One of the highlights of our time in Canada’s Yukon Territory was exploring Kluane National Park and Reserve. This area is a gem – part of the largest internationally protected area in the world – and we loved hiking by Kathleen Lake. The gorgeous weather also helped make for an incredible day.

We arrived in Haines Junction and immediately stopped in the national park visitor center where Brian talked to a ranger who recommended a number of hikes in the area. Because we were looking to head toward Haines, Alaska, following our hikes, we opted for the trails along that route near Kathleen Lake.

There was ample parking at Kathleen Lake despite several people also onsite who were admiring the lake, unloading and launching kayaks, and – like us – preparing to hit the hiking trails.

We decided to head for the King’s Throne by way of several trails that veered off from the main one.

The first offshoot took us right along the shoreline, which provided a great view of the lovely, clear water but also a persistent cloud of bugs. We didn’t stay long!

The second offshoot we took was called the Cottonwood trail. This trail was unpopulated and wound through the forest, which was nice for a peaceful moment in the woods but didn’t offer much in the way of viewpoints.

I love wooded hikes, but with limited time this visit, we decided to head back to the main trail and head on toward our final destination. The Cottonwood trail is one of the more difficult ones in the park – 53 miles / 85 km roundtrip with 1,700 feet / 520 m gain. We will have to save that one for a longer visit!

Ultimately we were only partially successful hiking up to King’s Throne, which is a 6 mile / 10 km roundtrip hike with 1,800 feet / 548 m gain. We hiked much of that elevation from the main trailhead to the viewpoint, but as we continued beyond the viewpoint to the saddle, the trail became quite snowy and slippery, and we didn’t have our trekkers. It was feeling a bit unsafe so we decided to forgo the final push to the saddle and summit and return to the viewpoint.

While we were a little disappointed we couldn’t complete the hike, we certainly weren’t disappointed with the views!

A nice couple from Anacortes, Washington, joined us and offered to take our picture. We stayed for a while and chatted with them as we’re quite familiar with Anacortes from our time living in Seattle.

Although our hikes didn’t go quite as planned, we loved the sections of trail we experienced this visit. I’d absolute go back to Kluane National Park – next time with better gear and more time to explore!