Tombstone Territorial Park is a protected wilderness area in central Yukon, north of Dawson City along the Dempster Highway. The park covers a large section of the North Klondike River region, where rugged mountains, broad valleys, tundra, and black spruce forests create a landscape unlike the lower-elevation country farther south. Its distinctive skyline includes jagged peaks and dark rock formations that give the park its name. The region is remote and lightly developed, with a small campground and trail network providing access to an expansive northern landscape shaped by permafrost and seasonal changes.
Tombstone Territorial Park lies within the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, whose relationship with the land extends across the Dawson region and surrounding Yukon. Traditional knowledge has contributed to understanding the area's wildlife, vegetation, waterways, and seasonal conditions. The park's creation also reflects cooperation between the Yukon government and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in in protecting a landscape with ecological and cultural importance. Nearby archaeological and historical sites provide evidence of longstanding human use, while the Dempster Highway follows a route through country connected to Indigenous travel and later transportation across the Yukon interior.
The park is known for its unusual combination of alpine tundra, sharp ridges, valleys, wetlands, and boreal forest. The North Klondike River and its tributaries drain the surrounding mountains, while permafrost features such as patterned ground and thermokarst occur across the landscape. Hiking routes include the Grizzly Lake Trail, which leads toward a mountain lake surrounded by steep peaks, and the North Klondike River Trail. Wildlife includes caribou, moose, grizzly and black bears, Dall sheep, wolves, foxes, and many migratory birds. Autumn brings strong changes in vegetation colour across the tundra and valleys.
Food at Tombstone Territorial Park is primarily associated with camping and backcountry travel, so visitors generally bring their own provisions and must store food carefully because of the area's bear population. Wild berries, including crowberries, blueberries, and other northern species, occur seasonally across the tundra, although harvesting should follow Yukon regulations and park guidance. One of the park's notable features is its proximity to the Dempster Highway, Canada's first all-weather public highway crossing the Arctic Circle. The road provides a rare overland route into this remote landscape and makes Tombstone an accessible introduction to Yukon's northern wilderness.
