New apps offer guides to Carcross history, Whitehorse trails

Tourists in Carcross, Yukon, now have a new app to help them find their way around.

Claire Daitch, Yukon's Historic Sites Interpreter, says the app guides visitors to more than 30 sites — from the Caribou Hotel and White Pass and Yukon Route station to lesser-known community attractions.

"I like the Arnie Orman cabin, which is the tiny little cabin on the waterfront," she says.

"The history behind that cabin is that there was a man who was living in Tagish, a woodcutter, and he was getting on in years, so he decided he should move to town. So he built himself this little cabin so he could do what he always wanted to do, which was light a fire without standing up. It's a tiny, tiny, minuscule cabin."

The new Carcross app is a pilot project. If it's a hit, Daitch says similar apps will be developed for other Yukon communities.

New Whitehorse trails app

Meanwhile in Whitehorse, there's another new app that includes details of more than 200 kilometres of recreational trails in the city.

"I want people to feel that they have a tool that they can go out and feel comfortable knowing that they won't get lost," says Paul Gowdie, who designed the app.

"It's not going to defend you from a bear if something happens but if will help you find your way back home."

The app is based on a popular printed map of the recreational trails in the city. Once downloaded, the Whitehorse trail app doesn't require Wi-Fi or cell service.

Using your device's internal GPS, the app can show you where you are on the trail system. It's available for purchase as of this week at the Apple store and an Android version will be out later this month.