Red Ridge

Date Added: October 12, 2008

Last Update: October 12, 2008

Red Ridge is a great ridge hike offering serveral options and fantastic views. The ridge is between other formidable mountains like Twin Mountain and Mount Perkins. A full view of Annie Lake can be seen from the top.

Distance: 10 km

Elevation Gain: 490 m (1608 ft)

Time: 4 hours

Directions

Drive south from Whitehorse and turn right at the Carcross cutoff. After about 17 km turn right onto Annie Lake road. After about another 17 kms you will reach the north end of Annie Lake road and there is a road to the right which leads towards a marsh. Take this road for a little over 8 kms. It is a rough 4x4 road, so if you don't have 4 wheel drive, it is advised that you don't drive too far up this road. You will cross 2 small creeks on the road and eventually follow on the side of a steep bank before reaching a clearing where you can park and turn around. At this clearing there is a wide exploration trail which is the trailhead.

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Description

Follow the exploration road up and along the side of the ridge. Near the top, in a small saddle, you have the choice to continue along the road or turn left (west). Continuing along the road will lead to the east end of the ridge with a great view of Annie Lake and the Watson River valley towards the east. Turning left instead will lead west along Red Ridge.

If you decide to first go to the east end of the ridge, just continue following the exploration road until it ends. It isn't very long to the top (1 km), so this can be an easy side trip and you can follow the same road back down and continue along the ridge.

If you decide to continue west along the ridge, you can either hike the full ridge to the end, or go to the first obvious peak for a lookout (2.1 km from the saddle where you leave the exploration road). There are a couple of narrow trails to the first peak which you can follow to avoid having to bush-whack. It is sometimes hard to find the trail, but the ridge is open enough to find your own route also. Hike up to the first peak for a fantastic view to the west.

From the first peak, you can continue along the ridge to the end if you wish. If you do, you will have to descend on the other end of the ridge and follow the main road back to where you parked (this part of the trail is not described here). Otherwise, you can turn around and trace your steps back down to the exploration road.