Canada
Tombstone Territorial Park
Black granite teeth rise over tundra that turns crimson in the brief Arctic autumn.
The Dempster climbs into a valley where the peaks look deliberately sharpened. In late August the ground itself catches fire in colour.
Tombstone concentrates the Yukon's arctic drama an hour up the Dempster from pavement's end: ragged peaks, permafrost valleys and caribou country under enormous light. The interpretive centre is the park's single service point, its trails starting at the door. Backcountry passes demand real self-sufficiency.
Solo
Centre-based day walks give a solo hiker the peaks without the passes.
Friends
A self-sufficient group can take the backcountry in autumn's colour window.
- Sharpened granite peaks rise an hour up the Dempster.
- The interpretive centre is the park's single service point.
- Late August sets the tundra alight in colour.
Carry everything you will eat and drink; the interpretive centre is information, not services.
Dawson, an hour and a half back, holds the meals.
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Canada's only all-season Arctic road runs 740 unpaved kilometres to the Mackenzie Delta.