A Charming Lakeside Lodge In Canada's Yukon Wilds Is A Paradise For Anglers And Adventurers

A surprisingly easy-to-get-to adventure lodge on the shores of a mountain-ringed lake in the wilds of the Yukon is a haven for anglers of all stripes. It's also an adventure destination for anyone looking for a true wilderness experience while also enjoying the creature comforts of a charming lakeside lodge. Dalton Trail Lodge, situated about two hours by car from the Yukon's territorial capital, Whitehorse, a town brimming with gold rush history, creative vibes and wilderness access, puts adventurers on the cusp of the wild and offers virtually unlimited access to the Yukon's remote wilderness.

Here, guided anglers are transported into the wild where they chase everything from trophy-worthy northern pike and massive lake trout to the Yukon's only native population of rainbow trout and elegant Arctic graylings that rise to dry flies with reckless abandon. Non-anglers can venture into the interior of the stunning Kluane (pronounced KLOO-ah-Nee) National Park, where they'll take in the vistas of the northern edge of the Rocky Mountains and look for the Yukon's charismatic wildlife that includes black bears, grizzly bears, Dall sheep, elk, moose, caribou, and wolves. With a guide at their side, these encounters are very safe for park visitors, but they are absolutely unforgettable. Adventurers staying at the lodge can also take ATV tours into the backcountry, or sign up for boat tour of gorgeous Kathleen Lake — the views are unimaginable.

Dalton Trail Lodge is situated literally on the edge of adventure. Located right on the shores of scenic Dezadeash (pronounced DEZ-a-DEE-ash) Lake, it's also within just a few miles of the Kluane National Park headquarters in the small village of Haines Junction. It's the perfect home base for anglers and adventurers, and it offers a number packages for visitors, including fishing trips, overnight adventures at outpost cabins, and a thrilling "action" package that includes ATV rides and boat tours of area lakes. The lodge itself is beautiful, and it features a full bar, cozy guest rooms, a spacious dining area, and some awesome outdoor gathering areas.

Potential visitors to the Yukon and to Dalton Trail Lodge might think it's a tough destination to reach. It's actually pretty easy. There are daily flights to Whitehorse from Vancouver, and frequent flights over the course of a week from Calgary and other Canadian hubs. A visit to Dalton Trail Lodge might require an overnight stay in one of the hub cities, but that just gives travelers the chance to experience one of Canada's great metro areas, like Vancouver, a vibrant city that offers an idyllic, safe destination for your first solo trip. From Vancouver, it's an easy flight north to Whitehorse, where the lodge will send a representative to meet guests at the airport for the beautiful ride down the Alaska and Haines highways to the lodge, where the adventure really begins.

While Dalton Trail Lodge is a true adventure lodge, it really shines when it comes to the fishing it offers visitors. Here, both fly fishers and traditional gear anglers can tie into world class lake trout, massive northern pike and plus-sized grayling. What's more, with a guide, they can fish the wild waters of Mush Lake and Bates Lake in Kluane National Park, where other anglers rarely venture. It's a two-hour drive from the lodge to the Mush Lake put-in, where the lodge stores a boat. From Mush Lake, anglers will fish the inlets and outlets, and then move to a portage, where they'll hop into a canoe and float down a short river channel to Bates Lake. The target fish in these two remote lakes is lake trout, a native char. In the short river channel between the two lakes is a robust population of Arctic grayling that will rise to dry flies. Watching a grayling take a dry fly floating on the water's surface is one of the biggest thrills in all of fishing.

On the waters of Dezadeash Lake, where the lodge is situated, anglers can actually take a boat out on their own on calmer days, and they can motor across the lake to it's outlet at Six Mile, which is really the Dezadeash River, where the fishing can be almost non-stop at certain times of the year. Connecting with the wild, be it through fishing or observing the Yukon landscape (which is also where travelers will find the "the world's smallest desert" in an unexpected destination), is what the Yukon is all about. Anglers and adventurers need to put the Yukon on their bucket lists. They won't regret it.