Alaska Highway: Liard Hot Springs to Watson Lake, Yukon
This drive marks the third leg of my northern road trip—a journey that began back at the historic Mile 0 monument in Dawson Creek, BC. If you’ve been following along, we’ve already navigated the rolling foothills and vast muskeg on the first leg from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, then tackled the breathtaking elevation and jade waters of the Northern Rockies on the second leg from Fort Nelson to Liard River.
Now, the road leads across the 60th parallel. This stretch of the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake, Yukon, opens up the landscape, stretches the horizon under an immense northern sky, and welcomes you with open arms. This route offers hidden river gorges, fascinating border crossings, and legendary highway landmarks.
A quick piece of advice before you turn the key: bring a sign from home and keep it carefully stowed in your vehicle. Watson Lake is home to the world-famous Signpost Forest, and whether it’s a vintage metal plate from your hometown, a painted wooden shingle, or a custom slice of your personal journey, you’ll definitely want to leave your own mark on this legendary northern tradition.
Entering the Yukon Territory
Crossing into the Yukon Territory, the Land of the Midnight Sun, captures the imagination like few places on Earth. Long before white travellers, trappers, and prospectors arrived in the mid-1800s, well-established Indigenous nations lived, hunted, and maintained sophisticated trade networks across these vast river valleys and plateaus. First Nations traders first shared tales with newcomers of heavy, yellow nuggets that could be scooped by hand straight from shallow stream beds and river gravels—whispers of wealth that ultimately altered northern history.
Those early encounters laid the groundwork for the frenzied 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, when over 100,000 hopeful dreamers surged north toward Dawson City, turning remote tent camps into bustling frontier boomtowns overnight. The Yukon proudly boasts two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The first is Kluane National Park and Reserve in the southwest, renowned for its massive icefields, towering peaks (including Mount Logan, Canada’s highest summit), and rich wilderness ecology. The second is Tr’ondëk-Klondike, which honours the intricate cultural landscape, ancestral traditions, and Gold Rush archaeology surrounding Dawson City and the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in traditional territory.
For modern road trippers, travelling through this magnificent territory is unforgettable, but it requires preparation. The territory’s vibrant capital city is Whitehorse, an energetic northern hub set along the Yukon River. Beyond the capital, key towns like Watson Lake, Beaver Creek, Dawson City, and Carcross serve as essential community centres—each with an exceptional Visitor Information Centre staffed by enthusiastic locals ready to share road updates, hidden viewpoints, and cultural insights.
Between these settlements, comfortable roadside hotels and historic lodges dot the major highway corridors, while well-maintained government campgrounds and rustic recreation sites offer overnight options for van lifers and tent campers alike. Keep in mind that mobile phone service is virtually nonexistent once you leave each town's municipal limits. Download offline maps, carry printed road logs, keep your spare tire in top condition, and embrace the peaceful silence of the open subarctic road.
The Drive: Liard Hot Springs to the 60th Parallel
The 210-kilometre stretch winding northwest from Liard River Hot Springs feels noticeably more remote as the towering peaks of the Northern Rockies soften into rolling, spruce-carpeted plateaus. This section offers a delightful geographical quirk: the highway meanders along the border corridor, briefly crossing into the Yukon around kilometre 909, then dipping back into British Columbia for about 70 kilometres before making its final, permanent leap across the 60th parallel into the territory just outside Watson Lake. It makes for a fun navigational dance, but several scenic and practical treasures along the way make it worth pulling off the road.
Smith River Falls
The first rewarding detour is to Smith River Falls at kilometre 792 (Historical Mile 514). Turn north off the Alaska Highway onto the gravel Smith River Falls Road and follow it for roughly 2.5 kilometres to the parking area and turnaround loop. From there, a short trail leads through regenerating boreal pine forest (rebounding from a fierce wildfire years ago) down to wooden viewing platforms overlooking a spectacular, two-tiered 35-metre waterfall carving through a steep limestone canyon. The roar of the water and the gorge's sheer scale make the quick detour off the main route well worth it.
Whirlpool Canyon
Continue down the highway to kilometre 832 (Historical Mile 538) to reach the Whirlpool Canyon access point. Watch for the recreation-site pull-off sign, follow the short access spur into the day-use parking area, and step onto the foot trail that skirts the rim. Here, the Liard River narrows forcefully into a rugged geological chute, churning turbulent, frothing whirlpools and boiling white-water eddies against ancient stone walls. It is an ideal spot to stretch your legs and soak in the raw, untamed force of the northern waterways.
Before you make that final border crossing, a stop at Contact Creek Lodge near kilometre 912 (Historical Mile 590) is practically mandatory. The creek holds an honoured place in wartime engineering lore as the historic meeting point where US Army Corps of Engineers crews forging north from Fort Nelson finally connected with southbound teams on September 24, 1942. Today, the lodge is well known along the route for hot coffee, homemade baked goods, unique souvenirs, and, most importantly, fuel that road trippers celebrate as the cheapest on this stretch of the Alaska Highway. Top up your tank, chat with the hosts, and get ready for the final run into Watson Lake.
Along the Alaska Highway: Watson Lake, the Gateway to the Yukon
Arriving in Watson Lake at Historical Mile 635 (kilometre 980) marks the true gateway to the Yukon. Long before roads pierced this country, the community's namesake, Frank Watson, an American prospector from Lake Tahoe who had headed north chasing the gold rush, settled in the Liard River valley in the late 1890s with his wife, Adela, a Kaska First Nation woman. The family trapped, traded, and built a life here, naming the lake nearby and laying the quiet groundwork for what would soon become a vital subarctic crossroads.
That quiet existence shifted drastically in 1942 with the outbreak of the Pacific War and the urgent construction of the Alaska Highway. Watson Lake quickly became an essential hub. It became a critical airbase along the Northwest Staging Route, ferrying thousands of Allied military aircraft north toward Alaska and the Soviet Union, and a massive logistical camp for the troops and equipment pushing the pioneer road through muskeg and mountains.
For road trippers, Watson Lake provides a welcome return to essential full-service amenities. It is a fantastic area to rest, restock groceries, top up vehicle fluids, and check in with the outside world. The community offers several comfortable motels and lodges, while outdoor enthusiasts and RVers will find scenic, well-appointed private campgrounds and peaceful territorial park sites minutes from downtown. Whether you use it as an overnight base or pause to explore its standout attractions, Watson Lake welcomes every traveller.
Must-See Attractions in Watson Lake
No journey up the Alaska Highway is complete without dedicating unhurried time to Watson Lake’s two premier attractions, which together weave wartime human history with the wonders of northern science. Conveniently situated side by side along the highway corridor, these stops offer both a deeply personal connection to travellers who came before you and a window into the natural phenomena illuminating the subarctic night skies.
The World-Famous Signpost Forest
Stepping into the Watson Lake Signpost Forest feels like entering an ever-growing, open-air labyrinth of wanderlust and memory. This global landmark began modestly in the summer of 1942, when Private Carl K. Lindley, an injured US Army Corps of Engineers soldier from the 341st Engineers, started it. While recuperating in camp, Lindley was tasked with repairing and painting damaged directional distance markers. Overcome with homesickness for his roots back in Illinois, he decided to tack up a wooden directional sign pointing toward his hometown: "Danville, Ill. 2835 Miles."
What started as one soldier’s tribute to home soon sparked a tradition that caught fire among fellow servicemen and successive waves of civilian road trippers. Today, the forest has grown to staggering proportions, stretching across rows of sturdy wooden posts and boasting well over 100,000 signs from every corner of the planet.
Wandering along the boardwalk paths reveals a kaleidoscope of vintage license plates, hand-carved wooden plaques, street signs, and quirky family souvenirs. It is a living record of travel, capturing the voices and hometown pride of countless adventurers who have rolled up the Alaska Highway. If you brought your own sign to contribute, you can mount it securely to a post and officially register your addition inside the adjacent visitor centre to become a permanent chapter of this enduring northern landmark.
The Northern Lights Centre and Visitor Information Centre
Right alongside the forest's wooden posts is the complex housing the Watson Lake Visitor Information Centre and the Northern Lights Centre. The centre is home to Canada’s only planetarium dedicated specifically to the aurora borealis, featuring a state-of-the-art dome theatre that projects immersive, high-definition presentations. Because most summer road trippers travel under continuous daylight without experiencing true nightfall, the theatre offers an extraordinary chance to see stunning time-lapse footage of the dancing northern lights, accompanied by captivating stories that explore both modern space science and the rich traditional legends of northern Indigenous peoples.
The Watson Lake Visitor Information Centre shares this facility and serves as an invaluable resource for anyone continuing farther west or north into the territory. The friendly local staff offer up-to-the-minute updates on seasonal construction, ferry schedules, wildlife sightings, and regional driving conditions. Before heading back to your vehicle, pick up your complimentary collectible Yukon sticker. Each government visitor centre across the Yukon—including Dawson City, Whitehorse, Beaver Creek, and Carcross—features its own exclusive, beautifully illustrated emblem, making the quest to collect the complete territorial set one of the most delightful roadside traditions on the northern circuit.
Final Thoughts
From Watson Lake, the road continues westward into the heart of the territory for the fourth leg of our journey. Ahead lies the sweeping run toward Whitehorse, tracking ancient river corridors, crossing the Continental Divide, and skimming the glacier-fed waters of the Southern Lakes region, with detours toward Teslin and the historic communities that define this legendary northern corridor.
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