Chilkoot Trail and Dyea Site, Historic trade route in Skagway, Alaska, United States.
The Chilkoot Trail is a historic hiking route extending about 33 miles from Dyea to Lake Bennett, crossing mountains and high-altitude terrain. The path runs through forests, past glaciers, and over steep passes that demand significant physical effort.
During the Klondike Gold Rush from 1897 to 1898, over 30,000 fortune seekers traveled this route to reach the Yukon. This massive migration left lasting marks on the landscape and made the pass the most traveled path of that era.
The Tlingit people used this corridor for generations to connect coastal and inland communities through trade. Today, visitors can sense how important this passage was for Indigenous life in the region.
The route is open to hikers during summer months and requires advance permits for overnight stays. Nine campgrounds are located along the path where visitors can set up tents and rest.
Scattered along the trail are remnants from the gold rush era, including abandoned equipment and tools that have survived for over a century. These artifacts silently tell stories of the desperate hopes of those who walked this difficult path so long ago.
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