Orienteering really took off when a couple of orienteers from "outside" moved north in the mid-1980's - Suat Tuzlak from Alberta and Afan Jones from B.C. They were able to spark the interest of the locals and, with a colour map of the Mount McIntyre ski trails area, hosted the Association's first meet, a ski-O, on January 6, 1985. Eighteen people competed on either the 3.5 or the 7.5 km. course. Some of the early volunteers responsible for the strong foundation of the current association include Ella LeGresley, Helen Slama, Jean Carey and Beth Hawkings. In the late 1980's Juri Peepre and Ross Burnett moved north from B.C., adding further support.

Growth since then has been fairly steady. We now proudly have more than 15 colour maps in Whitehorse itself, plus maps in Carcross, Mt. Lorne and Haines Junction. This selection of maps are regularly used at the series of Wednesday evening meets which regularly have 60 – 90 participants. In addition, annual territorial championships have been organized since 1989.

The Yukon Orienteering Association has hosted the Western Canadian Orienteering Championships in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2011 and 2015. In 2004, the Yukon Orienteering Association organized the Canadian Orienteering Championships, marking the first time our national championships were held north of 60! In 2011, the association hosted both the Western Canadian Championships and the Canadian Championships. This 6-race series also included three World Ranking Events. In 2018, the association took on an even larger series of races, hosting the biennial North American Championships (an IOF Regional event) and the Canadian Championships.