Last Stops Before Alaska
- Kay Helberg
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
There’s a place in the Yukon called the Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park that’s home to the 2nd largest hot springs in Canada. Various people we met along this journey had mentioned having that on their agenda. Unfortunately, we learned of it during a period of time where we had a lot of back to back reservations at campgrounds on The Alcan and Karl didn’t want to “eat” the cost of a campsite in order to detour our route to hit the hot springs (which would’ve been after our stop in Toad River). So in order to please his disappointed bride, we decided to hit up some hot springs further up the road in the Yukon. Therefore, our next stop was to The Hot Springs Camprground outside of Whitehorse. The campground is adjacent to the Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs. So we had a chance to bathe in natural hot mineral water afterall! These hot springs were part of a high end spa experience (they also had various saunas and steam rooms, a relaxation center with hibernation rooms and a meditation solarium etc…). So, needless to say (and unlike the provincial park hot springs in Liard), there was a dress code for this place which meant that Karl couldn’t wear shorts in the hotsprings pool. Therefore, en route to the campground we had to stop and get the hubby a legal bathing suit! We got a great little bargain suit at WalMart; since it was most likely going to be a one time wearing experience, my hubs couldn’t have cared less what it looked like.
The campground was a 5 minute walk through a wooded path to get to the resort. I really wanted to take pictures inside but it’s against the rules - which I guess makes sense because I woudn’t want pictures of ME in a bathing suit making its way around to people I don’t know! They also had specific rules about showering COMPLETELY before getting in your suit to enjoy the facilities. I took a picture of that before putting my things in a locker because I thought it was a hoot (it’s an odd little diagram but I had to include it in this post for chuckles… ) Between soaks in the large hot springs pool, we walked around sipping our yummy cucumber water and checked out the saunas (hot and warm), and the steam rooms (with or without eucalyptus)…I decided I would check those out later in the day IF we decided to return (since, as campground residents, we had a readmittance pass). We ended up only using the Eclipse Pool because some of the other options were still under construction and the smaller pool and the small Japanese Ceramic Tubs were unfortunately occupied while we were there. I, to my dismay, did NOT have the guts to hop in one of the Cold Plunge cedar tubs! Although I really wanted to, I couldn't do it after being so heated from the hot springs. I did shock my system a little by using one of the outside cold showers (with an awesome big strong showerhead), but I regrettably never could work up the nerve to cold plunge!
The hot springs pool and the ambiance were beautiful. When we were done I decided I had to have a beer to toast my maiden hot springs experience. I stealthily took a pic of the beer with a slight reflection of the grounds in the background. It really was quite lovely and you should check out the website for the Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs in Whitehorse, YT to get a better sense of it! While walking back to the campground it started raining, so we didn’t get to return to try out any of other amenities. However, it was a great bucket list experience and even though the grounds were still under construction, it was a memorable slice of beauty!
(I should also note here that I learned from Joan that the Liard Hot Springs, although in more of a natural rustic setting, was also VERY full of mosquitos…so we lucked out big time in that respect!)
The next day’s drive brought us that much closer to the Alaskan border. It was about a 5.5hr drive (which was on the longer side for us). The views were, again, beautiful. I’ve included a pic below of the typical views with the fireweed that grows along the highway. These flowers will always represent this journey for me! I’ve also included a couple of the information signs that were located at one of the rest areas. They both give insights to the Kluane First Nation, which is one of the 11 self-governing nations in the Yukon. I found them to enlightening - and I hope you do too! I thought the info on the caribou was quite fascinating!
Our drive brought us to our final stop which would be about 1-1.5hrs away from the border into Alaska. About a half hour out from the campground the roads got a little dicey (picture shown), but we easily made our way to The DIscovery Yukon Lodgings in Koidern/Beaver Creek in the western Yukon. It was a cool campground with a bunch of old vehicles from eras gone by parked throughout to add to the ambience.
I texted with Joan (of Joan & Steve fame) to check in as to where they were and let her know that we were one stop away from the border - only to learn that they had arrived at the same campground the day before and were still there! So as soon as we were checked in and parked, we meandered through the campground and found our new friends. We got to hang out together and drink some yummy Yukon IPA from the gift shop and spend some more time with their cute pups Betsy & Boomer. Their trailer was parked next to a big grassy area which we soon learned was used as a landing pad for helicopters to ferry workers in and out of some exploratory drilling sights nearby. It was fascinating to watch from the front row as they landed and took off! It was the perfect way to spend our last day in the Yukon since we would be entering Alaska the next day!
The cover pic for this post is of me and my (very motivating) t-shirt that Karl’s sister and brother-in-law had given each of us for Christmas a few years back! I had to put it on to wear for the big border crossing that next morning! I’ve also included some pics from the cool campground to give you a sense of it and included some interesting and educational info too.
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