Click to see Enlarged Route Map
	Forty Mile River on the Yukon Quest photo: ©Laurent Dick

The Yukon Quest is the toughest and one of the longest sled dog races in the world. It embodies the spirit and adventure of the North Country (Alaska and the Yukon) and those who live here.

The race route extends more than a thousand miles from Whitehorse in the Yukon to Fairbanks in Alaska.

The Yukon Quest Trail follows historic Gold Rush and Mail Delivery routes from the turn of the 20th Century. Once a travel highway of the Northern frontier, the trail comes alive each February with the breath of hundreds of sled dogs. Teams of one musher and 14 canine athletes, travel for two weeks, racing over 1000 miles through some of the last pristine wilderness remaining in North America.

Quest dogs are elite, marathon athletes. Bred from stock that survived and thrived during the Klondike Gold Rush, no animal on earth can match them for endurance, dedication and their ability to perform in the extreme conditions of the North.

The Spirit of the Quest is still true to its northern soul. Mushers carry mandatory equipment, food and supplies at all times. They cannot replace their sleds, and are not permitted to accept any help, except in Dawson City (the home of the Klondike Gold Rush) the half-way point along the race route.

The route runs on frozen rivers, climbs four mountain ranges, and passes through isolated, northern villages. With temperatures hitting 40 below, 100 mile-an-hour winds, open water and bad ice all working against the teams, the Yukon Quest is a true test of the capacity of humans and canines, and a tribute to the strength of the ancient bond that unites them.