Lake Bennett

Lake Bennett stretches across the British Columbia and Yukon border, but the small town of Yukon town of Carcross is the biggest lakeside community and the best place to take in the natural beauty. 

 

This lake teems with Arctic grayling, and those who purchase a Yukon Territory fishing license head here to cast a line at the raised footbridge that spans the mouth of the Natasaheenie River, where it flows into Lake Bennett. It’s just steps from town and where many locals go to spend their summer afternoons. In the winter, the lake freezes over and becomes both a popular ice fishing destination and a major snowmobile thoroughfare, linking trails throughout the region. 

 

The lake also marks the beginning (or end) of the Chilkoot Trail, which links Skagway, Alaska, to Carcross via the historic Klondike Gold Rush route. 

 

The famous White Pass Railway, known throughout the Canadian territories as the “scenic railway of the world,” travels along Lake Bennett’s southern shore on its way into the Carcross rail station. Throughout the summer, the train makes a temporary stop in the ghost town of Bennett, British Columbia, which was ironically abandoned when the railway sped up travel times between the Alaskan coast and Whitehorse.