Chasing Crimson: Autumn in Tombstone Territorial Park

Before you go: gear up in Whitehorse

Tombstone isn't a spot you stumble into. If you're renting a vehicle, check the fine print before you book: many standard rental agreements in Whitehorse prohibit gravel highways like the Dempster outright, and others restrict it to 4x4 trucks or SUVs only, with insurance voided if you break that rule. A handful of local rental companies specifically cater to gravel travel, full-size spare included, so it's worth asking directly rather than assuming your booking covers it. Equip yourself in Whitehorse before you head north, spare tire, food, water, and anything you might need on the Dempster, since options thin out fast the further you drive. Plan your staging point too: either a night in Dawson City before or after your visit, or camping right at the Tombstone Mountain Campground, which sits next to the Interpretive Centre itself. Both work well; which one depends on whether you want a soft bed nearby or to already be on-site at first light.

Start at the Interpretive Centre

Every visit should begin at the Tombstone Interpretive Centre, roughly 70 kilometres up the Dempster from the highway junction. The staff there provide current trail and weather conditions, wildlife updates, and the mandatory registration for backcountry travel. If you're heading into the backcountry, you'll also need to complete a short orientation, either online before you arrive or in person at the centre, and arrange a bear-proof food canister, rentable at the centre or in Whitehorse and Dawson City. The centre also grounds the park in the culture and ecology of the region, and several short, rewarding walks start right from its doorstep, ideal if your time or ambition is limited.

Day hikes

You do not need to commit to a multi-day trek to feel Tombstone's power. The Grizzly Ridge trail climbs steeply from the highway to a high, exposed ridgeline with enormous views across the valley to the peaks, a demanding day hike but an achievable one for fit walkers, and no backcountry permit required. Shorter interpretive trails near the campground and centre lead through tundra and along creeks, offering a gentler introduction. Even a roadside stop at one of the highway pull-outs, with a short walk out onto the tundra, delivers scenery most people travel far to see.

The classic backcountry trek

The signature experience is the multi-day hike linking three alpine lakes, Grizzly, Divide, and Talus, set in cirques beneath the highest peaks, roughly 46 kilometres in total. This is a serious backcountry route: unmarked in places, steep, and committing, with designated tent pads at each lake that must be reserved online well in advance. Demand far exceeds space, and in past years permits have sold out within days of reservations opening for the season, so if this trek is the reason for your trip, start watching for the booking window early. Hikers carry everything in and out, filter their own water, and must be entirely self-sufficient. The reward is some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in Canada, walked in near solitude.

Timing your visit

Tombstone's season is short, and the crimson colour that gives this piece its name is really the berry bushes and dwarf shrubs across the tundra turning red and gold in the fall. That said, the park is spectacular well beyond the two weeks the colour peaks. A summer hike here, colours or not, still delivers some of the best alpine scenery in the territory.

Most hikers aim for July, when the trails are clearest and the days are long, or for the last week of August into early September, when the tundra ignites into sheets of crimson, orange, and gold. That autumn colour is breathtaking and brief, and it draws photographers from around the world, but it also brings the first frosts and the risk of early snow, so come prepared. The Dempster Highway itself is maintained and driven year-round, but backcountry campgrounds and the easiest travel conditions run roughly June through September, outside that window, this becomes a much more serious winter trip.

Wildlife and the land

The park is prime habitat for grizzly bears, and the annual migration of the Porcupine caribou herd passes through the broader region. Dall sheep work the high slopes, pikas and marmots scatter across the talus, and golden eagles ride the ridgelines. Travel with proper bear precautions, food storage, awareness, and bear spray, and remember that this is a living cultural landscape as well as a park. Tread lightly, stay on established routes where they exist, and leave the tundra, which recovers with agonising slowness at this latitude, exactly as you found it.

Practicalities on the Dempster

Reaching Tombstone means driving gravel, and the Dempster demands respect. Carry a full-size spare tire, not the compact donut that comes with most cars, since it isn't built for gravel or long distances, along with extra fuel, food, and water, and check road and ferry conditions before you set out, because weather can close or wash out sections with little warning. Cell service is nonexistent for long stretches. Fuel up in Dawson City, tell someone your plan, and give yourself margin. The road that makes the park possible is also part of the adventure.

How much time to give it

If you only have a day, drive up from Dawson, stop at the Interpretive Centre, walk a short trail or tackle Grizzly Ridge, and drive back, a long but unforgettable outing. If you can spare more, camp at the Tombstone Mountain Campground and spend two or three days exploring, or commit to the backcountry trek and reserve well ahead. However long you stay, Tombstone has a way of making the rest of your itinerary feel small. It is, quite simply, one of the reasons people travel from right around the world to see the Yukon.