Klondike Trail facts for kids

The Klondike Trail, also known as the Chalmers Trail, was a long land route used by people hoping to find gold during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon, Canada. This exciting time saw many people, called prospectors, travel to the Klondike region. Some came from the United States, crossing the difficult Chilkoot Pass. Others took a northern route through Edmonton and along the Athabasca River.

However, business owners in Edmonton wanted to create a new land route. On a map, this new path looked shorter, but it turned out to be very hard, dangerous, and took much longer to travel than expected.

Building the Trail

Why a New Route?

The original trail had a very tough section between Fort Assiniboine and Lesser Slave Lake. To make this part better, the government of the Northwest Territories (which was based in Regina, Saskatchewan) decided to act. They sent an engineer named Thomas W. Chalmers to find and build a new path.

Chalmers's Survey

In September 1897, Chalmers started his work. He wanted to avoid areas of muskeg, which are very wet, spongy lands that are hard to cross. He didn't ask local Indigenous people for advice, even though they knew the land very well and could have helped him find an easier way.

Chalmers mapped a route that went over the highest parts of the Swan Hills. This area is about 20 kilometres east of where the town of Swan Hills is today. His path followed closely to what is now Alberta Highway 33. He finished his survey and returned to Edmonton on November 7.

Cutting the Path

In the spring and summer of 1898, Chalmers and a team of workers began cutting the new trail. They cleared about 240 miles (386 kilometres) of heavy bush. This new path was meant to be a wagon trail, wide enough for wagons to pass.

The trail began at Pruden's Crossing on the Athabasca River, near Fort Assiniboine. From there, it headed north to the shore of Lesser Slave Lake, close to where the town of Kinuso would later be. Even after reaching Lesser Slave Lake, it was still another 2,500 kilometres (about 1,550 miles) north to the gold fields!

Challenges and Dangers

A Difficult Journey

Chalmers announced the trail was ready in July 1898. But it was incredibly difficult. Some travelers spent months just to cover parts of it. They faced great dangers and had to do a lot of hard work.

Sad Losses

The journey was especially tough on animals. Around 2,000 horses died along the trail. This happened because they didn't have enough food, their loads were packed poorly, and they were simply too tired.

One sad human death was recorded: an unidentified little girl. Her grave is still marked along the trail east of Fort Assiniboine, reminding us of the hardships faced by those who traveled this route.

The Trail's Decline

The Klondike Gold Rush started to slow down in the same year the trail was finished. The last group of people heading to the Yukon using this trail left Edmonton in August 1898. By 1901–1902, people had mostly stopped using the Klondike Trail. Today, most of the trail has been reclaimed by nature. However, in some parts near Fort Assiniboine, you can still see the old wagon ruts, showing where the trail once was.