Whitehorse, CA

Summer-only institution in two leaning historic buildings on 2nd Avenue — the oldest operating structures in Whitehorse — serving bison, elk, caribou, and Yukon River salmon to a line that wraps around the block. Loud, crowded, the meal visitors talk about back home.

Downtown brunch room on Main Street with a long line of locals on weekends — eggs benedict variations, brioche french toast, and a coffee program that holds up. The room is small and the brunch turn is slow; that's the deal.

Caribbean-Yukon kitchen on Jarvis Street where Trinidadian-style jerk chicken, curry goat, and roti share the menu with Arctic char and bison. Bright walls, live music nights, gospel brunch on Sundays — one of the most personality-driven rooms in town.

Latin-inspired room at the back of Lumel Glass Studio on Keish Street — arctic char tacos, tostadas, veggie bowls, and an inventive cocktail menu served in glassware blown onsite. One of the most praised kitchens in town, with a 4.7 Google rating to show for it.

Main Street gastropub with a brick-oven pizza program, a long Yukon-and-BC beer list, and bar seating that runs deep into the evening. The casual after-work room and the place locals send first-time visitors for a beer.

Downtown Mexican kitchen on Strickland Street run by a family from Mexico City — handmade tortillas, mole, and chiles rellenos that are the real article in a town short on Mexican options. Small, warm, and consistent.

Corner cafe at Main and Front in the Horwoods Mall with the city's busiest morning counter — sourdough loaves, breakfast sandwiches, and pastry case turnover that beats anywhere downtown. Doubles as the unofficial community message board for shows, classes, and rideshares.

Counter inside the Horwoods Mall on Front Street making Montreal-style wood-fired bagels in a town that has no business having serious bagels. Sesame, poppy, everything — that's the menu.

Long-running Italian room in Riverdale with fresh pasta, wood-oven pizza, and a wine list that's the deepest in the city. The locals' anniversary-and-birthday dinner outside of downtown.

Korean-Japanese room on 4th Avenue run by a Korean family — bibimbap, bulgogi, and a sushi counter that's the most serious in town. Tight room, consistent kitchen, the regular order for downtown lunch crowds.

Network of singletrack and gravel paths along both banks of the basalt canyon south of town — easy lollipop loops crossing the suspension footbridge, with longer extensions out to Canyon City and back along the rim.

Wooded peak rising directly east of downtown across the river, with a gravel road climbing to a saddle and singletrack to the summit. The view from the top is the whole Whitehorse valley laid out, the airport, the river bends, and the Coast Mountains on a clear day.

Network of cross-country ski trails southwest of town that double as summer hiking and mountain-biking routes — over 100 kilometres of groomed terrain in winter, mellow forest singletrack in summer.

Spread of forested singletrack and gravel routes east of Riverdale wrapping around a small lake — family-doable loops, mountain-biking corridors, and the city's main moose-spotting forest. Lake itself has a beach and picnic area.

Lollipop loop through pine forest north of town past a string of three small lakes — easy grade, well-signed, and the closest serious nature walk that doesn't involve the canyon. Popular with dog walkers and snowshoers.

Flat gravel-and-paved network running along both banks of the river through downtown and out to Robert Service Way — the everyday running, walking, and cycling route locals do without thinking. Connects to the Millennium Trail and the canyon trails.

Forested loop trail through the Yukon Government campground south of town along Wolf Creek — easy grade, riverside boardwalks, and one of the better short walks for a packed-lunch turnaround.

Downtown museum on the riverfront covering Yukon history from First Nations through the gold rush, the Alaska Highway construction, and the territorial era. Sam McGee's cabin sits on the grounds and the gold-panning demos run all summer.

Museum near the airport telling the story of the Ice Age land bridge that connected Siberia to Alaska when the Yukon was an unglaciated steppe — woolly mammoth, giant beaver, and short-faced bear skeletons fill the main hall.

Hangar-and-yard museum next to the Beringia Centre covering bush planes, riverboats, dog sleds, and the Alaska Highway construction — the DC-3 weathervane on the roof is a Whitehorse landmark.

700-acre preserve in the Takhini valley with 13 northern species in large naturalistic enclosures — wood bison, muskox, lynx, caribou, mountain goats, moose. Self-driving tour or a 5-kilometre walking loop.

Natural mineral hot springs in the Takhini valley northwest of town — two open-air pools at different temperatures, a cafe, and a winter aurora-viewing schedule. The post-hike soak that the locals actually use.

Performing arts complex on the Yukon College campus with a 400-seat theatre, a public gallery, and a year-round calendar of touring music, dance, and theatre. Heart of the city's evening cultural calendar.

1900 Anglican log church on Elliott Street downtown — the oldest building in Whitehorse on its original site, run as a small museum on the early missionary and gold-rush era. Quick visit, charming building.

Beached sternwheeler on the Yukon River bank south of downtown, the largest paddleboat to run the river before the highway killed the trade in the 1950s. Restored to her 1937 configuration with guided tours through the boilers, freight deck, and staterooms.

Basalt-walled gorge a few minutes south of downtown where the Yukon River squeezes through columnar cliffs the gold-rush stampeders had to portage around. A wooden suspension footbridge crosses the narrows and links into a network of riverbank trails.

Wooden fish ladder built around the hydro dam — the longest wooden fishway in the world — that lets chinook salmon finish their 3,000-kilometre run from the Bering Sea up to spawning grounds. Viewing windows and an interpretive shack run by the Yukon Energy folks.

Striking timber-and-glass building on the downtown riverfront that serves as the cultural hub for the Kwanlin Dun First Nation. Gallery, longhouse meeting space, and a riverside plaza that hosts dance, drumming, and craft markets in summer.

Two and three-storey log buildings on the corner of Lambert and 3rd in downtown — among the tallest log structures ever built as apartments and still standing where they were thrown up in the late 1940s. Quirky, photographable, and a five-minute walk from anywhere downtown.

Paved five-kilometre loop along both banks of the Yukon River through downtown, crossing the Robert Campbell bridge and the Rotary footbridge. Ties together the SS Klondike, the cultural centre, the trolley line, and the downtown core.

Reservoir formed by the hydro dam, sitting in the basalt walls just upstream of Miles Canyon — the city's float-plane base and the calm water for paddling above the canyon. Lakeshore road has the best Grey Mountain backdrop.