RV ALASKA - Watson Lake's World Famous Sign Post Forest

Alan and I spent a full day traveling from Summit Lake in British Columbia to the town of Watson Lake in southern Yukon Territory.  We had been anticipating our stop at the Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake since the beginning of the trip.  Since 1942, people from all over the world have been posting a sign to signify their passing through this small town.  Names, streets, towns, states, countries, special occasions and even memorials - all of these and more have been commemorated in the Sign Post Forest.  Of course, we had to add our own.

The Sign Post Forest at Watson Lake was born in 1942.  According to the "Travel Yukon" website, "Private Carl Lindley, of Company D, 341st Army of Engineers, was injured while working on the Alaska Highway near Lower Post, B.C. He was taken to recover at an aid station in what is now Watson Lake, a few miles over the border into the Yukon.  While there, Lindley was given light work duty repairing and repainting directional posts.  Of his own accord, he added one for Danville, Illinois, where he was from.  The original sign, located at Mile 635 on the Alaska Highway, is no longer there.  It was replaced during a 1992 party celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the forest, which had grown exponentially by then."

On September 28, 2022, the sign count reached 100,000.  Imagine - there are now more than 100,000 signs from all over the world in this tiny little hamlet along the Alaska Highway.  The Sign Post Forest at Watson Lake is a magical place you have to see to believe.

Date(s) – June 24th

Total Miles Traveled to Date – 7,566

Wildlife Sightings to Date – Several small herds of bison with at least 2 dozen young calves;1 dead cow moose on the side of the road (just a placeholder until we see a live one!); one back end of a grizzly bear, 2 more black bears, bringing our total to 4; 4 more deer (2 of them bucks with their racks covered in velvet), bringing our total to 9; 9 mountain goats (including 3 tiny and adorable kids); 5 more bighorn sheep, bringing our total to 23; 13 more elk bringing our total to 62 (including 7 calves that hadn’t yet lost their spots and a number of bull elk with full racks covered in velvet); several small herds of pronghorn antelope (including 2 mamas with 3 newborn fawns between them); 7 eagles (including 2 fledglings); 3 great blue herons; dozens of American white pelicans; at least a half dozen families of adult geese with goslings; and several dozen ducks (with lots of little ducklings).

Highlight(s) – When we bought the new truck at the end of March, our dealer registered it and issued new license plates.  We used those plates until our personalized plates (ALASKA24) arrived some weeks later.  The state had instructed us to dispose of the original plates appropriately.  Alan and I decided that adding one to the Sign Post Forest at Watson Lake would be an appropriate action to take.  What better “sign” to post along the Alaska Highway than the original license plate belonging to the truck that made the trip?  We photographed the plate and documented its location in the Forest with both pics and videos so that the kids, should they ever choose to do so, could find it in the thousands upon thousands of other signs.  We had tons of fun leaving our mark in the (Sign Post) world – no matter how inconspicuous that mark may be.

Adjacent to the Sign Post Forest is the Watson Lake Visitor Information Centre where we found an excellent exhibit on the Alaska Highway.  (The current VIC is located in the town’s Recreation Centre; it was moved there after the original VIC immediately next to the Sign Post Forest was flooded by a water main break.)  Construction of the military highway began in early March of 1942 – three months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  It was completed by November of that year - which is pretty amazing when you see where they were working and what the conditions were.  The Alaska Highway was both a backbreaking project and a major engineering feat.  The exhibits were fascinating with life-size photos and quotations from the military personnel who worked on the highway.  This exhibit, alone, is worth a stop at the Visitor Information Centre, but there’s a helpful staff and quite a bit of tourism information available there, too.

Two more highlights on our way to Watson Lake . . . First, we passed by the absolutely gorgeous Muncho Lake in northern British Columbia.  Wanting to soak up as much of the spectacular scenery as possible, Alan pulled into a lakeside parking area that was large enough for several rigs.  (My apologies for the repetitive superlatives.  I would have normally turned to my thesaurus by now, but I just don’t want to take the time.  I really need to come up with more descriptive adjectives though.  Even I’m getting tired of spectacular, magnificent, gorgeous and stunning – no matter how applicable they are.)  Despite all the space available, we had the pull-off to ourselves.  We even threw down some leveling boards and opened the slide to enjoy a mid-morning break (on yet another dreary day).  Muncho Lake – I can’t even imagine what it would look like on a sunny, blue-sky day.  Wow!  Just WOW!

As for the second highlight, all I can say is Just. Too. Cute!  We passed several small herds of bison who, apparently, really enjoy grazing right along the road.  While the adults are far from cute, the calves are ADORABLE, and there were plenty of them in the herds we passed.  One of the reasons I love spring – so many animal babies!    

Lowlight(s) – Alan had a hankering for a sub sandwich, so I asked the lovely woman at the Visitor Centre if there might be someplace in town where we could pick up a sub.  (Watson Lake: Population 790, as of 2016.)   She suggested that we might try the grocery store – just two blocks down – but she didn’t look very hopeful about our chances for success.  For good reason.  No subs.

Campground(s) – We had heard and read enough about the campgrounds along the Alaska Highway to know that private RV parks in the outback of western Canada and on into Alaska are not quite the same as those in the lower 48.  Hearing first-hand stories and seeing photos of gravel lots with RVs stacked up next to each other in a row made us cringe.  Go ahead and call us socially selective, but we prefer our solitude and the sounds of nature, not the dust blowing through a gravel lot filled with RVs.  Of course, when in Rome . . . So, at least we were prepared for what we might be dealing with – or, shall I say, subjected to?

The Downtown RV Park in Watson Lake was one of those gravel lots.  We caught a good look at it when Alan parked at the back of the grocery store lot to inquire about a sub.  For these two camping enthusiasts, it was horrifying!  That being said, I know our time will come and we’ll be happy to have our 400 square feet of gravel.

We continued on because we knew the government-run Watson Lake Campground was just a few miles down the road.  We figured that most RVers would choose the convenience of pulling into the Downtown RV Park just off the highway and within walking distance of the Sign Post Forest and the grocery store.  Willing to drive an extra few miles out of town and then another couple of miles down a gravel road (and give up services like electric, water and sewer), we ended up in a lovely site surrounded by trees and the peace and quiet that nature, alone, can provide.  The cost?  The same as our campsite at Summit Lake – just 20 Canadian dollars. 

Pic(s) of the Day

Welcome to the World Famous Sign Post Forest!

So. Many. Signs.

Total sign count by year

This place is unbelievable!

Muncho Lake - the crown jewel of Muncho Lake Provincial Park

A mid-morning break with an awe-inspiring view out the dinette window!

That's a lot of bison!

Awww . . .

And that's a lot of bison babies!

A good night's sleep at Watson Lake Campground!

Special Message(s) – Happy Anniversary #2 to our son, Ryan, and daughter-in-law, Anya!  We can’t believe that it has been two years already since that wonderful wedding day of yours.  Have fun celebrating your love for each other and everything you’ve accomplished together!

Up Next – A two-night layover in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, to take a break from the road and visit the SS Klondike National Historic Site – a real gem!