Chilkoot Trail

Chilkoot Trail
1. Dyea, 2. Finnegan's Point, 3. Canyon City, 4. Pleasant Camp, 5. Sheep Camp, 6. Scales, 7. Chilkoot Pass, 8. Stone Crib, 9. Happy Camp, 10. Deep Lake, 11. Lake Lindemann, 12. Bare Loon Lake, 13. Lake Bennett
Length33 miles
SummitChilkoot Pass; 1067 m / 3,525 feet[1]
LegacyTrail for Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899)
LocationSoutheast Alaska - Northwest British Columbia
Official nameChilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada
Designated1987
Official nameChilkoot Trail and Dyea Site
Designated1978
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Chilkoot Trail and Dyea Site
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
Miners climbing Chilkoot
Chilkoot Trail is located in Alaska
Chilkoot Trail
Nearest citySkagway, Alaska
Coordinates59°35′14″N 135°19′56″W / 59.58719°N 135.33234°W / 59.58719; -135.33234
Area11,882 acres (4,808 ha)
Built1897
Part ofKlondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (ID76002189)
NRHP reference No.75002120[2]
AHRS No.SKG-006; SKG-067
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 14, 1975
Designated NHLDJune 16, 1978[3]
Designated CPJune 30, 1976
Designated AHRSJune 30, 1974
December 14, 1974

The Chilkoot Trail is a 33-mile (53 km) trail through the Coast Mountains that leads from Dyea, Alaska, in the United States, to Bennett, British Columbia, in Canada. It was a major access route from the coast to Yukon goldfields in the late 1890s. The trail became obsolete in 1899 when a railway was built from Dyea's neighbor port Skagway along the parallel White Pass trail.[4]

The U.S. portion of the Chilkoot Trail and Dyea Site were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, following creation of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in 1976. In 1987, the B.C. portion of the trail was designated Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site.[5] In 1998, the centennial of the gold rush, the National Historic Site in British Columbia joined with the U.S. National Historical Park to form Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park. In 2022, the 16.5 mi (26.6 km) portion of the trail in Alaska was designated Chilkoot National Historic Trail, part of the National Trails System.[6]

  1. ^ NPS, Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada, Natural Environment
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  3. ^ "Chilkoot Trail and Dyea Site". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  4. ^ Gold rush stories Archived 2011-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Chilkoot Trail. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  6. ^ Harball, Elizabeth (December 27, 2022). "What's in the $1.7 trillion government spending bill for Alaska? Lots". Alaska Journal. Retrieved December 28, 2022.