Kluane Lake
The Largest Lake Entirely Within The Yukon, About 400 Square Km, Glacier Fed And Often Very Windy. The Alaska Highway Runs Along Its Shore Past Sheep Mountain, Where Dall Sheep Can Be Seen From The Road. Kluane National Park (A Separate Row) And The Kluane Museum At Burwash Landing Are Nearby. · Destruction Bay, Yukon
Kluane Lake is the largest lake entirely inside the Yukon, about 400 square km, fed by glacier water and lying along the Alaska Highway between Haines Junction and the Alaska border. The highway follows the southern shore, so most visitors see it from a car window, with the mountains of Kluane National Park rising behind, and stop at pullouts, at Destruction Bay or at Burwash Landing. Sheep Mountain, on the road, is the usual place to look for Dall sheep on the slopes, and a seasonal visitor centre there is worth confirming. Be honest with yourself about the lake: it is cold, often very windy, and not a swimming lake. Boaters face sudden storms, and services are sparse, so carry fuel and food. It suits road-trippers, anglers and photographers rather than families wanting a beach. Allow one to three hours for stops, or a night if you camp. Spring ice-out comes around May, and summer brings midges. The park itself is a separate row.
Large lake along the Alaska Highway between Haines Junction and the Alaska border, with the settlements of Destruction Bay and Burwash Landing on its southern shore and Kluane National Park's mountains behind, Destruction Bay, Yukon, Canada
The lake is open at all times and there is no gate or fee to see it from the highway pullouts. What has hours is the small set of services around it. The Sheep Mountain visitor centre is seasonal, generally open in the summer months only, so confirm dates and staffing before you count on it. The Kluane Museum at Burwash Landing keeps summer hours and may be closed or by appointment outside them, so confirm. Fuel, food and rooms at Destruction Bay and Burwash Landing are limited, can close for the winter, and may shut earlier than you expect, so fill the tank in Haines Junction when in doubt. Daylight is very long in June and very short in December, and the lake freezes in winter, usually thawing around May.