Whitehorse

Introduction

Whitehorse, Yukon; Miles Canyon Suspension Bridge

© All Rights Reserved jengelman

Whitehorse is the capital of Yukon, Canada and has a population of about 23,000 people. It's the largest city in Canada's territories and is a great base to explore the subarctic north with its national parks.

Weather

Like much of Yukon, Whitehorse has a subarctic climate with harsh conditions for most of the year. Winters last from October to April with temperatures from December to February averaging around -20 °C and an absolute low of -52.2 °C! Days average between -6 °C to -13 °C during these months, although temperatures of aroun 10 °C above zero have been recorded. Short summers last from June to August with average highs of around 20 °C and lows between 5 °C and 10 °C. The absolute high is around 34 °C, recorded in both May(!) and June. Frost is rare but still possible in summer.
Precipitation is low with around 250-300mm a year, mostly rain in summer and snow in winter.

Getting There

By Plane

Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (YXY) is the main gateway by air, with flights from Whitehorse to Edmonton, Fairbanks, Calgary, Inuvik (Northwest Territories), Old Crow and Vancouver with Air North and to Vancouver with Air Canada. Air Canada Yazz has seasonal flights to Calgary as well (summer). There are even seasonal flights (summer) with Condor to Frankfurt, Germany!

By Train

White Pass Railroad

© All Rights Reserved deannajuli

There are no trains going as far north as Whitehorse on a regular basis, but in the summer season the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad provides trips from Skagway, Alaska, as far as Carcross in Yukon, with coach connections to Whitehorse.

By Car

Whitehorse is a major stop on the Alaska Highway.

By Bus

Alaska Direct Bus Line has services to Dawson City (8 hours, twice a week) and Tok in Alaska (8 hours, 3 times a week) via the Alaska Highway and Haines Junction (2 hours).
Greyhound Canada has buses going south towards Dawson Creek with connections further towards British Columbia and the rest of Canada.
Yukon Alaska Tourist Tours has buses to Dawson City (once a week) and daily from late May to early September to Skagway (4 hours).

Sleep

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Postal service is provided by Canada Post, a crown corporation owned by the government but run as an independent business.

To format the envelope of a letter sent within Canada, put the destination address on the centre of its envelope, with a stamp, postal indicia, meter label, or frank mark on the top-right corner of the envelope to acknowledge payment of postage. A return address, although it is not required, can be put on the top-left corner of the envelope in smaller type than the destination address.

The lettermail service allows the mailing of a letter. The basic rate is currently set at $0.63 for one standard letter (30 grams or less). The rates for lettermail are based or weight and size and determine whether the article falls into the aforementioned standard format, or in the oversize one. The rate is the same for a postcard.

Mail sent internationally is known as letterpost. It can only contain paper documents. The rate for a standard letter is of $1.10 if sent to the United States, and $1.85 if sent to any other destination. Oversize or overweight letters may be charged a higher fee

Larger parcels can be shipped via Canada post both domestically and internationally, the rate is dependent on the weight and destination. ^[1]

Federal Express or DHL also provide interntional shipping from Canada.