A short walk north of town, the Carcross Desert is one of the Yukon's most improbable sights: a series of open sand dunes covering about two and a half square kilometres, surrounded entirely by boreal forest and mountains. At first glance it seems like a trick of the eye — bare, wind-rippled sand in the middle of the northern wilderness, with Nares Lake glittering beyond.
The dunes support a few specialised plant species and are fragile, so stay on the marked paths. Early morning or late afternoon light makes for the best photographs, when the low sun throws the ridges and hollows into sharp relief. In summer the dunes are a favourite with sandboarders who lug boards up from Whitehorse — a surreal activity in the subarctic.