When they say backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park is no ‘walk in the park’ they aren’t lying. This is probably one of the hardest backpacking trips I’ve done to date physically. Think loads of steep elevation gain and plenty of talus rock hopping and that pretty much sums up this trail. If backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park is on your bucket list, which it absolutely should be, you’ll want to be fit and prepared for lots of climbing, loose ground and camping above tree line. It’s an adventure worth the pain though. As you take in huge valley views, lakeside camping spots and huge mountains, you won’t find many other places, if anywhere, in Canada.
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Planning Essentials For Backpacking In Tombstone Territorial Park
All campsites for backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park must be reserved, I’d recommend doing this as soon as reservations for the year open. We met many disappointed hikers who had been unable to get more than one night at Grizzly Lake when they showed up to the visitor center with no reservations.
Once you have your reservations, before you start on your trip, you must check in at the Tombstone Territorial Park visitor center on the Dempster Highway. There is a mandatory orientation, when we hiked the trail in 2022, the orientation was an online video. When checking in at the visitor center, they’ll check you have watched this as well as asking a few other questions before issuing your permit.
Another important thing to note is that you are required to carry a bear proof food storage container with you while backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park. There are food lockers at the campgrounds but nowhere near enough for all the people on the trail. We chose the bear vault and the larger size was perfect for two people for five days. Plus it turns into a seat to use in the cook shelters on the trail. If you don’t want to buy one, they can be rented in Dawson City.
The Trailhead
Before you can start backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park, you need to check in at the interpretive visitor center, which is 71.5 kilometers along the Dempster Highway. It is about an hour and a half drive from Dawson City and seven hours drive from Whitehorse.
The Dempster Highway is clearly signed from Highway 2, but once you turn off, the road turns to a maintained but graveled road. Travel along the Dempster can be slow going, take your time and slow down when passing other vehicles.
Once you have checked in, backtrack down the Dempster Highway to find the parking lot for the Grizzly Lake trail, it is clearly signed on the right side of the highway.
Backpacking To Grizzly, Divide And Talus Lakes
We were not really sure what to expect when it came to backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park, we booked a night at each campground plus an extra night at Grizzly Lake Campground on the way out. If we were to do this again, I’d book two nights at both Grizzly and Divide lakes, one night in each direction.
Day 1: Grizzly Lake Trailhead to Grizzly Lake
The trail starts fairly mellow with lots of tree roots covering the path, it soon starts to climb steeply. It’s a grind, there is no other word for it. Once you get to the tree line though the views open up and you can see that car park way down in the distance.
The climb continues up to a view point, the termination point for most day hikers. There is an incredible view down the valley towards Mount Monolith and if you only have a day, the day hike is sure to satisfy you.
For people heading further, the trail continues to climb past two further high points before starting its traverse across the mountainside. The joy of this stretch is you stay high almost the entire time meaning the views are spectacular for the entire hike!
The last three kilometers to the campground are a bit of a chore, with rapid elevation loss mixed with talus rock hopping. It’s exhausting but the campsite more than makes up for it, right on the shore of Grizzly Lake with views of the lake and down the valley you just hiked through.
Day 2: Grizzly Lake to Divide Lake
From the Grizzly Lake campground you look up at Glissade Pass, the high point of backpacking Tombstone Territorial Park. It looks intimidating at best. Today is a good day to eat a big breakfast as the climb starts almost immediately!
Backtrack across the creek from the campground and shortly after you’ll notice a rock with the words Glissade Pass written on it, keep your eyes peeled, we missed it entirely on our way in! From here you start your ascent. It’s steep from the get go, following along the edge of the gully, it gets even steeper and somewhat looser as you cut up over the rockband to reach the grassy area above. Watch out for people coming in the other direction and below and be careful not to throw rocks on them by accident!
Once in the grass you are about two thirds of the way to Glissade Pass. The next section is pretty much straight up. It’s tough going and you can see your goal but at times it feels like it isn’t getting any closer! Eventually you reach the top. The views are just incredible in both directions.
Look for the cairn at the summit this will point you in the direction for the decent trail. The backside of Glissade Pass is probably the hardest part of backpacking the Tombstone Territorial Park. It is steep and loose! Take your time, bring poles. They will surely save your knees!
The trail down zig zags through the loose talus rock before reaching a bit of a plateau. Then it’s down some more. It’s a real knee killer. Once off the rock you are greeted with a grassy meadow and it’s easy going for a while.
The trail to Divide Lake wraps around the mountain. There is some elevation loss and gain here as well as more rock hopping. After the steep climb over the pass you are ready for camp but it doesn’t come easy. With each elevation gain you will wish to see the campground but it doesn’t come for longer than you’d like!
Eventually the outhouse comes into view first and then as you descend the campground and lake come into view. Another creek crossing takes you right to the bear bins and eating area.
Day 3: Divide Lake to Talus Lake and back
For day three we ended up hiking to Talus Lake. Our original plan had been to camp there for the night but knowing that on our way out we’d have to hike ten kilometers and then get over the pass, we decided to spend the night in Divide Lake and day hike. We were exceptionally lucky that due to smoke and road closures the park was particularly quiet and therefore we knew we wouldn’t have any issues. In hindsight I’d book an extra night out at Divide Lake to split up the hike back from Talus Lake.
Day hiking is easy going after a few days of heavy packs and we were at Talus Lake in under two hours. This was by far one of the most beautiful stretches of trail while backpacking Tombstone Territorial Park. It’s also some of the easiest hiking with considerably less elevation change and rock hopping.
Talus Lake is beautiful and from the campground you can see right down the Tombstone range. From the campground you can continue on the trail to get closer to Mount Tombstone. We ventured a little way but since we had to get back to Divide Lake, kept it short.
It was unfortunate on the day we were there that the smoke from the local forest fire was particularly thick. I’d love to come back on a less hazy day to take in the full splendor of the mountains.
We turned and headed back to Divide Lake for the night. Coming back into camp the trail stays high along a shoulder overlooking the lake and the views here are beautiful!
Day 4: Divide Lake To Grizzly Lake
As with most trails, the way back never seems to take as long or be as hard. We got an early start, aware of the rock hopping and big pass which was to come. The first stretch went by fast and we felt strong but before we knew it we were looking up at the pass and oh did it look daunting.
The snow which had covered the pass trail had melted in the two days since we had hiked down and now the trail was easier to see but wet and very soft and loose. The going was hard and slow as climbing up scree can be. One foot forward, slides two feet backwards. With this terrain and the steepness of the slope we hurried to climb up as fast as we could.
Before you know it, you crest over the pass. Throw your packs off here and take a breather, the downhill is just as tough.
We spent some time taking in the views, cooling off and exploring the pass before we started to head down. Just as the coming up from Grizzly Lake was difficult, the hike down to it was tough on the knees. Poles here were a lifesaver but we still took our time.
Back at Grizzly Lake campground for our last night backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park, it was a relaxing treat! There is a trail some hikers heading to Divide Lake recommended to us. It is clearly signposted from beside the outhouses, look for the twin lakes rock sign.
For those with the energy, the hike to the twin lakes viewpoint starts out with a steep climb into an alpine bowl, cool in itself, it then cuts through the bowl and up onto the ridge beside where it climbs in elevation until you reach a high point, the trail dips down slightly, allowing views of Twin Lakes. Adding this on to your day is not for the faint of heart and I bailed as the scrambling got a bit more hands on, leaving Mike to explore by himself. He returned gushing of incredible views, while I napped in the sun on the ridge.
Back at camp that evening, we were woken by fellow campers, there were caribou right next to camp. It was such a treat to see the incredible creatures in their wild habitat.
Day 5: Grizzly Lake To The Trailhead
The climb out of Grizzly Lake on our final day of backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park was just as tough as we expected. Lots of rock hopping up the steep trail to gain the high ridge.
From here the traverse begins. Most of the snow patches and the corresponding streams they had produced were gone! Leaving the trail fairly water free, make sure to carry enough water on this stretch of the trail on a hot day.
Due to the smoke from forest fires on our final day backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park we barely saw another person, there were no crowds along the trail, nobody stopped at the viewpoints taking pictures. But that was ok and made moving along the trail fast and easy.
The Backcountry Campsites In Tombstone Territorial Park
I have to make a note about the campgrounds when backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park. They are incredibly well maintained and set out to minimize human impact on the fragile alpine environment.
The tent pads are raised and instead of the traditional wood planks having black plastic squares covering them, bring zip ties or rope to secure your tent, pegs won’t work here.
Walkways are marked by low rope fences, keeping everyone on a set trail system to avoid braiding around the campground areas. The outhouses are clean and well maintained.
The cooking areas are some of the nicest I’ve experienced in the backcountry. With canvas tents covering benches, your bear vault can make an excellent seat to use in the shelter.
Grey water is disposed of in barrels at all the campgrounds while backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park. These are flown out when full to avoid any contamination, use the funnels provided and spit your toothpaste and pour any dirty water in here.
What You’ll Need To Have A More Enjoyable Time
Solid hiking boots are a must, I wore a lightweight hiking boot and although it did just fine, they definitely got bashed about and looked worse for wear after finishing this hike.
I can’t imagine backpacking in Tombstone Territorial Park without hiking poles. To help navigate the elevation gain and for bigger rock hopping steps, poles are a must have.
A must have, as I mentioned earlier, is a bear bin. We use the bear vault and although it is bulky, it was a perfect size for two and doubled as a seat at camp.
When we backpacked into Tombstone Territorial Park it was really hot, we took both the Katadyn BeFree filter, for getting cold water easily while hiking and also the 4 liter platypus gravityworks for at camp. It is always good to have a back up way of purifying water and having the two systems worked really well for this trip.
I’d also recommend a satellite communicator, this trip is remote and the fastest way to get help if you need it would be a communication device. Our go to is the Garmin InReach Mini 2, this allows us to track our route as well as call for help should you need it.
In early July, the mosquitoes along the trail really weren’t too bad, however I had read that they can get really bad. For that reason, I’d recommend bug spray and mosquito coils, as apparently they can get terrible. Once we were back camping at the Yukon River campground in Dawson City, we experienced terrible bugs, so I think we got lucky while backpacking.
