Haines Highway – Golden Circle Route

For centuries, a wild, single road in the Alaskan Panhandle was shared by two species – the majestic eagle, who uses the fertile river valley to roost and feed on spawning salmon, and the First Nations peoples, who traversed the route trading fish oils with other communities in the Yukon. Then in the late 1800’s, the road became a packhorse trail serving miners during the Klondike Gold Rush and a wagon route for delivering ore from nearby copper mines a few decades later. In the 1940s, the United States Army established the road as an official highway for military access during World War II. Today, this road is known as the Haines Highway, a National Scenic Byway that runs 150 miles from the Inside Passage community of Haines, Alaska, where it’s known as the Valley of the Eagles, to Haines Junction, in Canada’s Yukon Territory. To drive the Haines Highway is to experience firsthand a unique ecosystem that seamlessly blends the route’s fascinating history with the abundant natural resources that surround it. Watch the peaceful countryside turn from shimmering fjords and lush coastal rain forests to rocky alpine tundra as you rise above the tree line and discover the powerful seclusion of a seemingly endless stretch of open road. Cross international borders as you climb mountain passes into Canada and travel in the footsteps of dynamic First Nations cultures and intrepid explorers who came before you. Heed the call of the last Frontier, for this is a land of breathtaking scenery. From glacier-lined roads to jagged mountain peaks silhouetted against a midnight sun, the Haines Highway delivers a classic, authentic Alaskan landscape experience.

North America’s Most Spectacular Drive

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