The Haines Highway - A National Scenic Byway

Forget-Me-Nots ... Alaska's State Flower

The Haines Highway connects Haines with Haines Junction and the Alaska Highway. It is a 146-mile highway that starts in Alaska, goes through British Columbia and ends up in the Yukon! The highway skirts mountain ranges all along the way, as you pass the Takhinsha Mountains (AK), the Tatshenshini-Alsek Wilderness Provincial Park  (BC) and the Kluane National Park Reserve (YT). There are breathtaking views of glaciated mountains as well as a variety of scenery from coastal forests to alpine tundra.

The Milepost  explains that "part of what is now the Haines Highway was originally a "grease trail" used by coastal Chilkat Indians trading eulachon oil (from Hooligan fish) for furs from the interior.  In the late 1880's the old trading route became a packhorse trail leading to the Klondike gold fields.  The present road was built in 1943 as a military access highway during WWII."

From Haines we drove north along the Chilkat and Klehini Rivers.  As we drove we saw two fish wheels on the river.  They looked like wire water wheels to me, as they scooped up the fish and dropped them into the boat as the wheels turned.

The highway started climbing as we entered British Columbia and skirted the Tatshenshinhi-Alsek Wilderness Provincial Park. Along that stretch we saw pairs of trumpeter swans in many of the small lakes, and even spotted one pair nesting on top of a beaver lodge, as they often do.

And finally, we got a look at a grizzly bear.  The bear was on David's side of the car, so he got better pictures, but just seeing the bear was a thrill.

Three Guardsmen Mountain - 6,3000 ft.

As the road climbed higher we passed the Three Guardsmen Mountain. There was cloud cover, but the peaks were still impressive.  Higher still, we went over the Chilkat Pass at 3,510 feet and then meandered through a wide alpine valley.  There was ice on the small ponds, and the snow covered peaks looked like giant frozen waves.

In The Milepost I read that "The Chilkat Pass was one of the few mountain passes offering access into the Yukon from the coast.  The Chilkat and the Chilkoot Passes were tenaciously guarded by Tlingit Indians.  These southern Yukon Indians did not want their lucrative fur-trading business with the coastal Indians and the Russians jeopardized by white strangers. However, the gold rush of 1898 brought thousands of white people inland and finally opened the Chilkat Pass, forever altering the lifestyle of the Interior Natives."

We pulled over in a rest area for lunch.  We were surrounded by tundra and had to wonder where all the caribou were! It looked like caribou and reindeer country to us.

From there the highway descended toward Haines Junction, following the course of the Tatshenshini River. We passed into the Yukon Territory before we stopped for the night at the Million Dollar Falls Yukon Government Campground.  There were 34 sites there, but only one other was taken.  Many people drove in to view the falls, but they did not stay. A boardwalk trail and viewing platforms allow you to look down on the Takhanne River.  This is another good fishing river, but it was too high and fast to tempt David.

Million Dollar Falls, on the Takhanne River, YT

Just two miles beyond our campground we stopped at a large rest area to get photos of our first look at the  Kluane Range ( pronounced kloo-WA-nee).  This range of mountains parallels the highway from here to Haines Junction, giving us a nearly unbroken chain of mountains.  The mountains are up to 8,000 feet tall and interrupted only by a few large valleys cut by glacier-fed streams.  The mountains' snowy tops were brilliant white against the blue sky.

The Kluane Mountain Range in the YT

From there, the trip was one continual feast for the eyes.  The clouds and the sun seemed to take turns enveloping the mountain tops and giving us one of Mother Nature's best light shows. It is no wonder that these 146 miles have been designated a National Scenic Byway. 

Looking back, neither David nor I have much recollection of the village of Haines Junction.  We remember it as the junction with the Alaska Highway and where we filled up the gas tank.  This town was established in 1942 during the construction of the Alaska Highway, and now basically offers services to travellers. My impression was of a town sprawling out around the junction, and briefly obscuring the majestic views into Kluane National Park....   or perhaps briefly obscuring my awareness of the majestic views...

It is amazing how quickly our so-called civilization can blot out the beauty of the natural world.