Description

Just 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle lies Dawson City, the epicenter of the Klondike Gold Rush.

This old mining town has transitioned into a tourist destination, as travelers from around the world now flock here to get a taste of one of the world's most famous gold rushes. This bustling tourist town is filled with historic attractions and experiences.

You can enjoy a classic cancan show at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall—the oldest casino in Canada.

And you definitely need to take the Sourtoe Shot—a shot of Yukon Jack whiskey with a real human toe in the bottom! While it's probably not worth traveling to Dawson City for the mountain biking alone, if you make it this far north, you should check out the trails on the flanks of Midnight Dome—a small mountain that rises 1,700 feet above downtown Dawson City.

Here you'll discover a medley of old mining roads and aqueducts that have been turned into trails, steep social trails dropping straight down the mountain, and a fantastic section of professionally-built flow trail that strangely ends right in the middle of the mountainside.

While these are by no means world-class mountain biking trails, riding singletrack this far north in the Yukon Territory is truly a unique experience! The route mapped here begins from downtown Dawson City, climbing straight up the side of the Dome.

The first stretch of the climb on the Crocus Bluff Connector trail is unnecessarily steep, gaining elevation on a steep, muddy track.

You can bypass this steep climb by pedaling up the road to the Crocus Bluff trailhead if you so choose.

However, if you climb up the singletrack, you have the chance to dogleg to a beautiful view on top of the bluff.

Don't spend too much time here, though, because you're just getting started. The climb continues up the Buried Treasure trail, a machine-built climbing trail with welcome grade reversals and switchbacks to provide uphill passage through the steep terrain.

As you reach the bottom of the Hammarstrand Trail and the TV Tower Parking, the uphill route gets a bit more confusing.

There are a few potential routes up the mountain, but the one mapped here is the best for getting to the top of Hammarstrand.

It begins on the main dirt road but then takes a series of old roads and doubletrack to reach the top of the flow trail.

You could also choose to follow the main dirt road to the very top of the Dome and then rip down some steep, loose social trails to reach the top of Hammarstrand. Hammarstrand is the marquee trail on the mountain.

This professionally-built flow trail features a fast trail speed that feeds riders into some substantial jumps ranging from tabletops to optional gaps.

Perfectly-sculpted berms keep the speed high, and riders will find themselves raging down the mountain! Strangely, the flow trail just **ends.** At the time of this writing in 2022, as you're ripping downhill, the machine-built flow trail abruptly ends in the center of the mountain and concludes on a steep, rooty social trail.

It's a very strange feeling, as if the project was never finished or is only half-done.

Hopefully, the Hammarstrand Flow Trail can be completed someday, but it's an astonishingly harsh transition for now. This route takes a right on the Acklen Ditch trail to Nankak Zu and, eventually, the Moosehide Slide trail.

These three trails provide fantastic sidehill singletrack rolling along a narrow benchcut.

From Moosehide Slide, you'll enjoy gorgeous views of Dawson City below you, the humungous Yukon River, and the rolling mountains of the Yukon Territory off in the distance.

The views are truly impressive and, coupled with the delightful singletrack, make for a fantastic end to this ride!