaves Haines Junction.
Several times in recent geologic history, glaciers have dammed the Alsek River, which is the main waterway through the mountains. The resulting impoundments have filled this inland basin with deep freshwater lakes. The most recent of these was Recent Lake Alsek, which formed 5,500 years ago during the "Little Ice Age" and finally drained in 1891. The forest that lines the road has grown up since that time.
At Kilometer 220, a short, paved spur road leads to the shores of Kathleen Lake, which occupies a gap in the Kluane Ranges. The snowbound Icefield Ranges of the Saint Elias Mountains are visible beyond it. This lake with its aquamarine waters and fringe of stately conifers is one of the scenic gems of Kluane National Park. It is inhabited by several kinds of game fish, including the kokanee, a landlocked form of sockeye salmon. The Cottonwood Trail makes a 53-mile loop from the lake-side campground. You will need to get a special permit from park headquarters in Haines Junction. A lodge on the opposite side of the highway sells the last gasoline you can get until the road reaches the outskirts of Haines.
As the highway continues southward, the Auriol Range rises to the west. One of the prettiest of the Kluane Ranges, this chain is known for its rock glaciers. At Kilometer 202, there is a self-guiding nature trail that climbs onto the toe of one of these rock glaciers.
The road soon reaches the shore of Dezadeash Lake, a broad and windy expanse of water that is a remnant of the former Lake Alsek. The name Dezadeash refers to an ingenious fishing method employed here by the Southern Tutchone Indians. They sank strips of white birch bark to the bottom of the lake, white side up. When fish swam over the bark, they presented a distinct silhouette and could be speared easily. This is the site of a famous Indian massacre in which Upper Tanana Indians from the village of Snag staged a surprise attack on a village of Southern Tutchones and killed 100 of them.
The rounded peaks east of the lake are part of the Dezadeash Range. A government campground with a boat launch is located on the western shore of the lake, at Kilometer 205 on the highway. Boaters should be aware that heavy winds can rise suddenly on this vast body of water.
At the south end of the lake, the highway passes the abandoned settlement of Beloud Post, and an old jeep trail runs westward to Mush Lake in the heart of Kluane National Park. This area has one of the highest densities of grizzly bears found anywhere; be especially careful along streams when salmon are spawning. Nearby Shorty Creek was the site of prospecting efforts by the "Mysterious 36," a secret party of miners led by a cavalry lieutenant. The group was thought to represent the interests of the Standard Oil Company and eastern Canadian capitalists. It found little gold and abandoned the project.
A short distance beyond Beloud Post, a spur road runs east to the Southern Tutchone village of Klukshu. The name means "Coho Place" in the Tlingit dialect, and the stream that runs past the village supports a strong run of these fish, as well as steelhead and sockeye and king salmon. The Southern Tulchones use traditional fish traps built of poles, which they sank into the streambed to form weirs and corrals. This technology was borrowed from the coastal Tlingit tribe; elsewhere in the Yukon, the Tutchones used a cylindrical form of fish trap. Klukshu is situated on the Dalton Trail and features picturesque cabins and drying sheds. There is also a small museum that is open on an occasional basis.
The highway crosses Klukshu Creek and climbs onto high terraces to meet the Dalton Post Road at Kilometer 169. This gravel road is extremely steep. It leads downward to the site of one of Jack Dalton's old way stations, from which he used to patrol his trail. On one occasion, he caught some cowhands moving a herd of cattle along the trail without paying and turned them back at gunpoint. He shadowed the herd to Haines, making sure it stayed off the trail for the entire 200 miles. Only a couple of tumble-down cabins remain at the site, near the confluence of Klukshu Creek and the Tatsenshini River. Floaters headed down the Tatsenshini and through the Saint Elias Mountains via the Alsek River use this spot as a put-in point.
This is an extremely challenging wilderness float, featuring Class III whitewater and glaciers that calve directly into the rivers. Floaters need to arrange an aircraft pickup at Dry Bay on the Gulf of Alaska.
The highway sticks to the higher ground, yielding fine views of the Alsek Ranges to the west as it progresses southward. At Kilometer 167, the Takhanne River glides lazily down from its origins among the rounded peaks to the east. Just downstream of the bridge is Million Dollar Falls, where the river plunges 60 meters (200 feet). A viewing platform and walkway have been built atop the basalt walls that guard the violent torrent. Coho and sockeye salmon spawn abundantly below the falls, but they are unable to move beyond this natural barrier.
The road runs along the edge of a great valley, staying close to the timberline as it crosses the border into British Columbia. The low, sinuous hills that flank the road here are eskers, laid down by streams that ran through tunnels under glacial ice. The tundra-clad slopes above the roadway sweep upward to snow-dappled peaks. The trees ultimately fall away, and a vast tundra-clad basin stretches away to the south. Brooding mountains guard its fringes, and many of the inner peaks have been carved into serrated forms by glaciers. Watch for tiny montane glaciers clinging to the flanks of the higher summits.
Alsek-Tatsenshini Wilderness Park stretches west of the road, a trackless expanse of mountain landscape that unites Glacier Bay, Kluane, and Wrangell-Saint Elias national parks into an unbroken block of wilderness that is one of the largest of its kind in the world. This is the home of the "glacier bear," a rare form of black bear that has smoky-blue fur. The broad lowland along the road is Chilkat Pass, the drainage divide between the Alsek and Chilkat watersheds.
Just north of the Nadahini River (Kilometer 109), a small, dull-colored shack stands next to the roadway This structure was built by a biologist who was studying ptarmigans. It has since become a sort of primitive hostelry used by backpackers, cyclists, and stranded motorists.
The Nadahini drains southward into the Chilkat Valley, but the highway must still cross the low summit of Three Guardsmen Pass before it begins its descent. The pass cradles a barren lake at the foot of Glave Peak, named for Jack Dalton's partner in exploration who died before he could return to the Yukon. As the road begins its descent into the deep valley of the Klehini River, the glacier-clad summits of Mount McDonnell rise ahead in a stunning display of rock and ice. Look eastward from the hairpin curve at Mile 52 to see the Maid of Erin Mine, which produced almost 80,000 pounds of copper between 1911 and 1922.
The road descends steadily into a lush coastal forest that contrasts markedly with the more open stands of white spruce, lodgepole, and aspen found in the interior. Moisture-loving trees such as Sitka spruce and western hemlock grow tall and thick in this maritime climate. Halfway down the grade, the customs checkpoints are located next to Dalton Cache. The old cabin behind the U S. customs station (originally called Pleasant Camp) was built in 1896 as a way station, and it still stands in good repair. It boasts a fine view of the Jarvis Glacier's terminal moraine. The glacier carries a steady stream of rock along with its icy flow, and as the ice melts at the toe of the glacier, the rock is deposited to form the great ridges of gravel that are visible here. Take a short stroll northward along the highway from the Canadian customs station to view one of the original bridges of the Dalton Trail. It spans a small stream on the downhill side of the road.
The original wartime road was built on the floodplain of the Klehini, despite the warnings of old-timers that it would wash out. Time proved the sourdoughs right; floods soon destroyed the roadbed, forcing its relocation to the slopes above the river. The road completes its descent to the floor of the Klehini Valley, and crosses Big Boulder Creek along the way.
The gold-mining settlement of Porcupine was once located directly across the river from this point. The original strike was made in 1898, and by the following year more than $50,000 in gold had been recovered. A mining town sprang up, featuring a trading post, a hotel, and four saloons. Jack Dalton's Porcupine Trading Company gained control of most of the claims in 1900, and an enormous flume was built to redirect the river away from the gold-bearing gravel. Mining could then progress on a larger scale. Miners netted $ 150,000 a year in gold. A flood destroyed the flume in 1905, but by that time most of the claims had already been exhausted. Large-scale operations resumed for a ten-year period starting in 1926.
The road soon enters the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. The Klehini and Chilkat rivers are fed by groundwater that surfaces at a constant 4 degrees Centigrade (40 degrees Fahrenheit). The warm water keeps sections of the river ice-free during the early winter and supports a late run of chum salmon. Eagles migrate here from all over the Far North to feast on the salmon, congregating along the river by the thousands from November through January There is no other place in the world where these beautiful raptors gather in such large numbers.
Just beyond the Chilkat River bridge, a short spur road leads eastward to the Tlingit village of Klukwan. Located at the confluence of the Klehini and Chilkat rivers, this village is the cultural heart of the Chilkat band and was once home to the legendary chief Koh-Klux. There are no visitor facilities here; please respect the privacy of the residents.
The highway crosses the flats of the Chilkat River, where enormous cottonwood trees serve as eagle roosts in the winter. The best eagle viewing is found in this area, and several photographers' blinds are planned with this in mind. The concentration of eagles on these "Council Grounds" begins in mid-November and peaks in January. Travelers who pass through during the summer may see one or two of the great birds. Stopping in the roadway is illegal; if you wish to view the eagles, you should use one of the roadside pullouts, and be careful not to disturb the raptors.
The Takhinsha Mountains rise in lofty majesty to the west of the river, and beyond their crests are the ice fields of Glacier Bay National Park. The most distinctive of these mountains is Mount Emmerich, which can be viewed to best advantage at Mile 8. Scan the slopes above the road for mountain goats and watch the river for fishwheels, used to catch migrating salmon.
The road finally reaches the picturesque town of Haines after a Journey of 152 miles. The town sits on a narrow peninsula between Lynn Canal and Chilkat Inlet at a spot known to the Tlingits as Dei shu or "the end of the trail." An important portage trail once crossed a narrow neck of the peninsula at this spot, sparing the Indians a 20-mile paddle around the point. Two principle bands of Tlingits inhabited this area, the Chilkat (translated as "basket of many fish") who inhabited the valley to the north, and the Chilkoot ("basket of large fish") who lived to the east along Lynn Canal.
The Tlingits had a rich and complex culture, based on fishing for salmon and trading seashells and eulachon oil inland for furs, hides, and meat. They lived in large dwellings made of cedar planks and were renowned for their artistic abilities. In addition to totem poles, the Tlingits wove intricately patterned baskets and manufactured the distinctive Chilkat blankets, decorated with stylized faces and heraldic crests.
Explorer George Vancouver was one of the first Europeans to visit this area, and he named the deep fjord east of town Lynn Canal, after his home port of King's Lynn in England. In 1879, the Chilkats invited naturalist John Muir and Presbyterian minister S. Hall Young to establish a mission and school at the current site of Haines. Muir, who founded the Sierra Club, wrote at length about the glories of Glacier Bay and was instrumental in having it set aside as a national monument.
The settlement soon grew, with clapboard Victorian houses and tidy, fenced yards. The U.S. Army established Fort Seward here in 1903, in part to maintain order along the gold-rush routes and in part to enforce American interests during the boundary dispute with Canada. The fort, later renamed Chilkoot Barracks, was the only permanent Army post in Alaska for 20 years. It was closed in 1946 and now serves as a cultural center. Here, you can watch Tlingit totem-pole carvers at work or perhaps catch one of the several weekly shows of the Chilkat Dancers. The Totem Village is located on the old parade ground of the fort. It features replicas of a trapper cabin and a traditional Tlingit plank house.
Haines enjoys a relatively temperate climate. Winter temperatures never dip below minus 27 degrees Centigrade (minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit). The balmy climate made gardening a popular pastime here, and in 1900 a gardener named Charles Anway developed the Burbank strain of strawberry. This enormous hybrid grows as large as a teacup and is sweet all the way to the center. An annual strawberry festival ultimately grew into the Southeast Alaska State Fair and Music Festival, which is held each August.
In addition to the native artisans at Fort Seward, Haines offers a wealth of other visitor attractions. The Welcome Totems are located at the highway's intersection with the Mud Bay Road on the way into town. The Sheldon Museum, near the waterfront, specializes in cultural and historical exhibits. The American Bald Eagle Foundation operates a free museum that features stuffed mounts of local wildlife. At the end of Mud Bay Road, Chilkat State Park offers beachcombing, excellent views of the mountains across Chilkat Inlet, and a number of hiking trails of varying lengths and difficulties. You can sometimes see humpback and killer whales in the deep waters of Lynn Canal.
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