Hike into alpine with panoramic views of the Southern Lakes.
Est. Duration
4 - 6 hours
Est. Price
-
Category
Hike
Message from Danielle Marie Lister

Sam McGee is a classic Yukon hike that take you up Montana Mountain and offers panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and lakes. This was originally built for the Tramway built by Sam Mcgee for silver mining back in 1905. You can camp in the alpine if you'd like, I've done it here before which was amazing but the extra weight does make it more challenging of a hike. There are no designated campsite.

Total Distance: 9 km Return Time: 3.5 hours Elevation Gain: 618 m Difficulty: Moderate Region: Carcross Traditional Territory: Carcross Tagish First Nation

Directions: The trail head is directly across from a gravel pit close to the Conrad Campground off of the South Klondike Highway. Park in the gravel pit instead of the highway. To get to the trailhead, cross the highway and walk down the side of the road into the ditch. Not too far away you will notice a wooden post with a small trail sign on it for the "Mountain Hero Trail'". You will see a well used path that you will follow until the alpine. The trail remains pretty well defined. You will pass some old mining structures. It's pretty continuously steep and you will quickly again elevation open up to some people views.

There is a trail fork at 4km, take the left trail to reach a beautiful view point. From here people often turn around but you can continue up into the alpine. You will find there isn't really one defined trail but you're in the alpine so basically just head straight up to reach an alpine plateau. From here you can do even more exploring in any directions you'd like really. There are some steep drops in areas so be cautious. Remember that in the alpine to stay on trails or rocks as much as possible. In the fall there are tons of blueberry patches. I've camp up here before which was stunning. Keep your eyes open for Mountain Goats.

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