The Klondike Highway is a highway that leads from Skagway, Alaska in the United States to Dawson City, Yukon in Canada. It somewhat parallels the route used by prospectors in the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, except that the prospectors floated on rafts on the Yukon River for most of their journey.

From the south, the highway is in the United States state of Alaska for 24 km (15 miles) through the White Pass in the Coast Mountains. It runs through the Canadian province of British Columbia for 56 km (35 miles), at which point it enters the Yukon Territory of Canada. It reaches the Alaska Highway and shares a short section with that highway, after which it diverges and runs to Dawson City. The highway is 712 km (443 miles) long.

In the Yukon, the Klondike Highway is marked as Yukon Route 2. In Alaska, the Highway is marked as Alaska 98 (as in the "route of 1898")¹.

Construction of the highway began in the 1950s and was completed to Skagway in 1978, although many parts of it were in use before 1978. The highway was paved in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

See Also

• List of Alaska state highways
• List of Canadian highways by province

References

1. Internet travelog of Jim Teresco. Specifically Skagway, June 23, 2001, pictures 11 and 12 and their associated captions. Retrieved 2005-02-18.