Northern Highways - Alaska, the Yukon & northern British Columbia
Campgrounds & Rest Areas on the Haines Highway
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Haines Highway Links
Mile 3.5 / Km 5.6: Haines Airport (HNS) sits an an elevation of 15 feet, with a single paved runway 4,000 feet long.
Mile 4.3/ Km 6.9: Parking along the Chilkat River. The Takhinsha Mountains, part of the Chilkat Range, form a spectacular backdrop - Mt. Emmerich, the most prominent of the peaks, is 6,405 feet high (1,952 m).
Mile 6.9 / Km 11.1: Mt. Ripinski trailhead. This is an all-day hike with great views being the reward.
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Mile 8.3 / Km 13.4: heading north you now enter the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, consisting of 48,000 acres of valley-bottom along the Chilkat, Kleheni, and Tsirku Rivers. From early October until late February there are large concentrations of bald eagles here, but not in the summer. The section of the Haines Highway between Miles 18 and 24 are the main viewing area for eagle watchers and are considered critical habitat in the preserve.
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Mile 19.3 / Km 31.1: Council Grounds, Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Large parking area beside the Chilkat River, with outhouses and interpretive panels about bald eagles.
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Mile 20.6 / Km 33.2: Parking area with interpretive panels.
Mile 21.5 / Km 34.6: Klukwan, a Tlingit Indian village, is accessed by the road to the left. Cultural tours of the village can be booked.
Mile 23.8 / Km 38.3: Chilkat River bridge. The highway now follows the Klehini River. This is a good area to see moose.
Mile 27.2 / Km 43.8: Mosquito Lake State Recreation Site is reached via the 2.7-mile road to the left. There are 5 campsites in the spruce/hemlock forest next to the
lake, with a boat launch, dock and picnic shelter.
Mile 28.8 / Km 46.3: Muncaster Creek bridge.
Mile 31.0 / Km 49.9: heading north, you now leave the Bald Eagle Preserve.
Mile 31.6 / Km 50.9: Little Boulder Creek bridge.
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Mile 33.1 / Km 53.3: 33 Mile Roadhouse - RV park, convenience store, gas.
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Mile 33.8 / Km 54.4: Big Boulder Creek bridge.
Mile 35.6 / Km 57.3: View of Saksaia Glacier to the west.
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Mile 40.2 / Km 64.7: U.S. Customs, Dalton Cache Station. No need to stop northbound, the direction seen in this photo. For southbound traffic the post is open from
7:00 am until 11:00 pm Alaska time.
In this photo, my motorcoach was parked while my German tour group filled out their US entry paperwork.
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Mile 40.6 / Km 65.3: Canada Customs, Pleasant Camp. All travelers entering Canada must stop - the post is open from 8:00 am until midnight Yukon time.
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Northbound, you now enter the BC/Yukon time zone, which is one hour later than Alaska.
The highway from here north is marked by kilometer posts, which we will now use as the primary measurement. These do not measure from downtown Haines as the mileposts do, however, but from the Alaska State ferry terminal at Lutak Bay, 9 kilometers beyond.
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This photo shows the highway northbound at about Km 68.
Km 72.7: Granite Creek bridge.
Km 75.3: Fivemile Creek bridge.
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Km 87.3: large pullout with historic Mile 48 post, and interpretive signs about the Haines Road. This is a good place to stop and enjoy the first views of the dramatic mountains known as The Three Guardsmen (6,300 feet high). A hiking trail leads from the pullout to the abandoned Copper Butte mine - see our
Haines Highway hiking section for a trail description.
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Km 87.5: Seltat Creek bridge.
Km 88.4: Southbound, a sign notes "Marinka's Hill".
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Km 88.6: Tina Creek Ridge. From a pullout on the west side of the highway just south of the Tina Creek crossing, an abandoned pipeline road provides access to a vast hiking area where no trails are needed. I'm calling the access the Tina Creek Ridge. The Haines Highway can be seen below in this late-September photo.
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Km 91.6: Three Guardsmen Lake. The Chilkat Pass area that you are now in is very popular with birdwatchers, as over 82 species of birds have been recorded here, including gyrfalcons, snow buntings, 3 species of ptarmigan, red-throated loons, wandering tattlers and Smith's longspur. This photo shows the lake and highway from an old mining road that climbs to a glacial cirque beside the Three Guardsmen.
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Km 96.0: Stonehouse Creek culvert.
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Km 96.5: Clear Creek culvert.
Looking over Clear Creek to The Three Guardsmen, in late July.
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Km 100: This photo shows The Three Guardsmen, looking south from the side of the highway at about Km 100 in mid April at 7:05 pm.
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Km 102.4: Haines Summit. At 3,493 feet (1,070 meters), it is the highest point on the highway. This photo shows the view to the west on July 16, 2009.
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To say that the Haines Summit is popular with snowmobilers is an understatement, as you can see in this photo shot on Easter weekend, when hundreds of people were camped along the highway. This photo was shot at a large pullout at Km 103.5.
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Km 106: Chuck Creek. This photo was taken while driving north near Chuck Creek on April 16.
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Km 106: Chuck Creek. From a rest area at Chuck Creek, a hiking trail leads to the Samuel Glacier - see our
Haines Highway hiking section for a trail description.
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Km 107.4: Nadahini River culvert.
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Km 108: The Green Shack, a survival shelter built and maintained by volunteers and users. I signed the guest book on this visit on October 16, 2013: "What a great place to stop and enjoy the cinnamon bun I picked up at 33 Mile. Left my home in Whitehorse yesterday on my motorcycle with the temp at -4C. Was only going to be gone a couple of hours but I got a little distracted! :) Murray (explorenorth)"
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Km 110: The small green Km 110 post can be seen on the right in this photo shot on October 1.
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Km 114.9: Mule Creek airstrip, elevation 2,900 feet (884 m). Through the 1960s, Canada had an extensive resource access program that built roads and airfields in extremely remote areas in the hope that they would spur resource development. The airfields, which were all built to allow aircraft right up to DC3s to use them, are now maintained by the highways departments - this airstrip is one of those. The gravel runway is 4,000 feet long (1,219 m).
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Km 116.5: Mule Creek, Historic Mile 75 of the Haines Road.
Km 124.0: Goat Creek.
Km 127.2: Holum Creek.
Km 130.9: Twin Lakes.
Km 134.0: Viewpoint on the left with interpretive signs about
Tatshenshini-Alsek Wilderness Provincial Park.
Km 134.5: Mansfield Creek.
Km 133.6: Stanley Creek. Two scenic hiking trails start here - the Parton River trail leading to Shinny Lakes and the O'Conner Trail leads to an old mining airstrip. See the
BC Parks site for a trail description.
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Km 144.8: Blanchard River bridge - this is the put-in point for whitewater rafters running the Blanchard. The bridge is ahead in this photo shot on October 16th, and the Welcome to the Yukon sign in the distance.
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Km 145.5: Welcome to Kluane Country and Welcome to the Yukon signs.
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Km 145.8: Below to the west is the Blanchard River highway maintenance camp, seen in the photo shot on September 4. It was originally the Blanchard River pumping station on the US Army's pipeline from Haines to Fairbanks.
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Km 158.7: Million Dollar Falls campground is accessed by the 1 km (0.6 mile) side road to the left. Operated by the Yukon government, it has 33 camp sites, picnic tables, outhouses, cooking shelters, water, hiking trails and a network of boardwalks, stairs and observation decks for viewing the falls.
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Km 159.0: Takhanne River bridge and Million Dollar Falls trailhead, with a large parking area.
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Km 162: Large paved parking area with outhouses, a viewing platform, interpretive signs about early travel, and a commemorative cairn for the Tatshenshini River.
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Km 164.1: The narrow, winding and sometimes very steep gravel road to the west goes to the abandoned village of Dalton Post. It isn't recommended for
large vehicles, which is one of the things I used to enjoy when I took my charter bus down with rafters launching on the Tatshenshini River - the looks on the faces of both
my passengers and the people in the vehicles I met were often pretty funny. This photo was shot on the way back to the Haines Road on June 23.
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Km 166: The view northbound at Km 166 on June 23, 2005.
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Km 171: Motheral Creek.
Km 173: Large paved parking area - watch for moose, Trumpeter swans and other waterfowl in the Klukshu wetlands below.
Km 174.2: Vand Creek.
Km 181.9: Klukshu Creek, parking. Grizzlies are sometimes seen in this area during salmon runs.
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Km 183.2: Klukshu, a seasonal Native fish camp.
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Km 185: Gribbles Gulch.
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Km 186.8: St. Elias Lake Trailhead. This easy hiking trail wanders through open forest and alpine meadows to the lake and a campsite - 5 miles (8km) round trip. Kluane National Park borders the highway to the west from here to Haines Junction.
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Km 191.2: Mush Lake Road is to the right of the
abandoned Dezadeash Lodge, which is said to be haunted by a ghost. The popular lake is 14 miles down the rough gravel road - 4x4 vehicles recommended.
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Km 191.2: Dezadeash Lodge, in about 1970.
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Km 193.9: Large paved parking area on Dezadeash Lake, 15 miles long. On April 15th, the lake was still completely frozen.
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Km 195.7: Dezadeash Lake Yukon government campground has 20 camp sites, outhouses and a boat launch. No drinking water. The rather shallow lake offers good fishing for Northern pike, Lake trout and Arctic grayling.
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Km 200.7: Parking for the Rock Glacier Trail. The trail has several interpretive signs along its length (0.8 km one way), and is a fairly easy hike with
a 300-foot elevation gain. The trail begins as a raised boardwalk through a marshy area, then enters a spruce/poplar forest. It then climbs onto the toe of the rock glacier, from where you get an expansive view of Dezadeash Lake. The trail as far as the top observation area is graded rock that provides good footing. It is possible to continue up the rock glacier but the hiking is more difficult due to both the grade and the loose rock.
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Km 218.4: Kathleen Lake Campground is 1 km down the road to the left. It has 39 camp sites, outhouses, picnic tables, hiking trails and a boat launch. You can fish for Lake trout, Arctic grayling, Kokanee and whitefish (a special National Parks fishing licence is required). This photo was shot on June 23.
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Driving north at Km 220.1 on June 23. Kathleen Lake Lodge can be seen on the right, and the Kathleen River bridge ahead. The Kathleen River has fishing for rainbow trout (catch and release only), Lake trout, Arctic grayling and Whitefish.
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Km 224.8: Large paved parking with a view of Kathleen Lake and plaque honouring the UNESCO World Heritage Site status of Kluane National Park.
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Km 233.3: Quill Creek. This photo looking up the creek was taken on August 26.
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Km 237.9: Auriol Trail parking.
Km 240.6: Large gravel parking area with outhouses and a view of Haines Junction and the Shakwak valley.
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This photo shows the view north from about Km 243 on September 4. The village of Haines Junction can be seen in the distance.
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Km 245: Two Dezadeash River bridges and hiking trails. The photo shows the main bridge, the northernmost one.
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Km 246: Haines Junction, Km 1635 on the Alaska Highway.
See our Guide to Haines Junction, Yukon for information on services and attractions, and our
Guide to the Alaska Highway to continue your adventure.
Haines Highway Links
Hiking along the Haines Highway
A detailed guide to all the best hiking trails and routes, with links to over 20 trail reports and maps.
A Guide to Haines, Alaska
Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve
Kluane National Park
A Guide to Haines Junction, Yukon
The History of the Haines Highway
