Situated in Canada’s Northwest corner, up near the Arctic Circle, the Yukon is an untamed wilderness.
The tranquillity of the territory naturally enhances the physical and mental wellbeing of travellers and there’s a plethora of ways to relax, recharge and recover from the stress of everyday life.
A recent report by the 2024 Global Wellness Institute projects that the wellness economy will flourish to a rate of 7.3% perennially until 2028. It is predicted that the wellness economy will hit $6.8 trillion by the end of 2024 and a staggering $9 trillion by the end of 2028. The Yukon naturally blends itself to wellness tourism and will evidently play a part in this growth.
Wellness and work-life balance expert, Sarah Whitton MBACP (Shamrock Counselling), said:
“The health benefits of a holiday to the Yukon are clear. It’s not just about physical health but mental health too and travelling to a destination where you can really switch your brain and your phone off will work wonders. You can also nourish the body with fresh, healthy local foods whilst you’re there and keep active too, which is essential for the health of the body and the mind. Being at one with nature – the natural hot springs, and the plethora of indigenous wellness experiences in the Yukon – will be so good for the soul.’
Here’s why a holiday to the Yukon is good for your health:
Digital Detox
80% of the Yukon remains pristine wilderness, meaning phone signal is limited, even in the cities. Whilst all Yukon communities like Whitehorse, Dawson City, and Haines Junction do have WIFI, a digital detox has been proved to reduce stress, improve physical/mental health, increase attention spans and boost creativity. The Yukon, with its low population and untouched scenery is the perfect place to switch the mind and phone off.
Fresh air and vitamin D!
It is scientifically proven that fresh air boosts energy, improves the mood, reduces stress and anxiety, improves the immune system, betters digestions, lowers blood pressure and increases the absorption of Vitamin D. Even in Whitehorse, the Yukon’s capital city, the Air Quality Health Index is consistently low meaning the air quality poses no threat to physical health of residents and visitors. In 2011, a World Health Organization ranked Whitehorse as having the cleanest air in the world. Above the Arctic Circle, the Yukon’s midnight sun doesn’t set for weeks during the summer months, meaning enjoy extra-long summer days, a big serving of amazing sunshine and extra vitamin D to thrive on.
Replenishing dining
The Yukon offers a variety of exquisite foods from local village bakeries creating fresh delicacies, to lodges with private chefs creating healthy and delicious meals. The Kind Cafe, in Whitehorse, is a plant based location that sources locally and organic products suitable for gluten free diets. Baked Cafe located just steps from the Yukon River, also in Whitehorse, serves environmentally and socially responsible products with a menu listing hot and cold beverages, baked lunch boxes and baked goods. In Dawson City, the BonTon & Company is a store, restaurant and café, with its main focus being regional produce and meats, prepared by its own, in-house butchers. Riverwest Bistro, also located in Dawson City, available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu includes both meat and vegan options. The food choices are nourishing, fuelling the customer with energy and nutrients needed for growth, repair and strength. The new Yukon Spa Cafe in Dawson City offers a plant-based menu of vegan favourites with a twist including meatball subs, breakfast bagels, curried chickpea focaccia and even Nanaimo bars, a Canadian tradition. There is something for everyone, perfect to replenish after a day exploring the Yukon.
Transformational hot springs experiences:
Geological evidence suggests that the hot springs have been at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs for hundreds, quite possibly thousands, of years. At Eclipse, Scandinavian and Japanese Onsen healing practices are seamlessly blended to create a unique experience. Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs, which re-opened in August 2022 following a $7.5 million, three-year renovation, is guided by the core values of sustainability, creativity, and authenticity in all activities. Embracing the pure, unadulterated wilderness experience of the North, Eclipse strives to provide clients with a unique and transformational “Eclipse Experience”, through hot springs, through the Nordic Cycle, and through experiencing the Yukon outdoors in all seasons. Facilities include a Hibernation Relax Room, Meditation Solarium, Illumination Solarium, cold plunges, yoga and more.
Thrilling adventures in nature:
Evidence suggests spending time in nature makes visitors feel more relaxed and focused. The Yukon’s diverse landscapes vary from region to region, creating unique experiences on its own and they differ during the seasons too. The Yukon is a winter playground offering an abundance of thrilling activities year round including dog-sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ice-fishing with caught dinner experience with North Country Outdoors Adventures, fat biking, and more. In the summer, visitors can take a walk on the wild side and join the abundance of outstanding hiking trails. Up North Adventures will share some of the best with visitors on their new guided hiking day tours. Trails range from easy half day options to full day, more challenging hikes. Around Whitehorse, visitors can soak up the scenery on a canoe tour on the Yukon River through Miles Canyon or visit a local favourite, Long Lake. For the more adventurous, there’s a full day hike to the top of Mount White. The new menu is completed by an action-packed full day Carcross hiking and sightseeing tour.
Find peace paddling the mighty Yukon River
There’s nothing quite like paddling the glistening-green Yukon river surrounded by the stunning raw beauty of northern nature. Spot wildlife like bald eagles, osprey, moose, and even grizzlies. Visitors can canoe the river and camp out every night along the way. Wild Yukon offers a variety of canoeing excursions for visitors, which include historic gold rush routes, remote and untouched backcountry water, big water rapids, canyons, glaciers and icebergs on Yukon’s Canadian Heritage River. Local guides will escort the groups, and reveal secret, secluded locations on multi-day adventures.
Unwind at Dawson City’s new Urban Spa
Yukon Spa was opened by Yukon Spaces (the owners of Dawson Lodge – Dawson City’s highest rated accommodation for 2022 and 2023) in June 2024 in Dawson City. Yukon Spa is the northernmost spa in Canada and the only ‘urban’ Aurora viewing experience from the spa’s rooftop. Treatments include massage therapy, acupuncture, clinical facials and skin remedies, micro needling, laser and light therapies, and manicure and pedicures. Facilities include steam rooms, a dry sauna, an infrared sauna, an ice plunge bath, a sensory deprivation flotation tank and a hot tub.
Indigenous wellness at Long Ago People’s Place
Located just off the Alaska Highway outside of Whitehorse near Champagne, Long Ago People’s Place is a recreation of a traditional First Nations Village. Since 1995, First Nations members of Kwäday Dän Kenji have been educating visitors from around the world on traditional practices involving living off the land. Trained guides will lead visitors through the forest, showcasing housing structures and how they were built and stored all those years ago, and learn all about the incredible ingenuity of the ancestors and how they made their life in the north. Visitors can also enjoy a one or three hour medicinal plant workshop.
https://yukonfirstnationculture.com
About Yukon:
Situated in the upper Northwest corner of Canada, next to Alaska, the Yukon is Canada’s most accessible northern destination. Home to Canada’s highest mountain (Mount Logan) and the planet’s largest non-polar icefields located in Kluane National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage site. One of North America’s most undiscovered destinations; close to 80 percent remains pristine wilderness with 5,000-metre peaks, forested valleys, unspoiled waters and untamed wildlife. Roughly the size of Spain at just over 186,000 square miles, the Yukon is home to more than 220,000 caribou, 70,000 moose, 22,000 mountain sheep, 7,000 grizzly bears, 10,000 black bears and 250 species of birds, with a human population of only 46,000.
For further information on the Yukon, visit www.travelyukon.com