Discover the "Top of the World" with Yukon, Alaska Tours

Savor the total silence of Alaska’s boreal forests and sense the excitement of the “Klondike Gold Rush” days in Canada’s Yukon. Visit Denali National Park and Preserve to catch a glimpse of Mount McKinley, highest mountain in North America.

You’ll enjoy the color, character and contrasts of Whitehorse, the city at the edge of the wilderness that is Yukon’s capital, and you’ll visit storied Dawson City, an historic and colorful town bursting with heritage sites and attractions. You’ll tour the Klondike gold fields and sense the fever that gripped Dawson more than a century ago.

Two interesting ways of experiencing the North Country of Yukon and Alaska are via a self-drive vacation or by joining an escorted motorcoach tour. Both are offered by Maxxim Vacations of Canada.

8-Night Self Drive Itinerary

“Yukon & Alaska Adventure” is an eight-night self-drive itinerary that visits Whitehorse, Dawson City, Beaver Creek and Haines Junction. An 11-night itinerary adds Skagway. It is value-priced at US$1,609 per person (based on double occupancy) for a 9-day/8-night package. Included is round-trip airfare on Air Canada Los Angeles/Whitehorse, eight nights’ accommodation and an eight-day mid-size rental car with unlimited mileage.

A big package of extras includes: Whitehorse City Tour, Frantic Follies Vaudeville Review, Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Gambling Hall, Beaver Creek Dinner Theatre and the White Pass Summit.

Comparably priced packages are available from other U.S. gateways. Packages with Chicago departures are priced from US$1,709; Boston or New York from US$1,729; Atlanta from US$1,799; and Miami from US$2,239.

11-Night Package, Too

An 11-night package is priced from US$1,969 (with Los Angeles departure—slightly higher from other U.S. gateways).

A Maxxim Vacations’ travel specialist will help fashion an itinerary to meet your individual needs as you spend each night in a reserved room at a hotel, country inn or bed-and-breakfast inn. Then, traveling at your own pace, you’ll explore colorful, historic towns and drive along the winding ridge-top road known as “Top of the World Highway” crossing over from Yukon, Canada into Tok, Alaska.

Choose an Escorted Tour

Choose a 14 day-13 night escorted tour and your itinerary is Whitehorse, Dawson City, Tok, Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Beaver Creek and back to Whitehorse. Included in the inclusive price of $4,099 per person (based on double occupancy) are round-trip airfare Los Angeles/Whitehorse, 13 nights' hotel accommodation and 14-day escorted service including all ground transportation (except airport transfers).

Also included is baggage handling of one suitcase per person, select meals and entrance to various museums and attractions. Packages with Chicago departures are priced from US$4,199; Boston or New York from US$4,229; Atlanta from US$4,289 and Miami from US$4,729.

In Whitehorse, the territorial capital, a city of 19,000-plus, you’ll stroll along the scenic walkway along the Yukon River and visit the MacBride Museum to learn about Yukon gold and the “Gold Rush” of 1898. In August, a popular attraction is the sight of hundreds of Chinook salmon using the longest wooden “fish ladder” in the world to bypass the dam. North of town, you can enjoy the spring-warmed waters of Takhini Hot Springs.

The "Gold Rush" in Dawson City

A stop at Dawson City provides an opportunity to learn more about the “Gold Rush” and to take in a vaudeville show. You also can delve into the lives of literary luminaries Jack London, author of “White Fang,” and Robert Service, known as “The Bard of the Yukon,” whose poems include “The Shooting of Dan McGrew.”

Skagway, just four blocks wide and 23 blocks long, is a tiny foothold in a vast wilderness of deep conifer forests. It is a lively town, though, lying at the northernmost end of the Inside Passage and a favorite port of call for cruise ships.

Fir reservations and additional information, call Maxxim Vacations, at (800) 567-6666. Visit www.maxximvacations.com.