CHILKOOT TRAIL NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE OF CANADA

The Chilkoot Trail was the main gateway to the Klondike gold region during the gold rush of 1896-99. This steep trail, previously used by Tlingit traders, was literally taken over by adventurers from all over the U.S. who had just landed in Skagway, Alaska. A few miles west of Skagway, in the now ghost town of Dyea, began a grueling 33-mile (53 km) journey across the Coast Range and over the famous Chilkoot Pass. The trail led to the Canadian town of Bennett, British Columbia, now also a ghost town. You'd stay in Bennett just long enough to buy or build a boat, then launch out on the Yukon River for Whitehorse and Dawson City, where the gold was. With the advent of the nearby White Pass Valley Railway in 1899, the Chilkoot Trail fell into disuse, as did Bennett.

The Chilkoot Trail is still traveled today by both Americans and Canadians, and is internationally protected by both neighboring countries. It's an unforgettable experience to follow in the footsteps of the fevered Klondike hikers, some of whom paid for this insane adventure with their lives. But the climb is not something you can improvise, and the Parks Canada website gives you all the information you need to prepare for it.