Best national-parks in Yukon, ranked

The top 5

1) Kluane National Park — non-negotiable. Home to Mount Logan, Canada's highest peak, and the largest non-polar icefield on Earth. The King's Throne day hike is a serious 10 km grind with the best payoff in the territory. 2) Tombstone Territorial Park — technically not federal but ranks higher than most national parks anywhere. Granite spires, tundra, September gold. 3) Ivvavik National Park — fly-in only, the British Mountains, roughly $6,000 for a rafting trip and worth every dollar.

4) Vuntut National Park — even more remote than Ivvavik, protecting the Porcupine caribou range. 5) Herschel Island (Qikiqtaruk) Territorial Park — Beaufort Sea, historic whaling station, muskox. Charter flight from Inuvik.

The next 5

6) Fishing Branch (Ni’iinlii’njik) — grizzlies eating chum salmon in October, ultra-controlled access. 7) Coal River Springs — tufa formations, backcountry only. 8) Tatshenshini-Alsek (bordering) — one of the great whitewater rafting trips on the continent. 9) Kusawa Territorial Park — closer to Whitehorse, underrated for canoeing. 10) Agay Mene — new, quiet, a good day-drive from Whitehorse. Overrated? Nothing here is overrated. The Yukon does not have filler parks — it has too much land and not enough people to hype it.

How to actually get in

Kluane is drivable from Whitehorse in 90 minutes; base yourself in Haines Junction. Tombstone is a 6-hour drive up the Dempster from Dawson City — worth it for the September color. Everything else north of the Arctic Circle requires flights from Inuvik or Whitehorse and a guide. Budget $500–1,500 a day for guided fly-in trips. For the driveable parks, entry is free; camping runs $12–20 a night.