Carcross Desert, (just sand dunes) is about one square mile, and is the closest thing Canada has to a desert

The sand dunes were left by a glacial lake thousands of years ago, and the strong winds from nearby Bennett Lake continue to supply the area with sand today. The dunes are enjoyed by both locals and visitors, who hike up them, sandboard down them, and explore them on ATVs and with off-road scenic tours.

Sport lovers descend on the sands every weekend, creating a multi-purpose adventure playground. In summer, exposed dunes are used by quad bikers, hikers and sand-boarders, and as soon as enough snow falls, the desert is reclaimed by ski-tourers, tobogganers, snowshoers and snowboarders.

Potential dune erosion from those activities prompted the government to seek out environmental protection for the "desert" back in 1992, but that measure failed due to pushback from community members.

Human activity is good for the Carcross Desert, as dune fields in the territory need such disturbances to help fight off encroaching boreal forest. Natural disturbances come in the form of strong winds or fires, but nowadays, human recreation is also a large contributor. A concrete example is when ski trails were put into the Carcross Desert, as that broke lichen crusts and reactivated the dunes, says Bruce Bennett, who acts as conservation data centre coordinator with the Yukon government.

https://travel.destinationcanada.com/en-us/things-to-do/quick-guide-to-carcross

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180621-the-unlikely-home-of-the-worlds-smallest-desert

https://www.uphere.ca/articles/just-deserts