Beaver Creek, Yukon: A Traveller's Guide to Canada's Westernmost Town

Driving the Alaska Highway to Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek sits at kilometre 1935 of the Alaska Highway, roughly 457 km and about five hours west of Whitehorse. The route runs through Haines Junction, skirts the eastern edge of Kluane National Park and Reserve, then follows Kluane Lake past Destruction Bay and Burwash Landing before the highway straightens out toward the Alaska border. Fuel up in Haines Junction or Destruction Bay, since services thin out considerably over the final 150 km.

Plan the drive for June through September, when the highway is clear and visitor services are open. Frost heaves and gravel patches are common even in summer, so give yourself extra time rather than pushing after dark. Winter driving is possible but demands serious cold-weather preparation, since temperatures regularly drop well below freezing and daylight hours shrink sharply from November to February.

What to Do Around Beaver Creek

Start at the Beaver Creek Visitor Information Centre, which has maps, road condition updates and background on the White River First Nation, whose traditional territory surrounds the town. Our Lady of Grace Church, a small log building near the highway, is a quick but worthwhile stop for its construction and setting against the Yukon bush. The community itself is tiny, so most visitors treat it as a base rather than a destination with a long activity list.

History buffs should detour to the former weather station site at Snag, northeast of town, where a reading of minus 63 degrees Celsius in February 1947 still stands as the coldest temperature ever recorded in North America. On clear days, the mountains visible to the southwest belong to the Wrangell-St. Elias range across the border, a dramatic backdrop that photographers will want morning or evening light for rather than midday sun.

Crossing the Border at Little Gold Creek

The Canada-US border crossing sits about 27 km west of Beaver Creek, where Little Gold Creek on the Yukon side meets Poker Creek on the Alaska side. Hours are seasonal and shorter than many travellers expect, so check current operating times before you plan a late arrival or early departure. Bring a passport or other approved travel document for every person in the vehicle, including children.

Beyond the border, the nearest town with meaningful services is Tok, Alaska, roughly 150 km further west. That stretch has long gaps between fuel stations, so top up your tank in Beaver Creek regardless of which direction you are heading. Cell coverage is unreliable on both sides of the line, so download offline maps before you leave Haines Junction or Whitehorse.

Where to Stay in Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek has a small number of lodging options, and rooms fill quickly in July and August when RV travellers, cross-border tourists and highway crews are all moving through at once. Because there is no large overflow town nearby, arriving without a reservation in peak summer can mean a much longer drive than planned to find a bed. This is one stretch of the Alaska Highway where booking ahead genuinely changes your trip.

If Beaver Creek is your planned overnight stop, reserve before you leave Whitehorse or Haines Junction rather than waiting until you are on the road. Search and compare what is available for your exact dates through our booking site, lock in a room, and you can focus the rest of your planning on fuel stops, border hours and weather rather than scrambling for a place to sleep at the edge of the highway.