While both sides of the Chilkoot Trail have opened in northern British Columbia and Alaska, crossing the international Canada-United States border to complete the full historic trade and gold rush trek is banned for the 2025 season.
The latest move to make border crossing via the trail illegal comes as Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson Luke Reimer said the agency is working to beef up border security in a 鈥渃onstantly evolving environment.鈥�
The trail has faced closures amid a global pandemic, a natural disaster and now strained relations between the United States and Canada because of U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 annexation talk and tariff threats.
Trump called on Canada to crack down on its borders to address drugs and people crossing the border as he threatened to impose tariffs, even though the movement of fentanyl and migrants illegally across the border from Canada to the United States has been minimal compared to other countries.
The Canadian border patrol is prohibiting entry to Canada along the trail because, Reimer said, there is no proper way to monitor who is crossing the border and what they are bringing with them.
As the News was reporting on this story, Parks Canada was busy updating its public messaging via the website and Facebook on June 5.
鈥淐anada Border Services Agency is determining if hikers and runners can meet their reporting obligations for legal entry into Canada,鈥� the website read in the days leading up to this story鈥檚 publication.
鈥淚t is illegal to cross the international border on the Chilkoot Trail. Hikers can hike the trail on the Canadian or U.S. sides and must turn around at the border for the 2025 season,鈥� the website now reads.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has pulled a similar move not to allow travellers to go into the U.S. from Canada via the trail.
Reimer said the trail hasn鈥檛 been open to hikers wanting to cross on the Chilkoot Trail since 2022 when the U.S. side closed due to major flood damage.
CBC News reported the trail was on track to fully reopen in 2025, following COVID-19 pandemic border restrictions starting in 2020 and flood damage in 2021 and 2022.
Finishing the full 53 kilometres typically involves crossing the international border twice.
鈥淗ikers must report to an official port of entry to enter Canada or the U.S.,鈥� CBSA said.
Jaime Ruiz, a spokesperson for the U.S. border patrol, said the agency鈥檚 鈥渘ational security priority mission has not changed.鈥�
The Chilkoot Trail is not a designated port of entry, Ruiz reiterated. The border agencies continue to coordinate on the matter.
The strenuous hike, studded with stunning landscapes, follows the centuries-old path first crossed by Tlingit traders and later the Klondike gold rush stampeders, as noted on the Parks Canada website.
Parks Canada describes the trail as difficult for even the most experienced hikers.
The hazards listed on the website include difficult navigation across snowfields, poor visibility on an unmarked path, quickly changing extreme weather including mid-summer snow, fast-flowing creeks, rugged terrain, slippery surfaces, bears and other wildlife.
Parks Canada and the U.S. National Parks Service (NPS) did not respond to the News' request by publication.
A U.S. parks spokesperson said the federal Department of Interior would have to approve the response. The NPS web page to get permits for the Chilkoot Trail was being worked on when the News visited it on June 7. The NPS website notes permits can only be sought from Parks Canada.
A Parks Canada spokesperson said their response also needed approval. Reservations are open for hiking from June 5 to Sept. 13, when permits and reservations are needed, according to Parks Canada's website.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com