Kluane Canoe Trip > Wilderness Area
Kluane National Park
Together with Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in British Columbia, these three parks represent the largest protected landmass in the world and are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The interior of Kluane is a land of rock snow and ice, void of animal and even plant life. Only tiny bits of lichen exist on south facing slopes. In the interior snowstorms are experienced year round, and the massive weight of this snow compresses through time turning into ice and forms the immense interior ice fields of Kluane. The glaciers of Kluane are the largest non-polar ice fields on the planet. The Himalayas and the Andes have nothing that rivals them!
Mush and Bates Lakes
Mush and Bates Lake lie in the southern area of Kluane, in close proximity to glacial Lowell Lake on the world-famous Alsek River. Surrounded by spruce forest and mountains, each lake is approximately 10 km long separated by a section of creek, that must be portaged around. The area is only accessible by a long ( 2 hour drive) 4x4 road, so receives very few visitors. The lake has excellent lake trout, pike and grayling fishing opportunities. Mush and Bates Lakes are located in what is known as the "green belt" of Kluane, the area of vegetation and forest forming the perimeter around the glacial heart of Kluane. The main ice-fields of Kluane lie 25km to the west. The area of Mush and Bates is home to grizzly bears, moose, wolves, sheep, and mountain goats.
