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Watson Lake Yukon – Sign Post Forest – 2020 Arctic Circle Road Trip

Sign Post Forest

Watson Lake Yukon –  2020 Arctic Circle Road Trip 

“YUKON ROAD TRIP 2020 – PART 3 OF 7”

 

The Sign Post Forest located in Watson Lake Yukon Territory is a must “stop and participate” travel destination when exploring the Alaska Highway in Canada. However, in order to participate in the Sign Post Forest traditions one must prepare prior to your arrival. Before leaving you home base and embarking on an Alaska Highway road trip make sure to bring a sign with you so to hang in this world famous forest located in Watson Lake Yukon

SIGN POST FOREST VIDEO

The Sign Post Forest is Born

The Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake is a byproduct of the massive Alaska Highway construction project  pushing a highway through the rough dense wilderness regions of Northern BC, Yukon and Alaska. The result? The northern highway is one of the most beautiful sightseeing road tripping highways in Canada!

sign post forest alaska highway road trip

The Alaska Highway

The Alaska Highway starts at “Mile 0” in Dawson Creek BC and travels one-way 2,232 km (1,387 mi) to Delta Junction, Alaska, USA. In the middle of it all, at the 966 kilometre mark, at the BC/Yukon Border, is the small village of Watson Lake Yukon Territory and the Sign Post Forest.

Carl Lindley – Founder of the Sign Post Forest

In 1942, Carl Lindley from Danville Illinois, USA, was part of the construction crew building the Alaska Highway. It was tough work. Long hours. Dangerous. However, one day, Carl was home sick or having a bad day, and on a whim decided to post a sign pointing in the direction of his home town in Danville USA. On the sign Carl penned the distance it would take for Carl to get back home from Watson Lake Yukon. The rest is history. Thousands of signs followed. 

Greg & Colin at Sign Post Forest

Greg & Colin at Sign Post Forest

Out With The Old
In with the New EH!

There are so many signs in the forest from all over the world. However, when reading some of them, it is easy to think that some of the signs are not from this world.

SPF 4.0

We know this forest well. It is our 4th visit to the Sign Post Forest. On our last visit we posted a BCeh.com sign. On this visit the sign was gone. BCeh was a long time ago before we merged all our 9 websites into one ehCanadatravel.com.

Stolen or Admired? 

Was the BCeh sign stolen because it was so cool? Did it blow away in the winter because we were rookies at posting the sign? Who knows? All we know is that it was gone. Luckily we came prepared!

The Raising of EH? Canada Travel

If you have been following along on this adventure, you know we have been pushing big kilometres to get our wish list boxes checked off. We arrived at the Sign Post Forest at 6 AM. Why so early? We had a big day of road tripping ahead so needed an early start. One eye open, coffee in hand, we started exploring the forest seeking out the perfect flagpole for our new sign. 

sign post forest attempt

Attempt #1 at Sign Post Forest EH? Sign Raising

Attempt #1 in Sign Post Forest

The first attempt did not go well. For some reason we felt we had Superman powers and could climb to the top of the signs to post our sign. Only in our dreams. That was kyboshed pretty quickly.  Too dangerous.  Too wet. Too early in the morning. Just too stupid to try. We just did not have all our marbles operating at that time in the morning.

Not a Morning Person

Especially me as I do not do mornings well.  Plus, it would sure suck if Junior fell while posting the sign. Heck… he is driving the Maple Leaf RV?! What would I do! I would have to drive. That would double suck as I enjoy being a passenger with a camera and a note pad. 

Sign Post Forest eh Canada

EH? Canada Travel Signing

Attempt #2 in Sign Post Forest

We were warmed up now. We did a quick survey of the available spots to post our sign and we found one on the main path. With great pride and care Colin (aka Junior) started nailing in the sign. It was music to my ears. Slowly one nail after the other I could see the sign bonding with the post. Once Colin was finished we did our sign raising dance and felt pretty good about our day ahead. What do you think? Does it work for you? 

Selfie with Our Sign

When traveling the Alaska Highway and stopping in at the Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake Yukon make sure to take a selfie with our sign and we will send you some “merch”.  You can have an eh Canada baseball hat or toque. First, you have to sign up on our ehcanadatravel.com website as an Adventure Guru and then post the selfie in your profile and it will be shared throughout our website and social media channels. But, you have to sign up and post on our website to qualify for merch. Just saying. 

Watson Lake Sign Post Forest

Watson Lake Yukon –  2020 Arctic Circle Road Trip 

YUKON ROAD TRIP 2020 – PART 3 OF 7

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Greg Girard - eh Canada Travel - Community Consultant

Co Founder at eh Canada Travel ? Top Global Travel Blogger / Tourism Strategist

Greg Girard is a co founding brother of the award winning adventure and travel website and blog ehCanadaTravel.com. Greg is also a top ranked Canadian travel blogger who enjoys public speaking, and working with small and rural Canadian communities. Greg is an avid outdoor enthusiasts and amateur photographer who enjoys hiking, backpacking, wilderness camping, mountain biking, road tripping, snowboarding and attempting to play golf.

“Best Nationwide Adventure Company” Lux Life 2020

“Top 20 Canada Travel Websites to Watch” – FeedSpot 2019

#23 Top 1000 Global Travel Bloggers” – Global Rise 2020

“Best Canadian Blogger”— Expertido 2019

#4 Top 60 Canadian Travel Bloggers – BlogSpot 2019

#7 Top 100 Canadian Travel Bloggers – Flight Network 2018

FEATURED ON: CBC, Canada.com, Huffington Post, Nature Conservancy of Canada, TravelTV.com, Travel Industry Today, Cottage Life Magazine, Yukon Life, TAPS Magazine, HUB Magazine, Low Season Traveller and other publications.

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