On our final day in Whitehorse, we chose the Fish Lake Hike which is 4.5 miles roundtrip and about 1,100 feet elevation gain. The hike is only about 20km from town. The trailhead is located at the end of Fish Lake Road which is off of the Alaska Highway. It is in Kwanlin Dun First Nation Territory.
The trail heads up hill with a mission
We parked past the lake at the beginning of the trail. The trail heads uphill with a mission. Basically all of the 1,100+ feet elevation gain occurs in the first 2.25 miles. After about 45 minutes you reach treeline. Above that, initially there’s brush that’s still fairly tall, at maybe 4 feet. As we continued uphill we finally got to the alpine zone, where the vegetation gets much more sparse and short. Only the hardiest plants survive in the alpine zone.
View from above treeline
Alpine plants are short and can thrive in a harsh environment
From the top, there are 360 degree views of Mountains, Fish Lake and Bonneville Lakes. Unfortunately the rain was moving in and our views were becoming obscured by clouds & fog. If we make it back to Whitehorse, we would enjoy repeating this hike on a sunny day and exploring some more of the area.
Mountain views from the top of the Fish Lake Trail
