George Johnstone Trail : Yukon, Canada

George Johnston Trail is a tribute recreation trail located in the village of Teslin, Yukon of the Southern Lakes region of the Yukon Territory, Canada. The trail is a year round recreation destination used by hikers, bikers and cross country skiers.

George Johnstone was a local leader of the Tlingit First Nation people. George was a trapper and then a leader of innovation completing his life as a well known photographer of the Yukon Territory. His bloodlines run deep as he was a descendant of Chief Kowakha of the Taku River First Nations.

In the days of George Johnstone there was no Alaska Highway. The transportation routes for the First Nation people consisted of waterways like the Yukon River, Teslin Lake and the Nisutlin River. In 1928 that all changed. George went out and bought a Chevy and barged it to Teslin.

Soon later he built a 6 kilometre road to Fox Creek to transport people from village to village operating as a taxi company. In the winter the sedan would be painted white to camouflage with the snow covered Teslin Lake so George and his buddies could go hunting for wolves.

Later on in life his road was used as the foundation for the Alaska Highway near Teslin. Today the trail is a reminder of the George Johnstone highway.

George Johnstone is well remembered in Teslin. There is the hiking trail... and near the trailhead is a museum dedicated to Johnston which houses his white chevy and many of his belongings including some of his photographs of the Yukon until 1940. The museum grounds include a picnic area, artifacts and many informational signs.

How to Get to George Johnstone Trail

Travel to the community of Teslin at the 804 mile marker (1244 Kms) on the Alaska Highway in the Southern Lakes region of the Yukon, Territory, Canada. In the community opposite the George Johnstone Museum on the Alaska Highway is the trailhead.