The White Pass and Yukon Route offered a bus service between Dawson Creek, British Columbia and Whitehorse; the O’Harra Bus Lines took travellers along the other half of the highway, from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, Alaska.

In the mid to late 1940s a number of lodges were constructed to accommodate the increasing and anticipated tourist traffic. Several of these lodges (Rancheria, Koidern, Dry Creek) were financed by the bus companies providing Alaska Highway services. Lodges in other locations (Teslin, Johnson’s Crossing, Marsh Lake) were financed by private entrepreneurs. At this same time, the Canadian government began to establish campgrounds along the highway for those who were unable to afford the more expensive facilities provided by the lodges. In 1947 campgrounds were created at Watson Lake, Judas Creek, Mendenhall Creek, Haines Junction, Kluane River, Lake Creek, and Mirror Creek. Each campground was provided with a kitchen shelter, a parking area, and outhouses built under contract by the White Pass and Yukon Route.