Carmacks — Yukon River Bluffs and Coal Mine Lake Viewpoint

Just north of the Carmacks bridge on the North Klondike Highway, a short pullout above the Yukon River delivers an outsized view: layered sandstone bluffs drop to a wide river bend, with spruce flats and the Dawson Range smudging the horizon. This is the heart of the Dawson Range backcountry corridor — a natural staging viewpoint for rigs heading up toward Mount Nansen, Scroggie Creek, or the Minto Lake mining roads. The Five Finger Rapids are a short drive north if you haven’t already ticked that box.

Carmacks itself is the last real fuel and resupply stop before the road network thins out heading northwest and northeast into the Yukon interior. Pull in, top off your tanks, and take five minutes at the bluffs. The campground at the Tage Cho Hudan Interpretive Centre sits just below — clean, managed, and worth knowing about if you’re staging for an early push.

Sandstone bluffs above a great Yukon River bend.