Right downtown, it’s a great spot to birdwatch, relax and chat with the locals. This is your best chance to see the aurora in the summer when the Yukon skies swap northern lights for midnight sun.īack outdoors, Wye Lake is a scenic park with a playground, picnic area and a 2.5-kilometre trail that loops around the lake. Be awestruck as colourful northern lights dance across a panoramic video screen. At the Northern Lights Space and Science Centre, summer visitors hear the legends and learn the science of the mesmerizing aurora borealis. Handsome and aging well, the hangar loves to pose for pictures. Built in 1941, it played a key role in the American Army’s WWII lend-lease program as well as in the building of the highway.
More history waits at the Watson Lake Airport, where the original BC-Yukon Air Service hangar still stands. Walk the pathways lined with over 85,000 signs and find a spot to add your own. Visitors from around the world have since posted their own signs, creating a one-of-a-kind attraction-crowdsourcing decades before people even knew what crowdsourcing was. While building the Alaska Highway, the soldier posted a sign pointing in the direction of his hometown more than 4,300 kilometres away. A simple act by a homesick American soldier in 1942 began what would become the Sign Post Forest. Watson Lake, Yukon is 440 km (273 miles) south east of Whitehorse, the Capital of the Yukon.Watson Lake’s most recognizable landmark is unique, endearing and a little bit wacky-in a good way. It has a direct link to the Space Telescope Science Institute which shares the latest images from the Hubble Space Telescope and other NASA science missions. Watson Lake is also home of the Northern Lights Center, a state of the art facility designed to explore and educate the mystery of the Aurora Borealis. There are over 70,000 signs in the Signpost Forest and every year visitors bring new signs from around the world to add to the collection. Watson lake is famous for it’s massive collection of signs, know as the Signpost Forest. The Town of Watson Lake maintains the Sign Post Forest, which is known as one of The Yukon’s most famous landmarks with over 75,000 unique signs.Ĭlick here to view a map of Watson Lake Yukon What is Watson Lake Known for? It is still being added to each year by visitors who wish to promote their own communities.
When repairing a directional post, he decided to add a sign for his hometown of Danville, IL, and inadvertently started the huge collection of signs. It was started in 1942 by Carl Lindley, a homesick GI, while working on the Alaska Highway. The Sign Post Forest is Watson Lake’s most famous attraction. It became the accommodation and supply center for the building of this section of the highway. Watson Lake grew from a small isolated outpost to a thriving community when the Alaska Highway was routed through its center. There are several hotels, campgrounds and a number of interesting tourist attractions. A comfortable day’s drive from Fort Nelson, BC or Whitehorse, Yukon make it a popular stopover point. Watson Lake is the first Yukon community encountered by the northbound traveller and is the second largest town in the Yukon.
0 kommentar(er)
