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Next Saturday, a few hundred Yukoners will gather at the S.S. Klondike steamboat situated on the north bank of the Yukon River, a few blocks east of downtown Whitehorse. They'll proceed, by torchlight, to the Robert Service Campground to start a bonfire, ignite an effigy and “Burn Away the Winter Blues.”

The grassroots event will mark the spring solstice, the moment when the balance between winter darkness and endless summer sun begins to tilt in favour of the latter. This year, there will be more than the end of a particularly chilly winter to celebrate: The city played host to the 16-day Canada Winter Games, which wrapped up last weekend. Nearly 4,000 athletes, coaches, media and fans descended on the territorial capital, making it the largest influx of outsiders since the Klondike Gold Rush.

This is the first time the games have been held north of 60 since the event marked Canada's centennial in Quebec City in 1967. Much has been tied into these games: Not only do Yukoners have a sparkling new recreation complex, but the games also kicked off a $5-million tourism campaign by all three northern territories. Yukon also rebranded itself around the “larger than life” slogan, with a website (www.largerthanlife.com) that offers a year-round travel guide.

So, if the recent reports of throat-singers, aboriginal breakdancers and cross-country skiers has sparked your interest in visiting the host city, here's a wintry guide to Whitehorse. The territory is still one of the coldest parts of the country, with the mercury occasionally plummeting to -40. But as locals say, it's a dry cold. And with a population of just 20,000, nothing is ever too far or too crowded compared with similar escapes “down south.”

Cross-country skiing

Even without the new facilities, Whitehorse is a frosty paradise for cross-country skiers. The Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club meets at Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre, which hosted the cross-country events for the games. Locals sometimes play hooky and take a couple hours in the middle of the day for some silent skiing. A quick visit to Mount Mac for a trail map and an espresso warm-up, and you can do the same. The centre also features four curling sheets, making it a great venue for would-be skips.

Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre: 867-667-2500. Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club: 867-668-4477; www.xcskiwhitehorse.ca.

Downhill skiing

The territory's single ski hill was gussied up for the games. Mount Sima is hardly imposing, with a dozen runs splayed over its 335-metre height. But Sima (which means “red ochre mountain” in Southern Tutchone) approaches the big league in features, if not overall size, with its new mogul runs and T-bar, impressive half-pipe and terrain park. It also features a bright new chalet, built for the games that is lacking only in the food and beverage departments.

With record snowfalls this year, the powder was especially fresh for Canada's up-and-coming Olympians. You won't necessarily feel like Jennifer Heil ascending on Sima's sole chairlift, but you can take satisfaction that Canada's most remote downhill ski resort is only 20 minutes from downtown Whitehorse.

Mount Sima: 867-667-7547;

www.mountsima.com.

Dogsledding

Even without the games, Yukoners generally combat the February blahs with the Frostbite Music Festival; Rendezvous (a week during which the territory celebrates its past with kitschy keystone cops, can-can girls and hairy leg contests), and the territory's premier event, the Yukon Quest.

Styled “The Toughest Sled Dog Race in the World,” it's a gruelling 1,600-kilometre churn between Whitehorse and Fairbanks, Alaska. Mushing veteran Lance Mackey carved out a new record this year, but the Quest itself is a gauge of the North's increasingly erratic climate: Organizers had to loop its routing last year because of lack of snow.

Beyond following the race — and some diehard tourists do in its entirety — visitors can get a taste of dogsledding with a number of companies that operate in the Whitehorse area. For example, Uncommon Journeys will take you as far north as Herschel Island, while Muktuk Adventures is led by Yukon Quest legend Frank Turner.

Uncommon Journeys: 867-668-2255, www.uncommonyukon.com; Muktuk Adventures: 1-866-968-3647, www.muktuk.com.

Snowmobiling

Topography and snow conditions make the territory a playground for snowmobilers. Twenty-five-year-old star Ross Mercer hails from here; he recently set a world record by jumping 80 metres aboard one of these machines in Colorado. Yukoners take snowmobiling seriously, but not without some humour: you can watch the exploits of Mercer and other local daredevils on the “Sled Porn” line of DVDs. It's not quite Warren Miller but it has a certain wry silliness to it.

Klondike Snowmobile Association: www.ksa.yk.ca. The site has only a single link to a company that rents snowmobiles, but also offers up-to-date trail conditions, maps, photos and snowmobiling etiquette.

Hot springs

The best way to wind down after any outdoor activity here involves a trip to the Takhini Hot Springs, 25 minutes from downtown Whitehorse. The spring-fed pool offers the warmest vantage point to take in the spiritual epiphany of the Northern Lights — if the weather co-operates.

Takhini Hot Springs: 867-633-2706; takhinihotsprings.yk.ca.

Special to The Globe and Mail