The greyhound doesn't go far enough north.

June 17, 2008 1:29 PM

YukonFilter: How does one get from Whitehorse to Dawson City?

The goal is to try to get to the Dawson City Music Festival.
Greyhound goes only as far as Whitehorse [boo!], and I'm exploring options to get the rest of the way.

Option 1:
I haven't been able to find any rideshare board related to this festival or even for the yukon in general. Is there one?
Pros: cheap, environmentally fuzzy-wuzzyish.
cons: reliability, maybe have to ride with stinky hippies.

Option 2:
Car rental. Seems like it would be somewhere around $350 for a week, plus whatever price gas is at now.
pro: maybe could work in a drive on the top of the world highway trip
con: money!

Option 3 [The coolest option]:
Rent a [canoe/kayak/raft?] in whitehorse and paddle down the river to dawson city.
pros: awesome!
cons: not super experienced at paddling, maybe expensive?, lack of communication in the event of emergencies, no way to get back to whitehorse after the festival.
pros: awesome!

[it's class I almost all the way, and I've seen video/maps/pictures of the two little bits of rapids, and I'd be comfortable running them [and would bring extra warm gear drybagged in the event of a swim]


Um.
Would anyone with experience getting around this area advise me on the logistics involved with any of these options? Money is kind of the primary concern, but hey.
Adventure, as always, awaits.

[Convince me that option 3 is the best option!]

posted by Acari to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

How would you get back from Dawson City to Whitehorse if you did Option 3?
posted by rlef98 at 2:23 PM on June 17, 2008

Option 3 sounds like the most fun, assuming you can find somebody to loan/rent you a boat. Then the trick is to make a few friends and bum/buy a ride off them back to your bus.

Seems awesome, especially if you have the backup cash to make sure you don't get stranded.
posted by cschneid at 2:48 PM on June 17, 2008

Well, if #3 proves too dicey, try calling Grey Line of Alaska, [phone]. Their buses serve the Yukon Territory, including Dawson City and White Horse. It doesn't look like there's regular service between the two cities, but there are definitely charters, and you might be able to tag along.

The charters I'm sure about are Cruise Tours (a combination of a cruise + a land tour) that take "Explorer Coaches" (fancy buses) between Dawson City and White Horse. If they have spare capacity I don't think they mind making a little extra money.

As of last year they went White Horse --> Dawson at least twice a week.

BTW, if you're planning on staying at a hotel during the festival, book ASAP. There aren't a lot of beds in Dawson.

I'd be interested to know how it works out!
posted by CruiseSavvy at 3:00 PM on June 17, 2008

Alaska Direct Busline, Inc:
[phone] (Whitehorse) 1-800-770-6652 (Toll Free)
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 3:45 PM on June 17, 2008