Backpacking in the Tombstone Mountains
Quick Facts:
Drive time from Dawson City, Yukon: 1 hour 15 minutes
Mileage: ~30 miles, out and back
Elevation gain: ~11,000 feet
Activity: Backpacking
Estimated time: 4-5 days
Reservations & Fees Required: https://yukon.goingtocamp.com/
Disclaimer: all mileage and elevation came from our Strava tracking and may differ from other sites.
This may be my favorite backpacking trip so far! You need to get permits here ahead of time. Reservations for the summer open at the beginning of January and tend to be competitive. However, there are sometimes cancellations, and we were able to get permits in late July for the first week of August. Each individual campsite needs to be reserved ($18/night), so you may not get the exact itinerary you were hoping for, but there’s no way to go wrong. Prior to starting the trail, you will need to stop by the Tombstone Interpretive Center to pick up your physical permit, so if you’re traveling from far, make sure to allow time for that. We were able to camp in a first-come-first-serve site at the Tombstone Mountain Campground the night before we started our hike.
Day 1: Grizzly Lake Trailhead to Grizzly Lake (7.3 miles, 3,250 ft elevation gain)
This hike starts fairly crowded as there are a lot of day hikers that hike up to Grizzly Ridge. You start through a lush forest and along the creek before you start climbing the ridge and escaping the trees after 1.5-2 miles. The only reliable water source is at the beginning of the trail, so make sure you are carrying enough to make it to Grizzly Lake. The trail is well-maintained and does not involve much rock hopping, although there are several boulder fields above the trail, so try not to stop in those areas as rock fall is always possible.
Once you make it to the first lookout, you start to lose the crowds. You walk along the ridge for a little until you crest one more saddle and see your first view of Grizzly Lake. Some may notice that the lake is below them and question why we had to climb the ridge in the first place (cough cough Andy…), but try to ignore that and enjoy the views!
Shortly after you start descending, you’ll come across Marmot Meadows, which was a great place to have lunch and lay in the grass. Once you’re back down to the valley floor, there will be a few small boulder fields to cross. Finally, you’ll arrive at the fork to go left towards Grizzly Lake Campground or right to go up the pass. There’s one small creek crossing right before you get to the campground, but it was manageable to step on rocks and keep your feet dry.
Grizzly Lake Campground is the largest and busiest on the trail as there are people coming for a 1 night trip, and people who are doing multi-day trips typically start and end their trip here. There are 18 tent pads, 3 picnic shelters, and 2 outhouses (but bring your own toilet paper!). There’s also food storage and grey water tanks for toothpaste and scented liquid. The tent pads are quite close together and right off the trail, so if you’re a light sleeper, I recommend picking the tent pad furthest from the shelters as it’ll have the least amount of traffic.
Day 2: Grizzly Lake to Talus Lake (8 miles, 2,600 ft elevation gain)
You start your morning with the hardest part, and that’s Glissade Pass. The climb up starts with a small boulder field similar to the ones the day before, and then it turns into a solid, grassy slope. Some of the trail is worn down and a bit muddy and slippery, but the ground is really stable for the most part. Once you’re at the top, you lose elevation fast while descending through a giant scree field. Dig your heels in and use trekking poles, and you’ll be down before you know it!
The creek at the bottom is gorgeously clear with white rocks, so it’s a perfect place for a snack break. Afterwards, you have another gradual climb as you get out of this valley and skirt around the base of the mountain. Shortly after, you arrive at Divide Lake campground with 1 picnic shelter, 1 outhouse, and 10 tent pads. We opted to not get a reservation here, so it was a great place for a lunch break before we continued our hike.
Leaving Divide Lake, you have a short & easy climb before it’s smooth, flat walking almost the entire way to Talus Lake. This is the easiest part of the trail, and is definitely worth a day trip if you don’t have reservations at Talus. After walking through a gorgeous meadow with 360-degree views of mountains for about 1.5 miles and your first view of Tombstone Mountain, you’ll come across a lake with no name, which became our favorite swimming spot. After the lake, you have less than 1 mile of downhill before you arrive at Talus Lake Campground with its 1 picnic shelter, 1 outhouse, 10 tent pads and a helicopter pad.
We lucked out with sun every day of our trip, which had us sprinting for the lakes. After swimming in all of the lakes, ‘no name’ lake was definitely the coldest but also the deepest, so it made it the easiest to jump in.
Day 3: Talus Lake to the Monolith to Talus Lake (approx. 3 miles roundtrip and 500 ft elevation gain)
We had a layover day at Talus Lake, which ended up being a good call as it was our favorite campground with views of the Monolith on one side and Tombstone Mountain on the other. After a lazy morning in the empty campground, we ventured out to hike up to the base of the Monolith. There’s no trail that direction, so it was all easy route-finding just walking straight towards it. The hill is at the beginning, and you can easily avoid the boulder fields and opt to walk on the soft tundra instead. If hiking in a group, spread out to try to limit your impact on the ground.
Hadley and I hung out by the creek and empty lake basin (which we called “The Dog Park”) at the base of the Monolith while Andy scrambled up to the ridge, which took him about an hour roundtrip. We then hiked down the creek bed and popped back out at the edge of Talus Lake.
After another swim and dinner, we took a sunset hike to the helicopter pad to get a good view of Tombstone Mountain. It’s only about 1/2 mile from the tent pads and is an amazing view!
Day 4: Talus Lake to Grizzly Lake (8 miles, 3,100 ft elevation gain)
Going back the way you came, except this time you get to climb up the scree field on Glissade Pass. There are clear trails where people have been, and those are easier to climb as they have less loose rock on them. This side of the pass is in the shade most of the day, so you at least have that in your favor. Our dog, Hadley, didn’t have any issue getting up or down the pass, but she does have a lot of experience with these types of hikes. If you opt to bring your dog on this trail, make sure to follow the strict rules the park has in place to ensure the cleanliness of the trail and safety of wildlife.
You’ll be rewarded with views of Grizzly Lake once you make it to the top, but be sure to watch your footing on the way down and take it slow.
Day 5: Grizzly Lake to Grizzly Lake Trailhead (7 miles, 2,100 ft elevation gain)
Rewarded with the same beautiful views, this is the last push of the trip. Although more uphill than we remember, we were able to make it back to the car in a little over 3 hours and get ourselves some poutine in Dawson City.
