Dawson City
A boardwalk town left by the Klondike Gold Rush, with casino cancan shows, a gold dredge and gold panning, the midnight sun from the Midnight Dome, and the Dempster Highway to Tombstone.
Dawson City lies in western Yukon, Canada, where the Yukon and Klondike rivers meet. Home to just over a thousand people, it was the heart of the 1896 Klondike Gold Rush; at its peak more than 30,000 people crowded in, making it the "largest city north of Seattle" at the time. Today the town keeps its dirt streets, wooden boardwalks and false-fronted old buildings, large parts of which form the Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site, and in 2023 Tr'ondëk-Klondike was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are three main ways to explore: walking around town to see the historic buildings, museums and the cancan shows at Diamond Tooth Gerties; heading south along Bonanza Creek Road to see Dredge No. 4 and the Discovery Claim and try gold panning; and driving out on the Top of the World Highway or the Dempster Highway to Tombstone Territorial Park. Best seasons: June–August brings extremely long days, and around June 21 you can watch the sun stay up all night from the Midnight Dome; mid-August hosts the Discovery Days festival; from late August to early September the tundra turns red and gold; winter is brutally cold, below −30°C, with chances to see the northern lights, but most sights and businesses are closed before mid-May and after mid-September. Getting there: it's about 530 km from Whitehorse along the Klondike Highway, a 6–7 hour drive, and there are also regional flights. The town is easily walkable, but you'll need a car or a tour for nearby sights. Plan to stay 2–3 days.
Top sights
- Midnight Dome – A round hill 884 metres high behind Dawson City, with views over the town, the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers, and the gold-dr…
- Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall – Canada’s oldest legal casino, with a Gold Rush-style saloon offering roulette, poker and three cancan shows every night.
- Tombstone Territorial Park – Often called “Northern Patagonia,” this park of granite peaks and tundra makes for the classic day drive along the Dempster Highway.
- Dawson Historical Complex – A Gold Rush-era town of dirt roads, wooden boardwalks and false-front buildings. The entire district is a National Historic Site.
- Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site – The largest wood-hulled bucket dredge in North America, an eight-storey “iron beast” that sits in the valley where it dug its last rich gro…
- Discovery Claim National Historic Site – The site where gold was discovered in August 1896, sparking the Klondike Gold Rush. An interpretive trail takes you through the original mi…
- Dawson City Museum – Housed in the neoclassical territorial administration building of 1901, with displays on the gold rush, Indigenous peoples and Klondike rai…
- Sourtoe Cocktail at Downtown Hotel – Dawson’s most famous quirky tradition: a dehydrated human toe sits in your drink, and you earn a certificate only if your lips touch it.
- Palace Grand Theatre – A gold rush theatre built in 1899 by “Arizona Charlie”. Rebuilt with its boxes and stage intact, it is open to visitors in summer.
- SS Keno National Historic Site – A 1922 stern-wheel steamboat moored on the Yukon River bank, showing the golden age of river shipping on the Yukon.
- Jack London Museum & Cabin – A reconstructed cabin and small museum for the author of “The Call of the Wild”, showing his gold rush days, with daily talks.
- Robert Service Cabin – The log cabin where “Bard of the Yukon” Robert Service lived from 1909 to 1912, with poetry readings in summer.
- Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre – A cultural centre run by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, telling the story of the Hän people before and after the gold rush.
- Commissioner's Residence – The Yukon Commissioner’s residence, built in 1901. Its white colonnaded façade and garden reflect upper-class life during the gold rush.
- George Black Ferry – A free government ferry that crosses the Yukon River in minutes. It is the essential route to the Top of the World Highway and the campgrou…
- Paddlewheel Graveyard – Several abandoned stern-wheel steamboat wrecks lie in the woods on the west bank of the Yukon River, a secret spot loved by photographers.
- St. Paul's Anglican Church – A wooden Gothic Revival church built in 1902. Its white walls and spire stand by the Yukon River, and services are still held here.
- Old Post Office – A federal post office built in 1900. It still operates as a postal outlet in summer, where you can mail postcards and get a handmade commem…
- Crocus Bluff – A short-trail viewpoint on the hillside south of town, overlooking the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike rivers and Dawson City.
Where to eat
- Drunken Goat Greek Taverna – Dawson City's top-rated Greek taverna, open year-round. Nearly every local recommends its grilled meats and Greek appet…
- BonTon Butcher Shop & Restaurant – A Yukon restaurant with its own butcher shop, once selected as Air Canada's Best New Restaurant. At night it is known f…
- Aurora Inn Restaurant – The restaurant inside the Aurora Inn is known for German-style schnitzel and wood-fired grilling. Its friendly service…
- Sourdough Joe's Fish & Chips – A fish and chips shop on Front Street by the Yukon River. Choose cod, Yukon salmon, or Alaska halibut for a convenient…
Itineraries
- Yukon Kluane, Klondike & Alaska Loop – Depart from Whitehorse, enter Alaska via Kluane, drive the Top of the World Highway to Dawson City, and loop back.
- Dempster Highway to the Arctic Ocean – A round-trip from Whitehorse via Dawson City, Tombstone Territorial Park, and the Arctic Circle, driving all the way to…
- Yukon Gold Rush Trail to Denali – Cross the White Pass from Skagway, travel through Dawson City, and enter the Alaskan interior via the Top of the World…